Making Their Own Success
Sisters are doing it for themselves these days. Lured by a more flexible workplace than the kinds of jobs their college degrees could secure them in the corporate world, single women and mothers from Atlanta and beyond are stepping into the world of food entrepreneurship.
But the road to the kind of profit margins most yearn for is paved with lots of caveats; there’s more to making a killing —- or even a living —- at entrepreneurship than having a great cookie recipe.Leni Altoe and Leide Barros met through a friend at lunch, but it wasn’t until Barros tried Altoe’s pao de quejo (cheese bread) at a baby shower that the two Brazilian moms got the idea to market their delectably chewy cheese rolls.
They rented a kitchen in Lawrenceville three years ago to test the product; now they sell their rolls to Fire of Brazil, an area Brazilian churrascarria restaurant chain, and Whole Foods.
Driven and tenacious, they have literally gone door to door to sell their product, and they spend lots of time behind booths at Whole Foods to introduce the public to a delicacy that in Brazil is as popular as coffee.
A favorite Brazilian breakfast and snack item, the rolls are made with manioc flour, which means they are gluten-free. Plus, they are all-natural and use no leavening agents. These ladies learned early on to push these marketable traits to the public, and it worked. Made with a blend of Parmesan, Pecorino and Romano, the rolls are sold frozen, popped in the oven and 20 minutes later come out gooey hot and deliciously tangy and soft.
Sweet Oven does not yet have its own storefront, and since the rolls are sold frozen, Altoe and Barros don’t ship (yet). “But we’re thinking about it,” Altoe said.
Logo from Sweet Oven.
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