It you love dessert as much as we do, you're in luck. Leah Culley, the founder of Sweet Almond Macaron and a Union Kitchen Accelerator Member, is launching her delicious sweet treats in stores! After building her business as a member of our shared kitchen space, Leah decided to join our Accelerator to grow a CPG brand. She worked with our team to develop a mission and actionable strategy, and has just launched a market-ready product. You can now find Leah's strawberry, lemon, and chocolate (yum) macarons in the frozen section of Union Kitchen stores!
Leah grew up obsessed with baking. She always loved spending time in the kitchen, and as the years went on, she developed a particular love for one baked good - the macaron. Macarons are no easy feat, and she set out to become a master. She soon realized she was creating something special and decided to turn her passion into a business. She joined the Union Kitchen Ecosystem as a member of our shared kitchen, where she owned her manufacturing and sold her macarons online. She wanted to expand and reach even more customers, so she decided to join our Accelerator and work with our team to develop a CPG brand.
By leveraging the resources of the Union Kitchen Ecosystem and putting in a lot of hard work, Leah developed a mission and strategy for her brand. She worked on product formulation to adapt to creating a frozen product and created a market-ready product. She will now launch into all five Union Kitchen stores and begin connecting with local customers, collecting feedback on her product, and testing product-market fit.
Following in the footsteps of other Union Kitchen Accelerator success stories, such as Snacklins and Maspanadas, Leah has owned her manufacturing since day one and continues to put in the work to own her process. By owning manufacturing and taking a phased approach to growth, brands like Sweet Almond, Snacklins, and Maspanadas can have stronger margins and, in turn, achieve profitability faster and more consistently than their peers.