Today we’d like to introduce you to Lucila Giagrande.
Lucila, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born and raised in a small town in Argentina, about 350 miles north of Buenos Aires. My sisters and I grew up devouring pastries my mom, grandma, and aunts made with “dulce de leche” caramel in it, especially the “alfajores”.
After moving to the United States when I was 24 and meeting my husband Joe, my passion for cooking and entertaining started. We loved having friends over our house and treating them to hearty home-cooked meals.
After my children were born, I started baking the traditional “alfajores”. I wanted them to grow up with the same delicious treats that I did in Argentina. I also wanted them to have the same wonderful memories that I had as a child, with sweet aromas swirling through the house.
Everyone that we shared the alfajores with loved them so I started making them for a friend’s cafe and then added a few farmers markets. The reception was overwhelmingly positive. After several years of grinding it out, we now sell to all the Whole Foods in the Midwest region, Rick Bayless’ Frontera restaurants and about 50 other craft coffee roasters and high-end fast casual restaurants. We have an online store as well where we ship our gift boxes all over the country.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has not been a smooth road at all! There are always struggles, some big and some small. It was very difficult trying to raise 2 small children at home while growing my business. My husband Joe was working full-time downtown at the time. We are both transplants here in Chicago and did not have the benefit of family “help” with the kids.
Finding the appropriate kitchen facility at a cheap enough price to make the product was a constant battle in the beginning stages when the demand was sporadic and production levels low.
Also, my product is not well-known here in the US. Education and promotion to the consumer as to what Alfajores are is a constant challenge. Dealing with a perishable and fragile food product and navigating all the food licensing and regulations on top of that was very time consuming.
Money is always tight as this is a slim margin business and a new expense or cash outlay is always right around the corner!
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Lucila’s Homemade Alfajores – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Lucila’s Homemade Alfajores specializes in the production and distribution of handcrafted Argentine cookies called Alfajores. Alfajores consist of two soft and crumbly cookies sandwiched around a luscious dollop of Dulce de Leche (creamy caramel). I grew up with them and am eager to share them with the US consumer.
We handcraft the Alfajores in our own small baking facility, using only the highest quality ingredients and paying meticulous attention to quality. We are told all the time by our customers that our Alfajores are the best they’ve ever tried… and even the best pastry they’ve ever tried!
In addition to making these by hand ourselves, what may set us apart from other pastries and cookies is that, after much trial and error, we have found the right ratio and balance of flavors and texture. The flavor and textural profile of the crumbly cookie, the covering and the creamy filling all come together in perfect harmony. The fact that they are all filled with the generous layer of creamy dulce de leche caramel doesn’t hurt either!
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Going forward, we would like to establish ourselves as the “go to” brand of Alfajores in the Midwest region through current and new retail partners. As importantly, we are going to try to drive “direct to consumer” sales through our online store where we sell beautiful gift boxes that make wonderful gifts to send to clients, friends and family as well as to yourself!
Eventually, we would like to become the first national brand of Alfajores and be the quality standard… but one step at a time!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.LucilasHomemade.com/
- Phone: 773-354-3830
- Email: lucila@lucilashomemade,com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/LucilasHomemade/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LucilasHomemade/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/LucilasHomemade/
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