Today we’d like to introduce you to Sakeenah Renee Sievwright.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Soul Sweet creations is an online dessert company specializing in creating and catering delicious sweet treats for the taste bud! We do simply fresh ingredients with no preservatives-all sugar, full fat butter, creams and custards! We have lemon bars, pecan bars, silk chocolate brownies with crunchy corners, and soft centers just to name a few! As a wife and mother of two-the youngest being a seven month old, the challenges of wearing many hats and maintaining a small business have been endless, and we’re powering through!
We are a family business that began from a love of all things baked, buttered and sprinkled with sugar! My inspiration also comes from my younger self watching Mom prep for nightly dinners including holiday eats! One year-too long ago to recall, Mom passed the torch of baking the lemon pound cakes and pecan pies to me for one of many upcoming holidays! I come from a small family but no matter how small the guest list, we both enjoyed spending time together preparing really tasty courses that we didn’t have throughout the year!
So moving forward a bit, when I married my SUPER supportive, ALWAYS on stand-by, Soul Sweet Creations-right hand man, I baked, and he shared with colleagues! They would ask if I had my own business and at the time I didn’t, but we both thought-why not! I think we started brainstorming logos and business names immediately!! Where would I be without the artistic creativity that Mr. Soul Sweet has brought to the company?!?
Growing up as an only child and working full time through college, it has been such a joy to have started this Soul Sweet journey as a family business! The support of family, and friends that we call family is crucial to the success of any business! I’m also inspired by knowing that my girls can one day learn and join the business if they choose.
It’s the pleasure of serving our traditional and soulful tastes to people that truly enjoy them! I am extremely passionate about the nonprofit world and constantly looking to partner with local nonprofit organizations & shelters. We provide sweet bites to families and kids that may not get to share in the simple joys of fresh baked desserts! We’re not talking your packaged corner store sweets but fresh-baked goodness!
Tasty bites bring people of all types and classes together! Catering special moments such as birthdays, weddings, baby and bridal showers, where all can enjoy our treats is truly a blessing!
We haven’t forgotten about our vegan and gluten-free communities and definitely have a plan in place to offer more of those tastes in the near future!
This is heartfelt cooking from the SOUL! We Make What You CRAVE, even if it’s a sweet treat that you should really only have in moderation-BUT who’s counting!
Great, 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?
All roads are a little bumpy in the beginning but finding the right ingredient, that exact oven temperature and making the most from having minimal space and finances is worth it! When you’re passionate about your purpose and have faith in what you do, you’ll push through the struggles! As an online business, locating and financing a commercial kitchen to fulfill orders, even when there are none, is very trying! Marketing a business to people that have never seen you or tasted your treats, but only those of the most popular and established, can be discouraging. As I always discuss with my oldest daughter-giving up is not an option and the ONLY way that you overcome a challenge is to keep moving through it! My carrot cake would not have been what it now is had I stopped at the sinking hole that appeared when I first started!
Soul Sweet Creations – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We’re most proud of being able to really engage and connect with our customers at local events such as Farmers Market and William Sonoma Pop Up events. We don’t need a huge event, we simply love connecting with our customers and communities! The simple joy of seeing our customer’s expression after biting into one of our treats, and we get to talk about it, is really a joy and blessing!
We love creating bite size desserts that provide a variety of tastes for customers and guests, without making them feel as if they must commit to having more than one or two scrumptious bites of only one treat!
We also love engaging with our nonprofit sector and being able to provide for organizations as we’re able. As a company, we don’t mind giving a lot and sometimes getting-as some would think, only a little! Yes, it takes money to make the world operate but it is not the one and only thing that keeps us going! We really enjoy taking that extra step for our customers even if it means that we’ve spent some extra time or money doing so. Writing a thank you note for a customer, a follow up call or email to check in, really means a lot to us!
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Being asked to participate in BrunchCON LA as one of the company’s first big events! I’ve participated in smaller events but really nothing like it before. It was overwhelmingly AMAZING and called for sleepless nights, thousands of bite size treats and being a little over zealous but we went all in! I have really awesome family and friends that stepped in to help make both years with BrunchCON a success! More recently we’ve participated in Pop Up events at multiple stores with William Sonoma and that has been a blessing and incredible experience for Soul Sweet! It’s great to see how far the business has come and I’m forever grateful!
Contact Info:
- Website: Soul-sweet.com
- Phone: 747.204.6024
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @soulsweetcreations
- Facebook: @cravesoulsweetcreations
- Yelp: Soul Sweet Creations on Yelp
Image Credit:
Cory Sievwright-Mr. Soul Sweet 🙂
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