Hidden Gems: Meet Rosa Shin of Rosie’s

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rosa Shin

Hi Rosa, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Rosa Shin, founder of Rosie’s, always had love and passion for traditional Korean cuisine. She first took interest in contemporary Korean rice cakes in the beginning of 2024, when she was given a rice cake topped with beautiful flower decorations at her grandson’s “Dol” party (first birthday) as a gift from her daughter. Soon she learnt that these new ‘rice cake arts’ are one of the hottest trends in South Korea, and she started to learn independently on how to create her own. The art of making delicious traditional Korean rice cakes and topping them off with beautiful floral patterns or with funny character designs quickly became her new hobby each day. She shared her first batch of rice cakes with friends and family, and everyone fell in love with them.

Collective efforts from Rosa’s daughters and son created Rosie’s, custom Korean rice cake catering suited for special occasions, events, and gifting. Rosie’s Instagram page quickly gained attention from local Orange County Korean and Asian Americans, with popular orders being the floral cup, Chinese zodiac animals, “Baek-il” and “Dol” rice cakes.**

*”Baek-il” is a Korean celebration when the baby is 100 days old, and “Dol” is for the first birthday. Rice cakes are commonly consumed and gifted for these events in Korean culture.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Korean rice cakes are quickly becoming more decorative and bolder in design in South Korea. Although making rice cakes was not Rosa’s first experience, thinking outside the box to create something more elegant in design and unique flavor combinations resulted in a lot of trials-and-errors. Rosa constantly researches new baking techniques over the social media and Internet, as well as conversing with a network of fellow rice cake makers in SoCal for new ideas and methods.

Acquiring special cooking tools and ingredients for rice cakes were not easy as well, as many are only available in South Korea and needed to be shipped to the USA.

Marketing her products to the public also has been a slow and steady process. Being new to social media, it took all of Rosa’s family to learn the technology together that will help make Rosie’s known to the public.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Rosie’s is a family-owned catering service for customized rice cakes best suited for special events and for gifting. All our rice cakes are made from scratch and fresh on the day of pick-up. Rosie’s strives to make the most delicious and decorative rice cakes for our customers that will enhance their celebration and gifting experiences. Every order is customized, to meet the design and flavors of rice cakes that our customers desire. Rosie’s floral cup and Chinese zodiac rice cakes are the most popular orders, being that the designs are some of the most unique and beautiful rice cakes in Southern California.

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Our family wishes great success in Rosie’s and Rosa’s passion. Nothing makes Rosie’s team happier than the satisfied customers and enjoying our rice cakes. Our family contributes in varying ways for Rosie’s success, such as facilitating Rosie’s social media account, providing English translation for Rosa, and helping to spread Rosie’s to our fellow peers and friends with samples. It is our family’s collective love and support that makes this journey amazing.

Pricing:

• Floral Cup Rice Cakes: 6 pcs – $33
• “Baram” Rice Cakes (animal shape): 10 pcs – $28
• Oranda (Cracker with sugar and nuts): 5 pcs – $10
• Floral Rice Cake 6″ (Serves 6): $65
• Golf Decor Rice Cake 6″ (Serves 6): $70

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jyrosies/