Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalia Lima
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I first went vegan in 2011 after watching a documentary and seeing for the first-time images of how my burger was actually made. I cried for an hour and a half and before the movie was over, I was Googling how to become vegan. I loved meat but my love for animals was stronger and I never looked back. The transition was pretty easy but when I first went vegan in 2011 there were no good desserts out there — just really bland, dry cake you could get at Whole Foods. As someone who’s always needed a sweet snack throughout the day, it wasn’t long before I realized that dry cake wasn’t going to do it for me. Since there were no good options, I had to make my own. Mind you, I was never a baker before then. But necessity truly is the mother of invention. I started playing around with recipes I found online and eventually started making my own tweaks until they finally tasted like the real deal. Soon my friends were asking me to bring over the cookies or cakes for parties and non-vegans were commenting on how delicious they were. That’s when I saw the opportunity: If I could get non-vegans to eat vegan just because it tasted good, that’s how I could make a real change in the world. So that is the Curious Cat Bakery’s mission: to change the world one cookie at a time. I make desserts that you want to eat and dream about for days after eating — and they just happen to be vegan. I’m very proud of the fact that about half of my customers aren’t vegan at all. They were introduced to my baked goods through a friend or family member and now they keep coming back because they love how it tastes.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Starting a business is certainly not for the faint of heart but I think because I am so passionate about it and its mission, I’ve just kept going. The biggest struggle was in the early days as I was running the bakery and still had my full-time job as a publicist for an animal protection organization. I was working my full-time job from 8 am to 5 or 6 pm, then baking from 8 pm to midnight and waking up at 3 am to do all the administrative aspects of the bakery before my full-time job started at 8 am. It was crazy and exhausting but it allowed me to build a following and a customer base so I could eventually make the leap and dedicate myself solely to the bakery.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The Curious Cat Bakery makes amazing desserts that just happen to be vegan. The main requirement when I’m working on developing new recipes is that it must taste like the real deal — or better. When I hear from a customer say that they’ve been vegan for a decade and hadn’t had a great cake until now, it makes me smile to know I can solve a problem and make their lives better. I get a lot of that for my croissants as well. So many vegans have been deprived for buttery croissants and when they taste mine the reaction is usually “Are you sure this is vegan???”. It makes me smile every time. I also love when non vegans tell me how much they love my baked goods even if they’re not vegans because that is the mission behind the business. I truly believe that most people want to do the right thing and not cause harm to animals and if they’re given an option that taste just as good or better than the one, they’re used to eating, they will choose the humane option every time. Being based out of St. Petersburg, where local businesses are all about collaboration and supporting each other, has given the bakery the opportunity to get in front of a lot more people as well. I don’t have a store front, everything is made to order, purchased through the website and then picked up or delivered throughout Tampa Bay, but having brick and mortar cafes and restaurants like Book + Bottle in downtown St. Pete and The Green Table in Palm Harbor offering my items is a win for everyone involved. The businesses get options for their vegan customers and the bakery get access to a whole new customer base. Last year I also started shipping cookies nationwide. The other side of the business is educating people on how they too can bake vegan. People find it so daunting at first to bake without any eggs or dairy but the truth is you don’t need any of those things to bake something delicious. I have a YouTube channel where I share weekly recipes and tips and I’ve published 5 eBooks of recipes so far that have been purchased by people around the world and I love when people share pictures of their creations with me saying they never thought they’d be able to bake something on their own, but now they can!
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
The following podcasts helped me immensely when I was first starting out: Goal Digger Podcast (and all the free resources Jenna Kutcher has on her website) Don’t Keep Your Day Job Now my main resources are: Cathrin Manning (YouTube) The Jasmine Star Show (podcast) Sunny Lenarduzzi (YouTube) Books: How to be a badass with money The One Thing Apps: Tailwind for social media posting Flodesk for newsletters
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.curiouscatbakery.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/curiouscatbakery/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/curiouscatbakery
- Youtube: http://youtube.com/curiouscatbakery
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/curious-cat-bakery-st-petersburg
Image Credits
All images belong to Curious Cat Bakery
