What was your greatest inspiration/motivation to start Confections by Kee?
My grandmother is the inspiration behind the Confections by Kee brand. As a child, I would stay with my grandmother every summer and whenever she was in the kitchen I was right beside her. I would always ask if I could help her with whatever recipe she was making at that moment and she always allowed me to do so. Once I reached an age to where she felt I was old enough to use the oven, I started doing a lot more baking and developed a new profound love for it. Baking was always one of my favorite pastimes, but I never thought about turning it into a career. I definitely have her to thank for every opportunity I’ve been given so far because had it not been for her being patient with me in the kitchen and giving me the opportunity to learn hands-on, I don’t think Confections by Kee would exist!
What is the overall vision of Confections by Kee?
The overall vision I have for my business is to continuously pursue innovative products and techniques, develop new recipes and flavors, and engage with consumers in order to satisfy their taste buds one confection at a time!
The biggest challenge I faced was making sure that my brand was as distinctive as possible. Coming up with a name for my business was a little difficult because I didn’t want to focus on one specific dessert type and I wanted the name to embody what I would be catering to. “Confections” is a generic term for sweets so I thought it would be the perfect name because it doesn’t put a limit on what I can do because I do it all (lol) and “Kee” is just a nickname I’ve had since I was little. Once I came up with a name, I had to decide on an actual logo, fonts, colors, who my target market was going to be, flavors, packaging, pricing, website development and the list goes on. It definitely takes a lot of trial and error, time, patience, and passion when it comes to starting a business, but I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way.
What tips do you have for your consumers that may desire to launch a business of their own?
The most important tip I have is if you have a favorite hobby that you absolutely love and can’t see yourself not doing it again, take that same passion you have and pursue it as a career. There are tons of people who may have the same passion as you, but everyone has their own unique way of doing it. You have to determine what it is that you will be striving towards and focusing on not letting the competition deter you from succeeding. Ultimately, you just have to stay grounded and true to what your passion is and you can achieve anything!
My future plans for Confections by Kee are to continue building my brand and catering to Charlotte and surrounding areas. I would also love to have a storefront location that would be here in the heart of the Queen City with the possibility of expansion. I’m really anxious to see what the future holds for Confections by Kee because I’ve received a tremendous amount of support this year from either loved ones or just people who stumble across my Instagram feed. All in all, I’m extremely blessed to have even been able to make it this far!
