7 months in the making…6 kids in the mix…5:00AM brainstorms in the car…4 hands wrist-deep in chocolate…3 (gazillion) YouTube tutorials…2 friends in all-new territory…1 goal in mind. The countdown to unveiling our bites has been an incredible ride!
A fly on the wall would tell a story of lives that don’t quite work out on paper. Full-time entrepreneurs, each with three children, dance lessons, cross country meets, time for self-care, family vacations, 40th birthdays, relay training, community involvement…and now a new joint venture. Our planning meetings were littered and blessed with potty accidents, inconvenient meltdowns, muddy dogs, poolside brainstorms, curious cats, compensating husbands, a trip to the ER, impromptu dance parties, and....distractions and inspiration aplenty!
The shitstorm began in April, testing recipes with our families as the lucky critics. The most memorable was a powdered cacao-covered bite. Our husbands popped these bad boys into their mouths and immediately bolted to the trashcan while we laughed ’til it hurt. We had several of these, back to the drawing board experiences, before coming to a landing! In every fail, new lessons were learned and built upon. Fast forward to today when our kids pressure us for “naughtygoods” in their lunch box, for dessert, or for no reason at all.
With our creative brainstorms and 4th-grade humor in full swing, we worked to infuse ourselves into the product. In working so closely, nicknames for each other arose….there’s the “Hot Tamale”—who is bursting with excitement about EVERY idea to arise, with no pause for caution….and “The Hampster”—pittering around the wheel tending to every single, tiny, little (and important) detail. We found ourselves to be jointly pumped about the push for women empowerment and supporting women connection. Eventually, the flavors took on personalities, the idea to honor women for their awesomeness was born, and a heart-filled brand came to be.
Our original goal was to debut our bites at Christmas in Strafford (a well-attended artisan fair here in our hometown), but then had the idea to give a sneak peek to trusted family, friends and colleagues. When the reveal came and the flurry of responses hit, we chose to change our approach. The last week has been filled with big decisions through text conversations, FaceTime-ing, back and forth contacts with suppliers, late nights filling orders, getting the website up and running, catnaps in the car, and lots of ‘Holy shiitake! What is happening?’ moments. We don’t know where this venture is going to take us, but we are excited!
Thanks for joining the ride—your support is inspiring! We’ll see you on the other side of our next batch.
