We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Olivia Aberdeen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Olivia, thanks for joining us today. So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?
In the world of desserts and baked good, trends seem to come and go every few months. With social media playing such a huge part of our lives, it’s easy to make something become popular. In the past few years we’ve seen the obsession with cake pops, cakesicles, jumbo cookies, heart shape cakes and cakes that burn away to reveal a new image. Something new starts trending online, which creates a craze for people to run and try it. We are at a point where abstract cakes are starting to be more and more popular, and I give it a few more months before it truly takes off. The main concern with these trends is businesses that are created just for that specific item, and then when it begins to go out of style they have to find ways to keep their customers coming through the door.
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?
Being from the Caribbean (Grenada), food is a big part of our culture. I pursued my culinary interests in high school by signing up for the culinary career academy . In that class a spokesperson for Johnson & Wales University visited, and I immediately knew that is where i wanted to go. Fast forward to after graduation, I am heading to my dream school in North Miami. Being in Florida allowed me to get the experience in the field while continuing my education working in places like the Ritz Carlton, The Fontainebleu and Stephen Starr events. After graduating with my Associates in Baking and Pastry, and Bachelors in Food Service Management, I realized Miami was no longer my scene, so I moved back home to Maryland. Upon moving back I worked in many restaurants trying to find the right fit. One day while hanging out at my best friends house we were looking through Instagram and noticed so many people had started their own business. It was at that moment that my friend turned to me and said “You’re stuff looks way better, you should start your own business”. It was that night, in their living room, that my business was created. We were bouncing names back and forth and decided that since everyone would be envious after seeing my products, that Envious Sweets would be the perfect name. I began posting all of my creations to gain traction, while continuing to work my kitchen job. At this point I was beginning to get tired or the industry and the hours, so I took the advice of my old Spanish teacher and looked into becoming an educator, teaching culinary. I started off as a long term sub at my old high school, then moved into a full position on a conditional license. While teaching I went back to school to get my full license and achieved my Masters in Education. After 5 years teaching, i decided to look for something else, as covid made the profession very difficult. After job searching for 5 months, I landed in a position that combines my culinary background and education background. I am now the Director of Education and Programs at the Restaurant Association of Maryland Education Foundation, which puts me in charge of the very culinary program I took in high school. Envious Sweets is still thriving, as I enjoy getting in the kitchen to create different masterpieces.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
Word of mouth has always been my best way of getting new clients. People won’t recommend products or services unless they like them. It means a lot to me when someone refers someone to me. It proves that my previous clients enjoyed my work and valued it enough to share it with a friend or loved one. There are a lot of people out there who do what I do, but the fact that I’ve had repeat customers from word of mouth says a lot. For it to be my most profitable source for new clients is a testament to the high quality of my work. I am very aware that word of mouth can make or break a business. We are in an era where people are constantly making videos or posts reviewing their experience and thoughts about a product or service. It is more important now than ever that customer service be as important as anything else you are providing the client.
Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?
During Covid I had a lot of down time to work on new creations. Everyone was confined to their homes and not having large gatherings reduced the amount of desserts that people needed. In order to test new recipes and still share it with those who had a sweet tooth, I created dessert boxes. I made these boxes with multiple mini desserts and packaged it like a fancy subscription box. This was available not only to people that could drive and pick them up, but also for those who wanted them mailed out of state. The Halloween and Christmas boxes were a huge hit and it gave me a chance to still get my name out there at a time when businesses were slow.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/envious_sweets/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EnviousSweets
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/envious-sweets/
Image Credits
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