Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nicole Benza. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Nicole, thanks for joining us today. Do you manage your own social media?

I manage everything in my company. It´s hard when you start to hire a team to manage it because you have to invest in other things like material, supplies and equipment. I´m really looking forward to being able to hire someone who can help me with social media because you really have to know how it works, also to take professional pictures and answer to customers. I would completely recommend to have someone in charge of that because it´s one of the most important part of a business.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I´m a Peruvian-American who resided in Peru most of my life. I started my business in Peru in 2014, it was called Rambhá Artisan Bakery, after a lot of years of hard work i finally opened my bakery in 2019. I did a lot of custom cakes, desserts, and other artisan products. Then, in 2020 the pandemic began and i was forced to close my business. I decide to move to Atlanta, where my sister lives. I had to start over from zero with Pastil, my new business. My business revolves around the sole use of artisan products and freshly baked goods.
I love representing my Peruvian culture through my pastries and introducing them to this new market.
My business has grown due to clients spreading the word of my personalized cakes and other baked goods. I want for all customers to feel free with me, to imagine any cake they want and work together with me to create the perfect cake for any special occasion.
I love when customers challenge me to create something for them that i´ve never done before.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Yes!! My goal is to open my coffee/bakery shop like i had back in Lima, but specializing in selling only desserts and peruvian coffee. I also want to inspire people with my story.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Definitely, word of mouth. Being able to get to know my customers well and knowing that my product is very good has made advertising easier. I always get calls from new clients who have been recommended by other people to work with me, sometimes, is better that social media!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pastilbakery.com
• Instagram: @pastilbakery
• Facebook: Pastil Artisan Bakery Ga