We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cristina Chio. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cristina below.

Cristina, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to start by getting your thoughts on what you are seeing as some the biggest trends emerging in your industry

As Ive shared in the past, I started to bake conchas to ‘spoil’ my family. Never crossed my mind a business was in the make. That being said, who knew people loved conchas SO MUCH !!! and who thought you can make any character on a concha?!?

We know offer 5 different concha sizes, more than 8 presentations and infinity of designs. Possibilities are endless !!
I love conchas so much, they are such a humble treat, there’s no gap each, from babies to grandparents, we all love some sweet bread! Ive had customers in the past telling me they didnt like conchas until they tried ours. We make conchas the right way, I bake each try with so much love, just as if I was baking for my family.

I love how this business has turned into a creative adventure, love all the shapes an colors, love to look at my customers eyes when they see the final result. Feel very thankful to do something I truly enjoy

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Ive always enjoyed cooking and baking for family & friends. When the pandemic hit I found myself cooking a lot more and trying new recepies. Conchas was one of this. ‘One recepie’ was too much for just my family so I started sharing with neighbors and other family members, got such a good feedback that I thought to make a ‘one weekend sale’
I never stopped after that, well I did, as I shared before, I doubted myself too much, I was scared, If I were to start over again I would believe in myself, be more confident,
The thing that more set us apart from other bakeries is FLAVOR definitly, Our conchas are soft, like pillows as people will describe them sometimes, crust is crunchy as it should.
The most popular product and probably what I enjoy to make the most is the mini conchas, they are the perfect size if you only want to have a little piece of heaven or you can have 2 without feeling guilty.
People come to us becasue they’re looking for quality, they know our conchas are not only pretty in presentation but delicious.
Sometimes I look back and I cant believe what Ive created, I am a mom to 3 kids and have a husband that works away from home, Im so proud I was able to create this brand without leaving my kids, They are my number one priority, I actually started the custom conchas for them, they are my biggests fan

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I will say more than a side hustle it was my hobby, Im not sure if it was turned into a full time business but for sure its keeping me busy and keeps growing. Last September we got an order of 1000 conchas, we dont have special equipment or fancy ovens, pulling this in just a couple of days made me realized I got it. These conchitas were delivered to the Freeman Collsieum, being there as a vendors was insane. It really helped me get confidence of the things I can acomplish, The sky is the limit.

That’s another thing I will like to share, if you;re thinking you are not good enough to start, or dont want to get started because you dont have all the tools that you need for your business, start anyway, start where you are, just do it, Consistency is the key

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

This is a funny question to me, when I hear the word ‘capital’ I think of loads of money. I started my business with 1lb of flour, eggs, milk, sugar and butter, I do sluprge on butter! and my kitchen oven, till this day is the only oven I use.
You don’t always need a big investment, sometimes all you need is your love and passion and a bit of creativity to make things work,

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.facebook.com/laconcheriasa
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/la_concheria_sa
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laconcheriasa?mibextid=ZbWKwL

Image Credits
La Concheria