We had the good fortune of connecting with Ebony Ingram and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Ebony, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
After going vegan, I immediately began to recognize the difference in my body, skin, energy and overall clarity of mind. Because this was nine years ago, the only dessert options available were not to be desired. So I began creating recipes from scratch and testing them on my family and friends. I never introduced them as “vegan desserts” everyone loved them and no one knew the difference. Over the years, I was encouraged to begin selling my baked goods, and when Covid hit, it just made sense. My husband and I began Ebony’s Premium Vegan Bakery and the sales sky-rocketed! It’s been one of the best decisions and scariest decisions to make! We specialize in donuts, stuffed cookies, cake jars, custom cakes, stuffed cupcakes, muffins, fresh breads, brownies and much more. We also offer our delicious treats, gluten free and sugar free. After losing well over 120+ pounds since going vegan, and serving people with our vegan treats daily, we knew we were on the right path towards continued greatness. We are forever thankful to God for this blessing!
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As a new vegan baker, I am still considered very niche. While veganism has become much more popular throughout the years, there is still a great level of education that customers need when seeking vegan and gluten free baked goods versus traditional desserts. As the only vegan in my immediate family and friends group, I’ve learned it’s okay to be the first one to do something. I’ve also learned that when you let your passion lead, others will naturally gravitate to what you produce. What sets us apart is having non vegans taste everything that we bake. I never want our food to be delicious for vegan food, but delicious in general. I take all suggestions from my non vegan network in making sure our food tastes delicious. I want others to know that it is perfectly okay to take a leap of faith and bet on yourself. As you take one step, the rest of the steps will become clear. But if you never take the first step, you will never know the level of success that lies ahead. So take the leap!
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I always enjoy showing off the many vegan spots in south Florida. We would take a tour to the following places L’Artisane Bakery, So Be Vegan, Cinnaholic, Vegan Parlour Bakery, Dina’s Vegan Deli & Desserts, Vegan On The Go and of course Ebony’s Premium Vegan Bakery
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Honestly, all female entrepreneurs are my encouragement. I gain courage from seeing others branch out from the normal corporate hustle to take a bet on themselves, or doing something even more courageous, such as both corporate and entrepreneurial work simultaneously. I have been in the hospitality industry for the last 15 years and only decided to open my bakery in 2022. Throughout the last 15 years, I have been learning and training everyday, on how to have continuous improvement towards serving others. This has made the transition easier but certainly not hassle free. We are a Christian based bakery, so we believe that no success happens without God allowing us the opportunity to be all that we have become, in such a short amount of time. While we love what we do, we never make this more important than our relationship with God, which I believe is the key to success.
Website: www.ebonysveganbakery.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ebonyspremiumveganbakery/
Facebook: Ebony Ingram
Yelp: Ebony’s Premium Vegan Bakery
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Image Credits
All Photos Belong to Ebony’s Premium Vegan Bakery solely.