Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alicia Fernandez . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alicia, appreciate you joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

Strawberries by Ali was put together by my passion for baking all things sweets. Friends and family can recall my baking some delicious treats from my middle and high school years. I began my business with the idea of simply creating chocolate covered strawberries, hence Strawberries by Ali. As time progressed, I brought in old recipes and treats my friends and family loved. My clients quickly fell in love and I began creating more products!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Alicia but my family calls my Ali for short. I have always had a passion for cooking and baking since I was a little girl. My friends and family loved the treats I would bake throughout middle and high school. I finally had the courage to begin my business in 2018 while pursuing my bachelors degree. What started out as a fun hobby transitioned into a business. Throughout the years I have had the support of my family and my clients. Although there are many things to be proud of, I am most proud of my customer retention. I enjoy getting to know my clients and their families, as well as being part of special life events such as weddings, baby showers and more!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I believe my attention to detail and quality has helped build my business, brand and clientele. I always strive to provide my clients with fresh quality ingredients. Everything is tested, tasted and perfected for weeks before even being added onto my menu. I am very family oriented and enjoy getting to know my clients and their families as well.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

When I began my business in March 2018, I had no idea what we had coming the following year….COVID hit the entire world and shut everything down. While everyone was stuck at home I managed to get more creative and design and create new products, marketing strategies, giveaways and more. In a time when the world seemed to shutdown from our everyday routine, I had the most support and biggest growth that year. I remember having contactless pickups during this time and being flooded with overwhelming support from current and new clients. 2019 was my biggest year of growth and we have only improved since then!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @strawberriesbyali
• Facebook: Strawberries by Ali
• Other: [email protected]