Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Salazar Tapia.
Hi Andrea, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I have always loved to bake for my family and friends, but I also had the passion to one day work in healthcare so I put my education first. I went to Texas A&M and forgot about the Christmas present (kitchen aid mixer) I got from my parents in high school. A little embarrassing but I love telling people that because I think it shows how much I loved to bake. After I graduated, I started to bake again and a lot more due to COVID lockdowns. After college, I found myself working at Project transitions and also decided to start my small cookie business on the side, but before that I practiced by baking skills and started to make sugar cookies for my family. My first attempt was not very good if I’m being honest. First of all, the lion cookie I made was not so fierce looking, but at least they were tasty. When I was sending the progress to my family, my dad asked if they were sunny side eggs. Fast forward, I decided to sell cookies for the holidays. So I made a lot of santas and a lot of snowflakes, and I’d say that’s where it really began to bloom. I was getting messages and requests for cookies, it was all so exciting. It gave me more confidence to keep learning and to keep doing what I was doing because this could really become something.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has definitely not been an easy journey, but I have a lot of support from my friends, family, and my clients! I think that a lot of struggles come from time, I wish I had all the time in the world to make everyone cookies or to have the time to learn new techniques in a class. However, I’m still focusing on my education and working full time so it can be hard at times but one day soon, it will be like that and I’ll be able to put more time into my cookie business! I have a lot of hope and a lot of plans and to get there, you have to work hard and sometimes it’s not always a smooth road. But like I said, I’m very lucky to have a family like mine!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
My small cottage bakery specializes in custom sugar cookies, but I do all kinds of baked goods and sweets. If you want it, I’ll work on it to perfect it! I’m always looking and trying new recipes to offer more options to my clients. Right now, I’m trying to perfect bon bons (chocolates) so I can start to offer them!
I’m most proud of the responses I’ve gotten from my cookies and how much I’ve grown since I started. I never imagined that somebody would want to buy something that I baked. But you just have to believe in yourself as cheesy as that sounds and I feel like there’s many people in the cookie community that can help you throughout your journey so it’s good to know you’re not alone.
I just love being available to my customers. And I love coming up with different packaging for every holiday! I want the experience to be much more than just a cookie!
When it comes to branding, I think you constantly have to keep working on that. And as of now, I’m currently working on fun projects that show more of where I come from and also show more of my identity. There’s not just one particular way I want to make my clients feel when it comes to my branding, but I definitely want the experience to be simple and positive. I want my branding to showcase a company that’s inclusive and where you can find a little of everything for everyone. Like I said before a little more than just a cookie.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I think cookie businesses or any other baking business is pretty risky because everyone has their take on what they think is tasty. Everyone has different tastes so it can be hard to come up with something that everyone will love! I also think that all businesses are a risk, there’s always something that will come up whether good or bad and ultimately you as the business owner need to decide what your next step will be. When someone opens up their business, it’s not just about a monetary point of view, although yes, that’s a risk in itself it’s much more than that. You have to think about how much time somebody is putting on a project they believe in, and that alone is a risk to me.
Contact Info:
- Email: theandreacookieco@gmail.com
- Instagram: @dulcesbydrea
- Facebook: @theandreacookieco
