Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Darien Donovan. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Darien, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear your thoughts about family businesses.
I am one of the owners of Sprinkles Italian Market & Bakery, which is a family owned and operated business. I would like to say that I have a lot of experience in family run businesses, as my sister, Emma is my business partner. The opportunity to work with family is so special, having shared values, a strong relationship, and trust are key components that have lead Emma and I to grow Sprinkles into what it is today. Here at Sprinkles, we have a created a supportive and stable environment conducive to success. If someone were to ask me my personal opinion on going into business with family I would highly recommend it. Yes, there can be difficult times, as there are with any business partner – family or not. I am lucky to say that I have a very supportive and heavily involved family. With that being said, I have learned that family always has your best interest at heart, no matter the circumstances. Therefore, everyone has the same goals and desires in mind; success for one another.
Sprinkles will be open 2 years this April which is a huge accomplishment for myself and my sister, but we would not be where we are without the sacrifices that we have made. We are definitely on the younger end to be owning and operating a business. I am 24 years old, and Emma is 21 years old and is currently a full time student at University of Delaware, graduating this spring. There have been times that we have had to sacrifice spending time with our friends/family because of work. Being able to rely on each other and having the same goals in mind makes it all worth it. Family is the greatest support system that one could ever have, in my case I have learned that they will always be there.
Aside from Emma and I being business partners, my parents and grandparents are very much involved in the day-to-day life at Sprinkles. They are always there to lend a hand, and jump in to help wherever they are needed. For example, last Easter (Easter 2024) was our first Easter being open, and I did not know what to expect, or prepare for. Coincidentally almost all of our employees had taken off or were going out of town for vacation, college visits, family reunions, etc. It was just Emma and I left to get all of the orders prepared, stock the case, and run the store. I was so grateful to have had my family there to help execute a successful Holiday! Our Mom was cleaning, our brother was working the counter, our Dad was flipping tomato pies, and our grand-mom’s were on cookie duty. This experience really opened my eyes to see that family will always be there to help, through any venture. Emma and I are business partners, but above that we are sisters and will always be there to rely on each other.
Darien, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
During the 2020 COVID pandemic, my sister and I started baking and decorating cookies, cakes, and cupcakes to sell out of our parents home kitchen at the ages of 20 and 16. We quickly gained a large and supportive following through our community using social media and attending local events. After 2+ years of baking out of our parents home kitchen while in school full time, we opened our store front location in our home town – Wilmington DE.
Long before Sprinkles came to be, the creativity and comfort to experiment in the kitchen that we were raised with helped develop our passion for baking today. At a young age we both found a love for baking! Each summer our parents held an annual “Cake Boss Decorating Competition” where our creative ideas had the opportunity to come to life. When we opened Sprinkles we knew that we wanted more than your average “trendy bakery” where you could only buy cupcakes and cookies, and that was where the “Italian Market @ Sprinkles” came to be. Our family has quite the background in Italian food and entertainment, so it was only fitting that our Italian heritage was incorporated into this new venture. We were raised with a heavy Italian influence that has carried through generations among generation, that are still shared and enjoyed through traditions (and recipes) today!
It has been great to see Sprinkles evolve from an Instagram page in 2020 with about 100 followers to a storefront location with thousands of amazing customers. Sprinkles has grown so much in 5 years, and the past 2 years of being a store-front location. I pride myself and my Sprinkles team in really taking advantage of paying attention to what our customers are interested in. Something that I think might not be a great idea, could end up being loved by our customers, and vice-versa. It is not always easy to pivot and change gears when you want one thing to work, but another is taking off. This is one of the reasons our Italian Market has been such a hit here on Naamans Road. When opening Sprinkles, we created the slogan “Italian Market & Bakery All in One”, and our customers have really adapted to the idea that Sprinkles is a “one stop shop”, where you can grab a sandwich for lunch, a buy 1 get 1 half off Italian meal, and a dessert for your kids all in one trip.
We have so many plans to continue to evolve and grow Sprinkles in so many avenues! I have learned so many lessons through the past 5 years of Sprinkles, and 2 years of having a store front that I will forever be grateful for!
Have you ever had to pivot?
When Sprinkles first started during COVID, I was going into my Junior year at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia studying Elementary and Special Education. I loved education so much, and from a young age all I ever wanted to be when I “grew up” was a teacher. When we started Sprinkles, I never dreamed that it would be where it is now. It was hard to take a step back and acknowledge the work and accomplishments I had achieved with Sprinkles while in the moment. I was juggling Sprinkles, student teaching, and being a full time college student all at once, it feels like a whirl-wind of events that happened in such a short period of time. I quickly realized the potential I had with Sprinkles. I had grown to love it so much and all I wanted was to continue to grow it.
I had a very hard decision to make, and was only about 21 years old. Either going the safe route and using the degree that I had paid so much for and become a teacher where there were benefits, paid vacations, summer breaks, a set schedule, and security. Or to follow my dreams and be my own boss, open my own business, watch something that I built from the ground up continue to grow, work as hard as I possibly could (18+ hour days) and hope that it would pay off.
Deciding at 21 years old that I was going to graduate college with a dual degree in education but not use it and go into business for myself was one of the hardest yet easiest decisions I’ve ever made. A lot of people thought I was crazy for not taking the secure and easy path, but having the support of the people closest to me was all I needed because I knew that Sprinkles was my ultimate dream. How would I be able to walk away from the opportunity to make my dreams come true? I’m forever grateful to my 21 year old self for being brave and not taking the easy way out!
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
We live in an age that social media is the greatest way to reach new customers, and show people in and around your community what you can do. Here at Sprinkles, we have gained a large following on social media, which has led to a lot of customers coming into our store. I have found that social media is one of the most powerful tools in growing a small businesses, like Sprinkles. Social media has provided me with opportunities for direct customer engagement, valuable insights, and the ability to reach a larger audience.
New customers come into Sprinkles almost daily saying that they found us on their TikTok for you page, or that one of their friends sent them one of our
Instagram posts. The power of social media is amazing, and it’s so cool to be able to physically see the growth from it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sprinklesitalianbakery.com
- Instagram: SprinklesItalianBakery
- Facebook: SprinklesItalianBakery
