If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know I attended the 2020 Winter Fancy Food Show with my girl Chelsea Pearl and shared some Insta-worthy bites on Stories. As we toured the endless aisles of booths affixed with cheese, snacks, and beverages, we came across some really amazing companies that are woman-run and woman-owned that you should know about. Here are 8 companies that stood out to me:
Maggie Louise Confections
When walking by Maggie Louise’s booth, you had to do a double-take because of the wall of lipsticks. On closer look, you could see they were detailed chocolate confections displayed on a gold bar cart. I tasted a bar of popsicle chocolate, and it tasted as good as it looked. These gourmet chocolates are painted by hand in Austin, Texas. The whimsical confections make a great gifting experience and I am already planning when I can give some of these out as gifts.
Maggie Louise Confections was founded by Maggie Louise Callahan, a former corporate finance Lawyer from New York, who attended Le Cordon Bleu and discovered the creative possibilities in the realm of chocolate. Her specialty chocolates can be found in boutiques, online and in department stores like Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus.
Shop the Yay for Rose chocolate set here.
CompletEats
CompletEats is a delicious superfood vegan cookie. The company was founded by Lauren Chew, a vegetarian for over 10 years, who felt her best eating plant-based wholesome food. She crafted her cookies in her own kitchen using a simple recipe and enjoys them regularly. I tasted these for the first time and agreed they were delicious and guilt-free! The packaging and design is also aesthetically pleasing.
Find CompletEats on Amazon here.
Coconut Girl
Coconut Girl prides itself on being the first paleo cookie sandwich on the market sweetened with natural sugars. The ice cream sandwiches featured at the show included Hang Loose Vanilla, Beach Bum Maple and Aloha Chocolate. The company’s founder, Frankie Yamsuan, wanted to create a dessert that matched someone’s clean eating habits. The ice cream is dairy-free and the cookie is gluten-free. I tried the Beach Bum Maple and thought the flavors were great. Coconut wasn’t overpowering, and the cookie was nice and crisp.
Check out this guilt-free dessert at a specialty food store near you.
WAFFLESHOT
The cup you can eat, WAFFLESHOT is an edible waffle cone cup sturdy enough to handle ice cream, coffee, and booze, all at once if you know what to mix together! WAFFLESHOT was founded by sisters, friends and business partners Naomi Kashi and Dorit Simone. This edible waffle cone cup came from both of their passion in helping reduce waste and creating an environmentally friendly product. I tasted a chocolate waffle cone cup with an espresso inside and the cup held up and had some melted chocolate once I reached the bottom. I loved this and am looking forward to tasting more flavors.
WAFFLESHOT Cookies & Cream Waffle Cone Cup here.
CurlyTop Baker
The CurlyTop Baker is a cookie company, but it is more than that. The CurlyTop Baker started out as a non-profit with a vision of feeding the homeless in Las Vegas one cookie at a time. Angela Pepe switched up her business model and started selling cookies with a portion of sales going towards feeding the homeless in Las Vegas to make a bigger and lasting impact in her community. You can get a cookie anywhere, but Angela expressed that this cookie, in particular, is more than just a cookie, as shown by the good it does. Angela and I connected over our curly hair and love of baking, and this company reminded me of why I enjoy baking. Giving someone a fresh-baked good is a nice feeling and it was inspiring to see that action of kindness taking an extra step. I tasted the Birthdayfetti and S’Mores, but you can’t go wrong with any cookie you get.
Shop CurlyTop Baker cookies on their site here.
Bakery Bling
I couldn’t go to the Winter Fancy Food Show and not take a look at baking and decorating ingredients. Bakery Bling caught my eye with its amazing display and I came to find out it is Woman-Owned and sales a truly edible glitter. Most baking glitter is labeled as “non-toxic”, but not genuinely edible. The company sells edible glitter as well as Designer Cookie Kits.
Shop Bakery Bling products here or on Amazon.
Mamie’s Pies
Individual pocket-sized pies? Yes, please! These pies may be small but they deliver in homemade flavor. Mamie is Kara Romanik’s grandmother. When Kara’s daughter’s high school winter formal was canceled due to a lack of funding, she decided to make her family’s 9” apple pies for the class to sell. The fundraiser was a huge success and Kara then found herself taking orders from the local grocery stores. She quickly went into business and began making smaller pies at the request of her clients. Mamie’s Pies were listed as Oprah’s Favorites in 2017. The business has become a family affair with Kara’s daughter studying marketing and graphic design and becoming the Creative Lead for the Mamie’s Pies brand. I tasted the strawberry and blueberry pies at the Winter Fancy Food Show, and they were both amazing!
Shop Mamie’s Pies here.
Just Date Syrup
Developing a healthy sugar seemed to be fruitless until Sylvie explored Medjool Dates, used in her Indian family’s recipes to sweeten Chutney. Sylvie Charles, MD, is the founder and CEO of Just Date Syrup, a low-glycemic-index sweetener packed with flavor and antioxidants. Just Date Syrup is vegan and paleo-friendly. The company recently released the Just Pomegranate Syrup which I am a huge fan of. The mission of Just Date Syrup is to make healthier alternatives with naturally derived sugar. It’s an area I can get behind as I have a huge sweet tooth but could cut back on the amount of sugar I consume. I received samples and can’t wait to utilize these in recipes that my grandma with diabetes can enjoy.
Shop Just Date Syrup here or here.
What do you think of these woman-owned food companies? Have you tried any of them out? Let me know!
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