Today we’d like to introduce you to EJ Smith.
Hi EJ, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Born and raised in the city of Gardena, California, I never thought I could make a living from banana pudn, “my childhood favorite dessert.” This recipe has been passed down from my momma, yo momma, and their momma’s momma.
My wife kicked me out of her kitchen because I was using it every time, she needed it to cook. That prompted me to take a chance on purchasing a pre-existing small deli that was for sale in the heart of downtown Long Beach on Pine Ave.
It all started from a fundraiser while coaching pop warner football for the Long Beach Jordan Black Panthers organization. I made my favorite childhood dessert for a fundraiser to raise money for our banquet because we were having such a great season, we wanted to make it special for our players. The kids and parents fell in love with my Gourmet Banana PUDN, so much that a parent asked me to take a sample to one of his friend’s restaurants. I asked “why,” the parent said this is so Good you can start a business from this. I immediately declined, but when I seen all the Smiles it was PUDN on the parents and kids’ faces, I couldn’t resist, so I took a chance and followed the parents’ advice.
The community fell in love with my childhood favorite dessert, and the orders kept coming in and wouldn’t stop. It all made sense when I did my research and seriously thought about it, “Pudding is America’s favorite dessert, and Bananas are the world’s most consumed fruit. They go together like peanut butter and jelly.
The restaurant went from ordering 1 dozen to over 300 bowls of PUDN every week. Once the Long Beach Press-Telegram wrote a story about me in the newspaper there was no turning back.
Everything was going great until my wife Val got really sick, so we shut the business down and moved to Arizona so she could have brain surgery by a doctor that was familiar with her condition. I went back to the corporate world for the best company I’ve ever worked for called Red Ventures based in Charlotte, North Carolina.
When Covid-19 hit the world, it changed everything, the best part was that my son Ej asked me if I would bring the business back and teach him how to be an entrepreneur. I’ve Coached my son his whole life rather if it was football, basketball, excersies, or just being a full-time dad. I love that we have the chance to start this business together and that I have another chance to bond and spend time with him before I leave this earth. God Loves you, and so do I. Thank all of you for supporting our Father & Son small local business.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, it has not been a smooth road, we started everything with no capital, raised the funds on our own, pulled out our 401K, exhausted all resources, wife got sick causing us to close down, and we didn’t have enough money to hire employees, so our church and families got involved and helped. We downsized our house into a one-bedroom apartment above our store in Downtown Long Beach. I had to run all areas of the business; I was the packager, cook, sales rep, and delivery driver.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about Famous PUDN?
We are a gourmet, kettle-cooked, gluten-free, KSA kosher certified PUDN made with five natural ingredients, no preservatives. We are known for our old-fashioned Banana PUDN. We use no box mix; there is five ingredients in our PUDN compared to an instant box of jello mix. We are healthy, all natural, gluten-free, gourmet PUDN. We want your readers to know that we are a small family-owned business that creates everything from scratch, make everything by hand, and each jar is made with love. Bananas are the most consumed fruit in the world, and PUDN is America’s Favorite Dessert; that is why we started a PUDN business because we figured that we were already in everyone’s household. PUDN has been in our family over 100 years, and it is a tradition that we celebrated that represents love, unity, and comfort.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Manufacturing, distributions, online shipping, more locations, and franchising. We have taken banana PUDN to a whole other level, infusing over 50 different desserts with our gourmet, KSA kosher-certified, gluten-free, kettle-cooked PUDN.
Pricing:
- 3oz: $5
- 4oz: $6
- 8oz: $7.00-$13.00
- Family Size: $35-$45
Contact Info:
- Website: www.famouspudn.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/famouspudn/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Famouspudn/
Image Credits
@takenbytwon
