We recently connected with Michelle Collins and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Michelle, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

When you met with me two years ago, I had started my business six months prior.  The host requested that I bring a side dish that was vegan and gluten-free as her daughter suffered from Eosinophilic esophagitis or EoE which is a chronic immune system disease. I bought the wrong sweet potato (white vs orange). I improvised and made a casserole. Due to the feedback,I realized that night I was onto something. The next day, I made a business plan.

Being on contract with two hotels in Austin Texas,I was going back and forth from Austin to Miami every two weeks. I mentioned to the Chef at the Hotel Indigo Downtown Austin my pie idea. He gave me free reign of the hotel kitchen in the nighttime. A few short weeks later I debuted my pie at Vegan Chill in Austin Texas, the largest festival in Texas. It was the very first place I sold a slice of my pie! Talk about going big or going home.

The General Manager at the hotel I was on contract at, heard about my pie. I did pie tasting in his office. He decided to carry my pies in the grab and go section of the Hotel Indigo in Downtown in February of 2020. They discussed plans to showcase my pies at South by Southwest. I was stoked! Then Covid hit.  Due to the pandemic the hotel shut down. My permanent job offer was reneged. I came back to Miami trying to figure out what would be next. Covid gave me the opportunity to build out important areas of my brand. I did a lot of recipe testing, I built my website, I came up with my logo, I set up my ecommerce, I secured professional pictures. I decided to create a spreadsheet and target vegan restaurants and cafes one by one.  By August of that year I had gained five retailed partners. My approach was very unconventional. I was in retail stores before I was at a Farmer’s Market.

Since this time, I was tapped by O Magazine for Oprah Favorite Things Holiday Edition. I was a semifinalist. Target selected me as the women owned business they chose to support for International Women’s Day. I was named one of Legacy Magazine’s top 40 under 40 in South Florida. Chelle’s Cutie Pies was named as one of top black vegan bakeries by Vegout Magazine. Hyatt Hotels has signed me on as a diversity supplier at two of their locations in Miami- the Downtown and Coral Gables Hotel. For the former I supply their Grab and Go Market. For the latter, I supply my whole pies for their events such as weddings, conventions, meetings groups. I joined a new Farmer’s Market this year- The Coral Gables Farmer’s Market. My debut at their seasonal market was so successful that I was referred by one of my customers to MKT Kitchen, this is a gourmet restaurant located in the heart of Coral Gables. One of the partners of this restaurant is the award-winning James Beard recipient Michelle Bernstein. During the taste testing at this restaurant, the General Manager and copartner did a taste test of my sweet potato key lime pie compared to his regular key lime pie. He told me that he liked mine more.

We have secured a shared commercial kitchen, My Kitchen 8 Prep Space. I have been operating out this commercial kitchen for almost two years. The Owner Mona Romero and Operations Manager Tony Alfonso have been incredibly gracious to me. Access to this kitchen allowed me to have a successful debut at Seed Food and Wine Festival, the premier plant-based festival in the US. They have been listed as one of the top three food festivals in the US by USA Today. This year we  obtained our hemp food establishment permit.  So, we are now able to produce and distribute CBD infused pies.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

In life experiences teach you to learn. This journey has been no different, from Shelf space instability, to supply chain issues (food shortages, price increases, fragility) to labor shortages it runs the gamut. These challenges have forced me to pivot, improvise, think outside the box, and learn vulnerability by asking for help. You don’t know what you don’t know. I keep learning every single day. Your best teacher is your last mistake. Failure forces you to improve your critical thinking skills. Sometimes failure is just a lesson we need to learn.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?

Chelle’s Cutie Pies is a wholesale commercial bakery. We are the first company to commercially market Japanese sweet potato pies in the US. We are 100% vegan and gluten free. Our mission is simple ”We believe in making comfort food that is good for the body and soul.” The Japanese sweet potato is still a bit of a novelty in the US. We use the Muraski strain in our pies. Interestingly enough, our best seller is the Sweet Serendipity. This is our naturally sweetened option. When you bake the Japanese Sweet potato at a high temperature for a long period. It creates a caramelized syrup on the inside. This is what we use to sweeten our pies.

Our pies are perfect for people with food sensitivities such as lactose intolerance and gluten intolerance. Our product is also perfect for customers that suffer from dietary restrictions such as celiac disease and diabetes. We are truly providing solutions for food options. There is currently a space in the market where there is an insufficient amount of combined vegan and gluten free desserts on the market. Large food conglomerates have their products stuck in R&D sometimes as long as five years. We are currently in the market meeting this need.

Our business model is as follows:

Direct to Consumer: Farmer’s Markets- Coconut Grove Farmer’s Market (year-round), Coral Gables Market(winter)North Ponce Harvest Market (fall) Social and Corporate Catering Events.

Wholesale: Retail partners: health stores, hotels, restaurants, cafes, gyms

Ecommerce: Through my website

What are your plans for the future?

Future plans for Q4 includes a  Fall Market in Coral Gable called the North Ponce Market. This started in late October and runs for nine weeks. We will be doing a Holiday pop up shop in Williams Sonoma prior to Thanksgiving. Additionally we  will be partnering with a gourmet retail partner for Christmas. We anticipate gaining traction by securing additional retail partners on the East side of town.

We are gearing up for the second installment of Seed Food and Wine Festival in January of 2023. I’m currently honing my pitching skills so that I can present my company to angel investors and venture capitalists at the end of this year. My long-term goal is to gain an equity partner that will give me the opportunity to scale. This will allow the company to become a full-fledged wholesale manufacturer, to facilitate nationwide distribution. Our first endeavor would be to secure a wholesale co manufacturing  company and a freight broker.

Pricing:

• Assorted minis by the dozen $55.00
• Assorted whole pies: $45.00-$55.00
• Assorted minis by the dozed CBD infused: $65.00
• Assorted whole pies CBD infused: $55.00-$65.00
• Japanese Sweet Potato cheesecake : $75.00

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.chellescutiepies.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chellescutiepies
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chellescutiepies

Image Credits
Denis Mora and Lauren Bouza