Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelli Watts.
Kelli taught herself how to bake French macarons and then went on to develop her own proprietary recipes. Born to a French mother, Kelli always had an interest in French culture, even though she grew up in West Texas. After earning a degree in design, she moved to NYC where she first discovered macarons. Upon moving back to Texas, she decided to teach herself how to make them in her apartment, and after much practice, she mastered the art. After sharing her macarons with friends and family, she began getting regular orders, which led to her quitting her job and creating her own company, Savor Pâtisserie. Savor opened its first brick-and-mortar location in January of 2016. In 2017, 3 more locations were opened to make a total of 4 locations today.
Great, 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?
It has not been a smooth road. With no formal business training, I’ve been learning how to handle each part of this business as I come to it. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t learn something new. It has definitely been the hardest two years of my life, but it’s amazing to see how far Savor has come, but there is still a long way to go!
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Savor Pâtisserie – what should we know?
At Savor, we specialize in traditional, French macarons designed for the modern world. Our macarons are distinctly different for a few reasons. First, they are all decorated. Each macaron has a sprinkle, drizzle, sugar bee, etc. on top to make it as beautiful and adorable as possible. Second, our macarons are larger than traditional macarons and our competitors’. Third, our macarons have bold, distinct flavors. Sometimes you’ll get another macaron (from another bakery) and the flavor is somewhat ambiguous…not ours! Both the shells and filling of our macarons are flavored, which means there’s no question what flavor you’re biting into each time.
Also, as a business, another thing that sets us apart is the aesthetic of the brand. Most patisseries and bakeries are very feminine and girly and usually use pastel colors. Not us. Everything at Savor is black and white, except for the macarons, which allow them to really pop.
We also teach macaron baking classes. Two years ago when we started teaching classes, this was a new concept for bakeries. Now, most of our competitors teach classes too, but we were the original macaron baking classes in Dallas. This is something I’m very proud of because two years ago, people thought I was crazy for offering to teach people how to make what I was selling and I got a lot of criticism for my classes. But, as it turns out, it has only helped, not hurt, the business and other companies saw how successful it was and started teaching their own classes as well. People are fascinated with macarons and want to come to the classes for the experience and the pictures for Instagram.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I think the quality that has been most important to my success is my perseverance. I rarely accept no for no. To me, every problem has a solution, you just have to find it and be willing to work hard looking for it. Savor is my first business, so basically everything had been a learning experience, and if I had quit at the first sign of struggle, we wouldn’t be here today.
Pricing:
- Box of 5 – $12
- Box of 10 – $24
- Box of 15 – $36
- Box of 20 – $48
- Box of 25 – $60
- Baking Class Ticket – $65
Contact Info:
- Address: 9440 Garland Road, #142 Dallas, TX 75218 (Casa Linda Plaza Shop)
2222 McKinney Ave., #230 Dallas, TX 75201 (Uptown Plaza Shop) - Website: www.savorpatisserie.com
- Phone: 972-913-4900
- Email: info@savorpatisserie.com
- Instagram: @savorpatisserie
- Facebook: @savorcasalinda
- Twitter: @savorpatisserie
Image Credit:
Kathy Tran and Andy Luten
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