Business Opportunities Weblog

February 22, 2007 by Rich Whittle | 0 Comments

Unusual Business Ideas That Work:

An observer might say Ellie Genuardi and Rená Puebla act a lot like a married couple. Having known each other for years, they even finish each other’s sentences and bicker playfully.

In 2004, this pair of longtime friends and business associates said “I do� to a marriage-related business: Puebla and Genuardi wed their entrepreneurial ideas to form Renellie International.

Renellie is a line of elegantly handcrafted, multiethnic wedding cake figurines. Made out of polyresin stone, the interchangeable brides and grooms are offered in Asian, black, Hispanic and white versions.

“There are so many interracial marriages,� says Gen-uardi. “We felt there was a definite need for this type of product.�

“When I got married the first time, I had two white people on my cake,â€? says Puebla. “No one had choices.â€? It was Puebla’s second marriage–to an Asian man–that inspired Renellie’s mix-and-match cake toppers.

Puebla and her husband, Ron, are one of more than 2 million interracial couples in the U.S. That growing market, combined with a $72 billion-per-year wedding industry, provides an endless customer base for Renellie, which projects 2007 sales of $400,000.

Photo by Renellie International.

In Ecommerce, Niche, Sales | 0 Comments