We recently connected with Tina Hildebrand and have shared our conversation below.

Tina , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers

My story starts in Philadelphia, PA in the month of February 2024 at a Galentine’s Day party that I hosted for my closest friends. I have always had a passion for making food look beautiful and presentable (could be the perfectionist in me) but never dreamed to take the leap of faith until one of my girlfriends said, “you should make this a business.. I would pay money for something that looks this good for any event”, then the ideas started flowing.. I knew I wanted to start something that drove my creativity and so I took the leap of faith and came up with Tina’s Table Co.

From March to May, I was working 14+ hours day between my day job as an Enterprise Account Management for a publicly traded company and a small business owner pushing content out and trying new designs with fruits, meats, and cheeses. I never thought in my wildest dreams what was about to happen.

During all of this, my husband and I were designing our dream home in York, PA. I am sure you can imagine that Philadelphia and York are on opposite ends of the spectrum. I was a city girl for 11 years and was about to move to the country.. The fear and anxiety of failure in a small town lingered in the back of my mind. However, this is where my story takes a turn.

My husband and I drove back and forth often and he still had friends in the area which brought us some comfort. They showed us where to eat, whats the best coffee, where to shop, etc. There was a little cafe and market that stood out to me the most in York. It was 8 minutes from my house and looked a place I would enjoy going on a rainy day so I followed them on instagram.

Fast forward to late May on a Thursday afternoon and I see on the cafe reposted a vlog on their instagram page from this influencer I follow (for privacy purposes, I will leave out her name). I thought to myself, “what are the odds that she lives in York” and “should I DM her and just introduce myself?” and I am so glad I did.

A few hours later on that Thursday night, she responded mentioning that she has an event coming up on Sunday afternoon and said she would like if I could do a themed grazing table for her. Mind you, I was back in Philadelphia, 2 hours away from York, and this was a dream. I’ve done plenty of boxes and boards but this was such a big deal for me and I looked at my husband and was like “WE NEED TO GO GET STUFF FOR A LARGE GRAZING TABLE” .. I had basically nothing to start and was overwhelmed by everything I needed to do before Saturday. I was so nervous that I wouldn’t have anything I need or wouldn’t get enough food. So much fear and thrill and excitement all at the same time.

Thursday night was the equipment shopping, Friday day was groceries, Saturday was washing, prepping, cutting, storing. Sunday morning, I was out of bed by 4:45am, packing, going through lists, and double checking that I had everything. I don’t think I slept on Saturday night.. I wanted everything to go smoothly and perfect. I also was so nervous to meet this woman that I have watched on Youtube, Instagram, and Tiktok. All the thoughts that were going through my head included “am I going to say the wrong thing”, “I hope that I got enough food”, “what if she doesn’t like the way I do things” etc.

I get there and she could not be the nicest person ever. She made sure I felt comfortable and empowered to do what I thought best and gave suggestions when I asked for her opinion. Because she’s an influencer, there were moments when I was being filmed while putting this large grazing table together and all I could think was “please please please come together well”.

After setting up and cleaning, the table was ready to go and she expressed how much she loved it.. There’s always this thought in the back of my mind that people always say that not to hurt your feelings so I was basically holding my breath and waiting around until the party wrapped up. I was anxiously awaiting to talk to her post event to get her feedback and even prepared to ask her. “what could I have done better?” However, when I came back to clean up and grab my equipment, she asked me to do her pop up shop in a couples weeks and mentioned how everyone was so impressed/ loved it. And that’s how Tina’s Table Co. was in a reel/Tiktok post for over 2million people to see and the inquiries started increasing.

Tina , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Tina Hildebrand and I am the owner of Tina’s Table Co.

I specialize in crafting beautiful tablescapes and delicious cheeseboards, boxes, and grazing tables that are perfect for any occasion. From classic assortments to customized creations, my goal is to bring people together and make every gathering a memorable one. I strive to make hosting or event planning as easy as possible while bringing your vision to life.

From artisanal cheeses and cured meats to fresh fruits and gourmet accompaniments, Tina’s Table’s creations are perfect for any event – big or small.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

I think the most effective strategy for growing your clientele is to be yourself while building relationships and let your personality shine through in your work. Everyone is unique and it is easy to try to fit the mold of whatever industry you are in. The idea is to allow your clientele to get to know who you are and why you are different from your competitors. For me, I have always been big on relationship building and supporting other’s goals. That is who I am naturally so I started to use that to my advantage for Tina’s Table Co.

Tina’s Table Co. is about supporting other small businesses throughout multiple industries. Since I live in a small town, it is important that I am building my relationships with other small businesses. By supporting them, they support me in return whether it is by inquiring about charcuterie, a referral or a repost.

I want to get to know the owner of the floral business I use or the farmer where I buy my fruits for my boards from. I want to be able to tell their story too when a client asks me where I get my ingredients from. To be able to build these relationships and transparency of why I support the businesses I support paints an important picture that everyone is chasing a dream and this is why we support them and why you should support me too.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

The way that I keep in touch with clients is by always making sure I am including something personal to them. There’s a couple different ways to do this but my favorite is a personalized card saying thank you for their business. Not something generic, but including trips they may be taking, or asking how the event that they went to was. I think truly actively listening to your clients and building rapport is so important. For example, clients can get similar product from a different company but what makes them come back is the relationship you created with them. How I keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty is through those personal touches and relationships I’ve built.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @tinastableco

Image Credits

Vince Ha Photography
Aislinn Rose Photo
Wildflowers & Sage Creative Co.