We were lucky to catch up with Keyla Ortiz recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Keyla, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?
When it came to choosing the name for my business, it seemed like one of the first steps I wanted to have down before continuing with everything else. Business was a whole new ballgame for me since I came from a health-sciences background in college. I had to start with baby steps if I knew I wanted to ease into this new adventure. I knew that French macarons would always be the star of the show but that I had to leave room for more ideas if I ever decided to shift the business in another direction. With that in mind, I couldn’t use the word ‘macaron’ in the name. I took out a notebook and started jotting down words and synonyms relating to sweets and baking with the help of a friend. Two to three minds are always better with one, especially when you can combine your previous experiences!
I looked up the translation for ‘sugar’, ‘sweet’, and ‘small’ in multiple languages such as Spanish, Italian, French, etc., along with some more random ideas. The whole point of this was to be able to choose different combinations of the words and speak it into existence. I wanted something that people wouldn’t have trouble pronouncing or remembering, even if it was in another language.
My list took up a whole page with words like, sugar, dulce, dolce, zucre, and petit. It’s so nice being able to look back at that page and remember how it all started. I still keep the notebook.
On that same page, I had also doodled some macarons, cupcakes, and rough drafts of what I thought my logo could look like. I think being able to visualize it all together is very important if you’re the kind of person who sees life in color, objects, shapes, and patterns. Those elements have always spoken to me far more than words ever have.
The last part of my search for the name was inspired by my wonderful great-grandparents. I grew up listening to their story of how they met. They lived through World War II and spent 5 years sending each other letters before they finally saw each other again and got married once it was over. I could listen to that story over and over again! It inspired a passion in me to dive into the fashion, movies, and music of that era at a young age. I have always loved throwbacks and exploring the decades because of that. It is something that I owe greatly to them.
During the season when I was starting the business, I had a Polaroid obsession and wanted to incorporate that as a theme in the branding. I still have Polaroid frames on my website pictures till this day. It was a symbol of catching a moment and making it last. I ultimately just believe that baking for someone’s event helps create the sweetest memories and make it even more special.
The name, Dolce Memories Baking Co., was born from that inspiration. I had originally wanted to use ‘dulce’, the Spanish word for ‘sweet’, since it was my first language. However, it was already being used for another business, another important thing to consider when choosing a name! I quickly searched to see if ‘dolce’ was taken, the Italian word, because Italy has always held a special place in my heart! I would love to be fluent in that language one day and possibly even live there for some time.
That was basically the process it took to choose my business name. It seems like something very simple, but naming a business is something that will gain brand recognition, customer loyalty, and ultimately a legacy. It’s not something that can be changed however many times someone wants. The name is what has to reflect what the business is about.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?
My name is Keyla, I am 26 years old and I live in central Florida. I went to the University of Central Florida and graduated with a Health Sciences degree, but you could say my plans to be a doctor where the complete opposite of what happened! Halfway through college, I realized my artistic/creative side was more powerful than logic and my love of science. However, health is always a part of me that I will cherish and use in my everyday life. You can definitely say that I have used it in my business, especially when it comes to food, nutrition, and allergies. I have been baking with my mother ever since I was a little girl. She was taught by someone very close to her throughout the middle school years and I ended up following in those footsteps. We have been baking cakes and cupcakes for family celebrations since I could remember. In college, we decorated and sold the cakes all the way through until she got diagnosed with Celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that attacks the gut when wheat, barley, and/or rye are consumed. This isn’t just a slight intolerance, it can be lethal for Celiac’s to continue consuming gluten. It was definitely a hard adjustment to stop cooking and baking with gluten, but we eventually found our way.
French macarons are delicious-heaven-sent pastries originally made with almond flour. They quickly became one of our favorite desserts and after years of trial and error, YouTube videos, blogs, books, tears, meltdowns, prayers… we finally mastered them! We almost gave up many times but something inside of us never let us stop. We familiarized ourselves with almond flour and continued to experiment with it in cakes and other small treats as well.
In 2019, I made the business legal and Dolce Memories Baking Co. is now registered as a limited liability company (LLC). We specialize in small custom-made almond flour treats including macarons, cupcakes, cookies, etc. We cater to weddings, baby showers, birthdays, church events, and any special moment that someone wants to make that much sweeter. We have seasonal sales for the holidays and have participated in fundraisers and farmers markets.
I love being able to help someone with dietary restrictions and catering to their specific needs. It’s something very close to our hearts because we know how dangerous cross-contamination can be. We have always wanted to fill that niche for individuals with Celiac or gluten-sensitivity. Everyone should be able to enjoy a sweet treat!
I have had so many supporters on this journey including my parents, brother, cousins, friends, and loyal customers who still follow us till this day and it means the world. They supported our business through all of the mess-ups and mediocre orders throughout the beginning! Above anything, we as a business are just so grateful to God for helping us through this journey and for taking us to where we never thought possible. We strive to be responsible and have integrity every single day with every interaction and order.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I will never forget our first wedding order. We had an ombre macaron tower to fill that was going to be the centerpiece of the dessert table. It was 5 tiers of macarons in 5 shades of blush. It was our biggest order to date after starting the business several months prior. I couldn’t believe one of my dreams had come true, to be able to make someone’s wedding cake, or macaron tower in this case. Let me just say that macarons have SO MANY technicalities to them. It is so easy to get something wrong. They can crack, wrinkle, come out hollow, bake unevenly, burn, etc. We knew we wanted fresh macarons, so we decided to start a few days before the event. The day before the wedding was a NIGHTMARE. After many failed batches went straight in the trash, we managed to get most of them done, but two of the shades just didn’t want to work successfully. We kept baking hollow macarons with very ugly cracks on the side. I had to stop to cry many times. The morning of the pickup I was beyond embarrassed. Thank God for my mother/baking partner because I was a wreck! We prayed SO MUCH and decided to try one last time. Guess what? We had run out of time. The macarons were nowhere close to where I wanted them to be, but I had no choice. It was the client’s wedding! I had to give her what she had paid for. We filled all the shells and packaged them with minutes to spare and gave her extras just in case. I felt so defeated. The client showed up, packed them in her car, thanked me, and I never heard from her again! I was mortified and felt that I had ruined her special day. The funny thing is that weeks later, one of my friends sent me a post from one of her photographer friends that she followed who just happened to be the one working at the wedding! She told my friend that the macarons were delicious and sent me a beautiful professionally-edited photo of the assembled macaron tower. I knew the macarons weren’t perfect but I was so relieved that they tasted great! You couldn’t see the cracks in the photo either! Eventually I had to let go of the feeling of being a failure and used it to make sure that I would never let that happen again! That was in 2018. I am happy to say that by the grace of God, our macarons are finally at a place where I can be proud of the way they look and taste. All we can do sometimes is keep going.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Social media is a wonderful strategy that has helped us reach new clients that we otherwise would not have met, but I stand by the classic “word-of-mouth” way. To make a long story short, all I can say is to never underestimate the order/job right in front of you. It only takes one person at a party to try your product or service and contact you for their special event. You never know who knows who. Connections are very important. Every person can open a whole new door for you that you wouldn’t even have dreamed of or had the guts to do. Each new individual you come in contact with could have the potential for being a life-long client or even a friend!
Contact Info:
- Website: dolcememoriesbaking.com
- Instagram: @dolcememoriesbaking