Today we’d like to introduce you to Michaela Cruz.
Hi Michaela, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I have been baking ever since I was a little girl with my mom and sisters. When I was 15, I began selling fudge and pumpkin rolls to friends around Christmas time, and over the years, I’ve made wedding cakes, cupcakes, cookies, pies, and everything in between until I found that homemade fudge is my “sweet” spot. I have been expanding from pumpkin farms to larger markets to sell fudge as well as taking personal orders.
In the beginning of 2023, we began to expand our dream with homemade ice cream. From May-September I made homemade ice cream with an antique John Deere engine under tents all over Cincinnati on weekends. It was difficult a learning experience, but we are excited to plan for the coming year!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As exciting as it was to get into some bigger shows this year, I had one show that was particularly difficult. I didn’t know how much fudge to make for an event that has an attendance for 30k+ people so in the months leading up I spoke to other vendors for advice. I ended up making 3,000 containers of fudge, but the event did not go well, and I only sold 30% of the fudge. It was heartbreaking to barely break even and having invested so much time and money.
Aside from trying to grow my fudge and ice cream businesses, I am a homeschool, stay-at-home mom of four beautiful children. It is challenging balancing how much I take on, but still keeping my children first priority.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Our goal is to once day be able to combine the fudge and ice cream into one business someday. For now, though we will be hustling fudge in the fall and winter and making homemade ice cream in the summers. I pride myself on making homemade items with quality ingredients and making items that you can’t buy from a store.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Not being afraid of hard work, long hours, and not sacrificing quality over quantity.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: kkskitchencincy
