Genelle left a decade long career as an event manager for NASCAR to pursue her dream of baking sweets. She sells custom batches of coconut macaroons in flavors that highlight her Bahamian heritage -- Ginger, Dark & Stormy, Lime and Garam Masala -as well as traditional offerings.
To Nixie and Rafael, their business represents their love for one another, their love for coffee and their commitment to giving back to their community. Both co-owners are of Dominican background and grew up with families that cherished quality coffee as beverage of choice. Today, the business sources and sells delightful ground coffee and whole beans.
Tiffany has always had an entrepreneurial spirit and never wanted to have a corporate job long term. She started this business to sell snacks that are healthy and tasty. She learned about logistics and supply chain as well as startup operations from her past experiences, which has helped her business immensely in its early stage. Her goal is to eventually build a network of farmers that will supply the fruit to the manufacturing factories and sell the snacks worldwide.
Cassi has been in the food industry for some time, and after preparing beautiful meals and hosting dinner parties for friends and family, she decided to begin working as a chef and started her catering business. Her motto is "eat with your eyes first" and she prides herself in curating beautiful plates and dishes and in experimenting with new food concepts. She has also received a lot of demand for her Cognac Butter Pecan syrup, and she hopes to continue expanding her food product offering.
Genesis and her father Lorenzo began selling their banana pudding on the sidewalks of Chicago area over 10 years ago, before deciding to move their product into grocery store freezer spaces. They pride themselves in offering gourmet locally-sourced frozen pudding available in a variety flavors, including the Original Southern-Style Banana Pudding. Their products have made it onto the shelves of many well-known stores, always selling out, and they hope to continue building on the success of the business and the loyalty of their customers.
Fawziyya's business crafts and delicious snacks for adults and children alike. After she received rave reviews on her healthy treats from co-workers and friends, she decided to turn her passion into a business. Fawziyya makes accessible, healthy snacks from natural ingredients to help people find the balance they are looking for in their snack diet. Her gluten free, soy free and dairy free small-batch treats are nutritious, functional, and free of refined sugars.
Rosa is the owner and operator of a fresh and young vegan company in the heart of San Jose, CA. Having worked with farming community members supporting them uncover their entrepreneurial spirit, Rosa saw this as a perfect opportunity for her to explore her business idea. Through her company, Rosa hopes to provide accessibility to healthier food within the Latinx community. While all of her food is vegan, she does not wish for her clients to adopt Veganism as a framework. Rather, she hopes that she can provide alternatives to foods that would normally not exist in her community.
Chris is a home chef who is dedicated to bringing spice and culinary education to the local community. He sells small batch spice packets as a healthy, and flavorful alternative for families relying on Goya Adobo spices. He also hosts pop-up dinners around Brooklyn, as well as hosting cooking classes targeted to families in the community. His goal is to eventually open his own Community Kitchen to offer in-store classes and create apprenticeships for folks in the community wanting to start their culinary career.
Ruby created a business because she was trying to convince her mother to try kombucha to help with her digestive concerns. Her mother is a lover of popsicles, but has sensitive teeth, so Ruby designed a new shape and style to provide the positive probiotic effects of kombucha in a fun delicious fashion that presents a new way to eat a popsicle and take in kombucha. She has been blowing up on Instagram and is scaling.
Rashida is the primary owner of a restaurant in Los Angeles, a Caribbean food pop-up. After she has cooked professionally for 12 years and worked extensively in the industry, in the summer of 2020, Rashida opened her business. Her mother Joy is active and part of the team focusing on creating unique and flavorful dishes. They are excited about their non-traditional Caribbean food and recipes, and hope to expand their online followers.