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Encore originally aired, in May 2020.
Kara Romanik is the Founder of Mamie's Pies. Mamie's is Kara's passion which has now turned into a large-scale operation. She graduated from Bentley University with a degree in Economics and Finance which has helped her in the food business.
Kara has appeared on QVC 46 times and their cherry on top flavor was named as one of Oprah's favorites. It is with the combined efforts of Kara's family and her Mamie's family that this dream has now become a reality. Her ultimate vision is to bring the homemade taste of New England pies into every home. Today, Mamie's Pies have sold over 1 million pocket pies.
Kara Romanik shares how she got started making pies and how it led to her starting her business
Kara talks about how she started selling pocket pies and how she transitioned her packaging and pricing with her retailers
How Mamie’s Pie was discovered by Oprah’s team, QVC, and Safeway, and which one led the business to ecommerce
What it takes to appear on QVC and the volume of product required beforehand
Kara discusses how she found a co-packer for her frozen unbaked pastry products
The benefits of selling through e-commerce versus retail
How Kara comes up with new flavors and the lessons she learned in the process of growing her business
Things to consider when searching for a distributor and retailer in order to expand your business
The biggest challenge Kara had in growing her business
Kara reveals her future plans for Mamie’s pies and about her decision to use equity crowdfunding to raise funds
Kara's advice to fellow entrepreneurs on building great relationships with their customers
When Kara Romanik offered to help raise funds for her daughter’s school dance by making and selling her English-style pies, she did not know that she was about to embark on a massive business undertaking. That first batch of 120 pies was a great success and because she wanted to venture into something new, this provided the perfect idea and opportunity for her.
Being a lady who follows her gut instinct and listens to her customers, Kara started researching about the possibility of producing pocket pies. These turned out to be a great hit that she found herself appearing on QVC numerous times and having her cherry flavor listed as Oprah’s favorite.
In this episode, host G. Steven Cleere is joined by Kara Romanik where they talk about Kara’s entrepreneurship journey and how it got to where it is today. Learn more about how Mamie’s Pies started, how her brand was spotted by Oprah’s team, QVC, and Safeway, the challenges and lessons she went through while growing and expanding her business, and she also explains how relationships play a crucial role in the success of any business. Stay tuned.
Our podcast today is sponsored by Kitchen2Shelf, the educational arm of NexxtLevel Brands. Kitchen-2-Shelf provides online and in-person courses and workshops for CPG entrepreneurs at any stage of growth.
Whether you're an early-stage startup, a local growing business, or if you want to just expand your distribution to a national level, Kitchen-2-Shelf can help you learn what you need to know to grow.
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