We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Eser Kucukseyhan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Eser, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?
As a macaron baker and business owner, I’ve learned that entrepreneurship is a wild ride filled with ups and downs. I believe there are three essential components for success. First is resilience. When you decide to start your own business, you’re committing to a rollercoaster of emotions and finances. Some days you’ll feel on top of the world with an exciting new client or opportunity. Other days you’ll wonder why you ever thought you could do this as you face yet another unexpected challenge. As an entrepreneur, you need to be able to pick yourself up, time and again, move past the failures or mistakes, and keep believing in yourself and your vision. The lows will come, but focusing on the future possibilities rather than past mistakes is key. Second is adaptability. The business landscape is always shifting and smart entrepreneurs know they need to shift with it. This means constantly listening to your customers and community to understand their changing needs and desires. It means watching your competitors and being ready to modify your own offerings. The entrepreneurs who succeed are the ones who can easily evolve their business in response to the world around them. Third is connections. Who you know matters. Successful entrepreneurs build strong networks in their community, with partners, influencers, customers, and beyond. These connections help spread the word about your business, open up collaboration opportunities, provide insider industry knowledge, and more. Make developing genuine relationships a priority. Be known as someone who is trustworthy, adds value, and wants to see others succeed too. Your network can be a secret weapon.
Eser, 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?
I am a self-taught chef, who believes if you have real passion for something, nothing can stand in your way. French macarons have always been a passion for me. Every time I visited France, I would spend most of my time trying pastries, sitting at those beautiful bakeries, cafes. I would read books about Pierre Herme and Laduree, thinking about how I can start my own macaron business. Life is challenging with so many priorities. However, I believe when the right time comes, life will give you the signal to go ahead and start running after your passion. That’s how it happened as I found the right moment to be when I relocated to the US with my husband where I first started my online macaron business in Minnesota and in late 2020 moved my business to Atlanta, Georgia.
We are an online bakery specialized in French Macarons. French macarons are almond flour and meringue-based sweet cookies, with a crisp exterior and a chewy but soft texture, sandwiched together with a filling. Perfect for any occasion, from birthdays and baby showers to corporate events and weddings, our macarons make for a beautiful gift to send to your loved ones or a decadent treat to enjoy for yourself.
We offer a wide variety of flavors, with close to 20 options on our menu, and we are constantly adding new and exciting flavors to our selection. What sets us apart from others is our use of original European recipes, which gives our macarons a truly authentic taste that our customers say rivals even those found in Paris. But it’s not just the delicious flavors that make our macarons stand out. Our macarons are also handcrafted with care and attention to detail, with an emphasis on beautiful design, made from gluten-free, high-quality ingredients. From classic Creme Brulee to unique Strawberry Cheesecake and Cookies & Cream, our top-selling flavors are sure to delight. We also offer custom macarons, with a range of designs and decorations, from a baby shark to Nike sneakers, and themed macarons for special holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
At Carousel Macarons, we go beyond just macarons, offering a variety of delicious and visually stunning treats. One of our most popular products is our Macaron Cakes – giant macarons that come in a range of unique shapes such as initials or numbers, perfect for special occasions such as birthdays. Our macaron cakes can be customized to any design, from your favorite Marvel character to personalized initials. We decorate these cakes with a combination of beautiful flowers, macarons, and other treats to create something truly special that will be remembered by all.
We also offer a unique gift option with our macaron flower gift boxes, which feature a beautiful set of flowers and a dozen delicious macarons, all packaged inside an elegant heart-shaped box. These boxes are perfect as a special gift for any occasion. All our products can be ordered from our website, and we offer a pickup option from PREP Atlanta Commercial Kitchens, local delivery to many neighborhoods around Atlanta, and nationwide shipping to any address in the United States.
At Carousel Macarons, we take immense pride in our brand, not only for crafting the most beautiful and delectable macarons on the market but also for our dedication to providing exceptional customer service. Our commitment to excellence allows us to consistently meet, and often surpass, the expectations of our customers, even as a small business. We infuse passion into each and every order we receive, and consider ourselves an integral part of our customers’ special events, whether it be through our macarons or cakes. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that our customers and their guests leave with fond memories of the sweet moments shared over our macarons. We spare no effort in achieving this, as evidenced by our outstanding 5-star google reviews.
How did you build your audience on social media?
When I first started my macaron business back in 2017, I only had about 30 followers on one social media platform. Fast forward to today, and I have thousands of engaged followers across multiple channels, with some posts reaching hundreds of thousands—even millions! It’s been quite a journey getting my social media presence to where it is now. I knew early on that investing time and effort into social media would be crucial for connecting with my local community and reaching wider audiences. So I put all my initial focus on really building up one platform first. Staying engaged with my early followers was key – I made sure to like, comment, respond, and really nurture those early relationships.
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach for every channel though. Each platform has its own vibe and audience preferences. Over time, I developed unique strategies for each channel based on what worked best for those users. Flexibility has been so important. One of my biggest keys to success has been getting creative with content. Social audiences want to see behind-the-scenes reality and stories, not just pretty pictures of macarons. I try to showcase more of my biz’s personality and bring users along my journey in an authentic way. Influencers were also hugely helpful, especially early on. Partnering with local foodies and bloggers exposed my account to new audiences and helped me gain traction. It’s crazy how much social media has evolved even just in the past 5 years! I make it a point every year to step back and evaluate what’s working vs. not on each platform, then tweak my approach accordingly. You’ve got to be able to pivot as audience interests change.
For anyone just starting out, my advice is to pick one platform and really focus on building engagement and a loyal community there first. Once you start gaining momentum, you can start expanding your reach. But stay flexible, get creative with your content, and nurture your followers. Social media does take a lot of time and effort, but it’s been one of the most valuable investments I’ve made in my biz. Most importantly, make sure your social media presence aligns with and enhances your brand personality. Let your passion shine through. Have fun with it! If you stay authentic and consistent, you’ll start seeing growth and connections happen organically over time.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Building a reputation as a trusted, reliable brand doesn’t happen overnight – it takes consistently delivering on your promises to customers time and again. For my macaron business, my core promise is to provide the highest quality products and exceptional service for every order, big or small. Whether it’s a wedding, anniversary party, baby shower, or simple birthday celebration, I view each customer’s special event as an opportunity to wow their guests with beautiful, delicious macarons and ensure the experience is seamless from order to delivery.
Exceeding expectations is key. When a customer trusts me to be a part of their important occasion, I make sure every detail is attended to so that their celebration is even more memorable and unique thanks to our macarons. Seeing the joy on my customers’ faces when they bite into that perfect macaron makes all the hard work worthwhile! Delivering exactly what the customer wants, precisely when and how they need it, gives them peace of mind on their big day. Over half our business now comes from repeat customers, which tells me we’re doing something right in terms of keeping our promises.
Building a strong reputation is all about consistency. It’s being able to provide the same 5-star service and high-quality products every single time, not just once or twice. Customers need to know they can rely on you to deliver an amazing experience whenever they choose you.
It’s this proven track record of consistently exceeding expectations that builds trust and credibility. Our 5-star Google reviews, many from repeat happy couples, families, and corporate clients, are a testament to always holding ourselves to the highest standard.
Of course, being a small business means we also need to be adaptable and personal. I’ve found reputation isn’t just about quality and service, but also that human touch. Taking the time to get to know customers, make them feel truly special, and create something heartfelt for their occasion goes a long way. At the end of the day, your reputation is defined by keeping your brand promise to customers over and over again. It’s knowing customers can count on you to bring your best and make their event memorable whenever they need it. By always striving to overdeliver on expectations and stay true to our core values, I believe we’ve built a reputation as Atlanta’s go-to for best-in-class French macarons paired with an unforgettable experience.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.carouselmacarons.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carouselmacarons/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarouselMacarons/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eser-kucukseyhan/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@carouselmacarons
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@carousel_macarons
- Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/carouselmacarons/
Image Credits
For the single macaron tower photo please credit Colleen Elise Photography. Remaining photos are owned by Carousel Macarons.