We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Edith Cabrera a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Edith, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
A taste of Puerto Rico in the West Coast!
It all began with a craving for these little boricua pastries called “quesitos” (Little cheese). Back when I lived in Puerto Rico most of my mornings were spent walking into a Panderia con un cafecito y quesito in the morning. I researched all over the the South Bay and LA County and no one carried them. I was home sick and needed a cafecito y quesito combo. One of those restless mornings I found myself, sorely missing the island and its food; specifically a good, rich and sweet quesito.
I have always been a fan of baking and cooking. I decided to recreate my very own recipe. There I was at 1am making puff pastries and cream cheese filling. The quesito’s came out just like I remembered them and after devouring about 1 dozen quesito’s I was left with 4 dozen. In my attempt to get rid of them without gaining all the pounds, I decided to pack them up in festive thanksgiving tin cans and take them to work. I left them at the counter at work and in less then an hour they were gone. Days later I was asked by coworkers to sell them. I never wanted to sell them as I initially did it out of love. I gave it a go and several orders later Sweedith Bake’s took off.
I first sold them to co-workers, friends and family. Later, I attempted to sell them on Offer Up with minimal reaction. Facebook Market was where everything blew up. My regulars reorder frequently and suggested I open up a Facebook Business page. After months of encouragement and numerous orders later I launched Sweedith Bake’s on March 22, 2019. I never expected to get the reaction I have been getting. My goal is to someday open a Puerto Rican Bakery here in Los Angeles.
Edith, 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?
I created Sweedith Bake’s in 2018 after moving from Salinas, Puerto Rico to Gardena, California. From my family’s kitchen to your house I serve pastries, sweets, appetizers and even some of the most beloved dishes from Boriken. I’m very proud that people across the map are reconnecting with their Puerto Rican roots and others are getting to know a bit of our culture through the amazing taste of my alcapurrias, quesitos, pasteles and many other dishes. Sweedith Bake’s aims to make the most traditional staples of our kitchen like, guanimes con bacaloa to the most modern Boricua twist like El Jibarito and Tripletas Sandwich. We stay as authentic as possible by making everything from scratch, from the basic sofrito, our own puff pastry dough, to the empanadilla and Pan Sobao dough (bread).
Sweedith Bake’s is a one women show, I do it all; the cooking, handling all the logistic for the business, and managing a social media while still being a single mom. I have been blessed with a lot of wonderful opportunities with local business and production companies like Perolike, Buzfeed, and Tasty.
Also, since day one I made Sweedith Bake’s mission to support the Puerto Rican diaspora by introducing the community to Puerto Rican traditions like bomba & plena dancing, and the Parranda Navideña. A Parranda Navideña is a Puerto Rican music tradition that takes place in Puerto Rico during the Christmas holiday season. Sweedith Bake’s aspires to bring a piece of Puerto Rico to the West Coast.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Never give up!
Life brings so many unexpected obstacles, some hitting harder than others. The one thing I always tell myself was “never give up”. During my first year in business, I felt that life was kicking me down. With a tiny yet strong pack of followers, I began making my presence felt in the Los Angeles area by supporting and collaborating with local non-profit organizations like ” Puerto Ricans in Actions”. They reached out to me in the few months after I opened to join a cause that was so dear to my heart. To raise money for Puerto Ricans impacted by Hurricane Maria. From the start, I donated time and resources to help my patria by getting water, clothes, first aid items and much more to an island that was abandoned by the United States and local government. Being in rallies, marches, protests and many other events gave me a chance to help mi patria. There I had the chance of meeting Buzfeed Supervising producer, Alexis Garcia Rocca.
We met while I was handing out freshly baked quesitos to all the supporting protestors in Hollywood Boulevard. A month later, I was contacted by Ivan Emilio for content for one of their videos and was blessed with the opportunity of presenting my food on their YouTube channel. Little did they know, at the time they reached out to me I was going through one of the toughest times in my life. I was juggling several jobs and still not being able to make ends meet. They had tried to reach out to me via phone, however my phone was disconnected and electricity was scheduled to be shut off due to several missed payments. I was literally at my lowest point in my life, I had no gas money to drive to work so i walked the 13 miles there and back. I swallowed my grief along with my pride and just carried on the only way I could, work.
I tried my best to succeed and when I thought of quitting I read an email by Emilio asking to place an order for content on his next Youtube video. Two days later I was baking and cooking everything I had in my possession. A block of butter, flour and eggs and I made one of my favorite Puerto Rican pastries and dessert. Quesitos (which actual translation is Cheese Turner but little cheese sounds way funnier), Mantecaditos (Shortbread Cookies), Pastelillos de Guayaba (Guava Turnovers) and Brazo Gitano (gypsy’s arm our version of a Swiss roll; don’t ask about the name) and these treats where introduce to the followers of Perolike and Buzfeed in a video called ” Latino’s try Puerto Rican Pastries”. Who would of thought the girl behind these pastries, was going through the worst time in her life in that moment in time. Dealing with severe depression, recent shut off of electricity, cell phone and gas. I never gave up, I knew all this heart ache and pain had a purpose. Como dice el dicho Dios aprieta pero no Ahorca. (Like that famous saying our Latin parents use to tell us growing up “God squeezes but he does not choke you”). I know sounds rather intense but it’s true. Its one of the sayings I live life by. Even when times get to be too suffocatingly difficult its best to ride it out and let nature run its course. Giving up is not an option in my life not when I am trying to leave a legacy for my daughter.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
One lesson I had to learn is being able to say “no”. In the beginning of my business venture, I gave a lot of my time and money to many organizations and businesses thinking it would help me build a bigger customer requisition. Donations were the number one cause of my lack of success at one point. I know it sounds a bit contradicting but I wanted to give and I gave so much of myself and business that I literally gave all I had without realizing it was affecting my personal life and finances . I wanted to be a part of every event possible pertaining to mi patria and mi cultura just because I wanted to help make a presence in la gente de Puerto Rico. I gave it my heart and sweat every single time and I still do. I realized some organizations were beyond grateful and others barely acknowledged my work and effort. I knew things needed to change. I needed to be that “Boss Bitch” everyone always craves to be. I needed to thrive as a female entrepreneur as well as set an example for my one year old daughter. As I silently struggled, I realized that if I continued at this rate, I would never succeed so I started being comfortable with saying no and setting boundaries in my business. I only donated myself when I could donate my services and when I couldn’t I donated myself and not my business. This kept me active in the community and help me and my business make a presence in the Puerto Rican community here in Los Angeles and across the nation.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sweedithbakes.com
- Instagram: @sweedithbakes
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SweedithBakes/
- Twitter: @SSweedith
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sweedith-bakes-gardena
Image Credits
Oscar Garcia oscargmtz30@icloud.com