We recently connected with Emilee Henry and have shared our conversation below.

Emilee, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

I had been vegan for going on a year and realized this lifestyle could benefit so many people in my community. Veganism was just on the cusp of becoming popular but as a black woman from the south “being vegan” wasn’t something we were interested in. Both sides of my family have ties to farming and agriculture; my moms side of the family raised hogs and my dad’s dad was a poultry farmer and raised cattle, so completely opposite of vegan. However I can vividly remember being told stories as a kid about the planting, growing, and harvesting my family did to provide, and that’s what I decided to lean into, when bringing this idea to life. I noticed the benefits I received from changing my diet and wanted to spread that knowledge to as many people that would listen. Before I even knew I was going to start my own business, I wrestled with the idea for several months. I didn’t tell anyone and I was seriously doubting the vision I had and if this would even be something I could do. When I tell y’all there wasn’t a single vegan restaurant in my home town and I didn’t know a single vegan person from here either, this idea seemed so far fetched. I finally gathered the courage to tell my cousin (the only vegan person I knew) to get her opinion and she thought I should run with it and that little bit of encouragement was all I needed. So my cousin and I sat in her kitchen discussed the idea came up with a logo and officially put it out there to the world a few weeks later. I then went to another cousin to help me with the logistics, and set up my LLC a few months after that. I quickly realized after that there was so much about starting a business that I didn’t know; how to set up a business account, lines of credit, documenting, taxes, marketing, utilizing social media…the list goes on and I’m still learning. Creating the business plan as you’re working the business is not for the weak and I encourage anyone starting to not do what I did and to thoroughly do your research before starting your business. But I lived and learned and what initially started off as more of a consulting business to teach people how to transition into a vegan lifestyle turned into a full blown vegan food services business within a years time. We have now expanded to pop ups throughout Atlanta and northwest Georgia, catering, meal preparation services, and we have recently launched our own handcrafted lemonade.

Emilee, 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?

My name is Emilee and I am the owner of Rooted in the Loop. Rooted in the Loop is a vegan food service business that aims to make plant-based eating attainable to all. Never in a million years would I have thought I’d own a vegan food service business but here we are three years in! I went fully vegan around 2018 (my cousin forced me to). The original goal was not even to be vegan but to eliminate somethings that weren’t deserving my body. My cousin who was the only other vegan in my family encouraged me to go vegan for a month. So I would eat vegan during the week and back to my normal diet on the weekend and after a month of that my body finally said you got to choose and I went vegan and never looked back. Several month after that I started having this feeling like I should be sharing this knowledge with people, especially the black community and that people could used this information and that is how Rooted was born.
We initially started off just consulting; helping people transition, teaching them how to grocery shop, meal prepping and eventually started catering, meal prepping, and doing pop ups because people loved the food.
A lot of clients what to eat better and get healthier and just aren’t sure where to start. Many come to me already aware of the benefits a vegan diet can have and we help them get started one meal at a time.
We pride ourself on being customer based, simply meaning anything can be customized for your diet and needs. We understand that not everybody is at the same place in their journey and we bring as much personalization into the dishes we create as possible.
We want everyone to know that Rooted will always be a safe space. No matter where you are in your journey we are here to help you transition to a healthier lifestyle whatever way that looks for you.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Excellent customer service. We are prompt in responding to inquiries, always professional, helpful in converting the needs of clients into the dishes they want and very personable. The attitude you have when interacting with clients is a sign of how your clientele will grow. Being personable and having a great attitude (along with a great product) will keep clients coming back and have them introduce you to their friends who in turn become your clients.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Covid! Before Covid hit I had already slowed down on business because I was in the process of obtaining my masters degree and moved to a different city. My expected graduation date was right at the beginning of Covid and there was no way I was going to be able to start business back up because the whole world had shut down. Your girl was stressed! Fortunately the university had an entrepreneurship summer pitch program I was a part of that really pushed my limits as a business owner but also pushed me to navigate new ways during the “new normal.” Crazy enough the summer of 2020 was our first big number period. It was a completely new ball game because of Covid but it was also a time people wanted to make healthier eating choices and we were right there to help make it happen.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rootedintheloop.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/rootedintheloop?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UC5Xa0C1HstEFsnuNdKcCWZA

Image Credits
BamCam Visuals NewNorth Photography Niblet Photography