Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Caldwell.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jessica. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up in a house full of culinary talent. Several of my uncles and my older brother are chefs in New England. My grandmother, Marilyn Perrier, used to be a cake decorator and home baker and taught me everything I know. So you could say food runs in my blood.
Caldwell Confections had a humble beginning with just a few special order pies for the holidays and hosting brunches at a local microbrewery. By June of 2018, we had started making pretzels under the Fat Boyfriend Bakery brand and realized that there was a major need for craft snacks in this industry – both sweet and savory.Thus, our plan started to crystallize.
Today, we work with 16 local, craft breweries and distilleries providing them with handmade pretzels, pies and other snacks. I believe that the people who work hard to provide a craft beer, cider or cocktail should have craft food that is made with just as much love, effort and attention to detail. This is why we position ourselves as craft food for the craft industry.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Is starting a business ever smooth? I think there were two big roadblocks we didn’t anticipate. The first being our (MASS’S) antiquated permitting and governmental regulations. When you look at the food industry in the last five years, there has been a massive shift away from your typical brick and mortar to a more mobile food methodology. There is a major eco-system of vendors that utilize the craft industry to showcase their foods but do not have the capital to purchase their own space. The major issue becomes that those entities that would normally need to purchase one permit for their brick and mortar are now saddled with the need to purchase multiple permits for every city or town they work in.
No surprise here, but every business has a struggle with money… for the most part. I bootstrapped our entity, starting with just $500. My husband and I weren’t able to go full time until September 2018 and now we work 10-16 hours a day, and there is still not enough time to get everything done! There is also a fear and constant anxiety in starting your own business. However, I don’t think I could go back to a 9-5 office job. Even with our hectic overnight baking (6 pm – 4 am) and ever growing pop up schedule, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Fat Boyfriend Bakery/Caldwell Confections – what should we know?
I own two brands currently: Caldwell Confections and Fat Boyfriend Bakery. Caldwell Confections is our dessert brand (pies, chocolates, cakes, etc.) and Fat Boyfriend Bakery is our savory snacks and soft pretzel brand. We are a wholesale producer and distributor of craft snacks, selling directly into the craft industry. Our two biggest products right now are our OG (original) soft pretzel and our beer cheese, made with local, craft porter. We also operate full service pop ups inside our brewery and distillery partner locations, selling cooked-to-order products like pretzel melts, pretzel dogs and so much more than what goes out to wholesale. Plus, we cater!
What sets us apart is not only our love of high quality, handmade and local, but our vision of growth. We want to continue to expand to become an incubator for the local pop up ecosystem by working with other local brands to distribute their products into the breweries and distilleries we work with. We don’t just make quality handmade craft products, we strive to highlight other local vendors and give them the ability to utilize our network as well. Local supporting local. #bakeittilyoumakeit
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
We are a two person shop, the definition of ‘Mom and Pop’. So, the obvious name here is the ‘Pop’ to my ‘Mom’, my husband, Josh Caldwell. With a robust background in food & beverage, working all front of house positions and managing restaurants on Newbury Street, combined with many years in the tech sales industry, Josh was a natural fit as our VP of Sales and the face of our business. When we adopted the pretzel concept in June 2018,we were in just two accounts. To-date, we work with 16 accounts with six more set to launch within the next few months. If you go into your local brewery and see our brands there to enjoy, you can bet he was the reason.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.caldwellbrands.
com - Phone: 617-230-4647
- Email: info@caldwellbrands.com
- Instagram: https://www.
instagram.com/ fatboyfriendbakery/ - Facebook: https://www.
facebook.com/ FatBoyfriendBakery - Other: https://www.facebook.com/CaldwellConfections/
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