We were lucky to catch up with Tanesia Laurant recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tanesia , appreciate you joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

I came up with the name of my company CandyGurl Pralines & Catering because of my love for pralines and making desserts. I wanted to have a name that people knew for sure what it is that I make. I had been making sweets for years growing up. In New Orleans we have something that’s called the candy lady, all I did was put a spin on it.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My love for cooking and baking came from my great grandmother on my maternal side and my grandmother on my paternal side. I have early memories of watching them bake and cook and feed a multitude of family as well as people in the neighborhood. My top seller is pralines. I also make cakes, cupcakes, cookies, meal preps and soon to be catering foods. I want people to know that I take pride in my business. I work day and night sometimes planning and perfecting my craft. What I am most proud of so far with my business is the fact that I had an opportunity to do a huge corporate event. I was asked by a marketing company to make 10,000 pralines for a local event. It took me about 7 days but I made all by myself. Anything that I make and anything that I post I make sure that it is perfect. My goal is to make people feel good when they eat my food and eat my desserts.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Building my social media has been no easy task. I would say if I had to give advice to someone starting out I would say post every day or every few days to keep your subscribers engaged. Perfect your craft and take good quality pictures. If you don’t have new stuff then repost old stuff. Make social medias on all platforms as well as a website. You never know who is on who so it’s important to have many different ones.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I would say my side hustle turned into a business. I started by making pralines and selling them in middle school and junior high school. I would make candy and sell out each time. Those moments made me know and believe that this business could actually be something that I could be proud of and that I could make money of it.

Contact Info:

• Website: Candygurlpralinesandcatering.com
• Instagram: @candygurlpraline
• Facebook: @candygurlpraline

Image Credits
Image credits @TanesiaShenee