We were lucky to catch up with Amy Becker recently and have shared our conversation below.
Amy, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
My business first started out as a fun hobby. I created the modern Jewish cooking blog What Jew Wanna Eat in 2010 when I was bored at my corporate job and looking for a creative outlet. Initially, I was going to create a cupcake blog but my brother saw that no one was talking about our heritage, about Jewish recipes, and thought I might get tired of just making cupcakes. I liked the idea, and quickly realized how passionate I was about showcasing my Jewish pride through food. I reached out to my Bubbe (grandma) to get some of her recipes and started with those. It wasn’t long until I started receiving emails from my new readers who also felt a connection to their Jewishness through food. Soon after I quit my job to go to culinary school and hone my cooking skills. I was a private chef and taught cooking classes for a bit until I entered my blog in a small business contest and was one of the finalists. The press from the contest lead me to writing and recipe development and my blog continued to grow. In 2016 I wrote my cookbook Sweet Noshings and also had the opportunity to expand my brand with purchasing ModernTribe, a cool Jewish gifts store with my brother. Since then, we have completely rebranded and grown ModernTribe over 10x in revenue and my blog thrives too. I love my job, helping people feel connected to their heritage through food and modern Judaica, and connecting to other passionate Jewish small business owners.
Amy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
When I first started my blog, I got an email from a reader who discovered my recipes when researching her mother’s Jewish side of the family. She made all my recipes and felt closer to who she was than she had ever felt before. This inspired me to create a brand where people can showcase being Jewish in their own way. I love to twist Jewish recipes for modern times and palates, like my Fried Pickle Latkes or Strawberry Champagne Hamantaschen. At the same time, it’s hard to find Judaica that reflects modern taste. So with ModernTribe we curate and design products from banana menorahs to matzah ball soup candles that reflect a modern audience. I am also proud to have been able to speak all over the world from Seattle to Berlin about entrepreneurship and Jewish food and have had my recipes and products features all over from Food Network to the Today Show to the Drew Barrymore Show. I also appeared on an episode of Guy’s Grocery Games, which was a career highlight for me!
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
With ModernTribe, we strive to be a trustworthy brand that feels like a friend, like mishpacha (family). We are family-owned, and get your schtick. Our products are relevant to current times and issues, and our humor is the same as our customers. We get each other. Our customer service is superior, with fast shipping and unique products you can’t get elsewhere.
Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?
One rough incident was when a shipping carrier mistakenly held all our ModernTribe rush packages with them days before a holiday. We ended up re-shipping many packages, and even purchased some items from other stores if we could find them and they were out of stock with us to make sure customers received as much of their order on time as possible. The moral is to stay calm, get creative and be honest and quick to respond. Most customers will understand and appreciate honestly and quick, accurate replies from someone who cares about them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://moderntribe.com/ and https://whatjewwannaeat.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moderntribe_jew/ and https://www.instagram.com/whatjewwannaeat/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amykritzer/
