We recently connected with Stephanie De La Cruz and have shared our conversation below.

Stephanie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.

Being the youngest of my 4 older sisters, my parents ingrained in us that we could be whatever we wanted, as long as we put in the work. As many of us have witnessed in life, being a Latina, that isn’t always true. However, it has always been my motivation to find ways to make that situation work for me. Learning what is worth my energy and what is not. I was taught to be proud of who I am and uplift like minded folks. I’m thankful for learning these lessons and fitting that info into my lifestyle.

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?

De La Creamery was born in 2020 from my Oakland apartment. We are small batch ice cream, specializing in Mexican flavors. Scratch made and rotating seasonal flavors inspired by California. I created my brand for myself first. I have never had flavors like the ones I made. I wasn’t aware I’d be filling this missing hole for so many others. These flavors are a tribute to my Mexican community, to feel included and prioritized through De La Creamery. I am Chicana, Mexican American born, so these flavors are a reflection of what I grew up eating. Many of my flavors are inspired from my family’s meals and families that I have been connected with throughout my life.
I am proud to be  Mexican and I named my business after my last name, De La Cruz. I wanted to be sure our name was carried out beyond me.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

My favorite lesson I had to unlearn is how to communicate with others as myself and not a corporate representative. I work with full intention to honor myself and my business. De La Creamery is built off of  who I am, unapologetically. I am silly, sensitive, smart, sassy, and casual. I want people to work with me because they like me for those things and vice versa. Owning my own business has given me the freedom to make those decisions. It’s liberating and inspiring to be surrounded by those who see the good in me. I am incredibly grateful to have these partnerships.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

De La Creamery is community funded. I started my business by having a holiday bake sale to purchase my first ice cream machine. My partner and I baked through the entire month of December and into January to save for this purchase. We didn’t have a lot of personal investment so we depend on our community to power us. We recently upgraded our equipment and launched a Kiva campaign for a 0% interest small business loan. We reached our goal of 11.5k in 4 days with the help of those who believe in our ice cream dream.

Contact Info:

• Website: delacreamery.com
• Instagram: @delacreamery
• Twitter: @delacreamery
• Tik Tok: @delacreamery

Image Credits
Photos by Andrea Arevalo