We recently connected with Elsa Martin and have shared our conversation below.
Elsa , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
I’ve been baking Cuban custards since I was 6 years old, along with my lovely grandmother who is also named Elsa. Every year for the holidays we’ll bake about 30 flans for family and friends to share with their loved ones. I’ve started to get more into baking in 2021 during the pandemic. I created new flavors people wouldn’t dare to think it was possible. Some flavors became a success and other failed. What started with me baking for family & friends grow into a larger cliental who were requesting catering for birthdays, baby shower, weddings, work events and much more. In Miami everything is a competition, so I had my negative thoughts “what if I don’t succeed, like others,” but I did, I had a very loyal cliental. It was our unique flavors that no one had, and most importantly our service to our customers that kept me going. Fast forward to 2023, we moved out the state of Florida and moved to Georgia. I decided to attended the Largest Dessert Festival In America called Dessert Wars. Abuelita’s Flans was the only Cuban custard shop attending, and the customer feedback was outstanding! Abuelita’s placed top 10 in Judges Choice and top 5 in People’s Choice. That made us realize that Cuban custards is a MUST in Georgia! We are excited for our new future in Georgia and seeing that Abuelita’s Flans has no current competition we expect a larger and dedicated customer base here in Georgia!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I got into the baking industry because of my grandmother, she enjoyed teaching me how to cook and bake. She would always say “before I die, I want to pass down the family recipe to someone,” clearly that “someone” was me. I would bake new things for my grandparents and great grandmother to try, they were my judges. They enjoyed seeing my passion for baking grow. In late 2019 I had lost my great grandmother, she would always tell me I was going to succeed, to never give up. Then Covid had came, and I started getting depressed, it was too much all at once. The only way I was able to cope was by baking for hours, it helped my unwind and not think so much about the real world. During the pandemic I started getting cliental solely from word of mouth, once I had a good base of cliental, I created a Instagram account to post my work and get more clients. Our clients would let my design and create minis dessert on their special day and they were ecstatic on the outcome. I feel what sets me aside from others is that not only do I have 10+ years of baking but I listen to my customers needs & wants, baking Cuban custards is my specialty and I do it with so much passion. I am proud of where I am today in life with my business. I know we’ll continue growing to something bigger and better. My current customers thank you for always trusting me and my work, to my future clients I hope you’re ready to taste the most authentic Cuban flan you’ll ever have!
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Reputation in the business world is extremally important! What helped my build my reputation was my loyalty to my customers. I believe that as a business owner who wants loyal clients you must be loyal to your clients first.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Building an audience on social media can be at times discouraging because you just don’t know where to start. Creating catchy and detailed post/story helps, hashtags are also a great source to help your social media grow. Consistency is key!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.abflans.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abuelitasflans/
Image Credits
Elsa Martin (my grandmother) Enzo Petitfour (my husband)