Dessert Shop Made with Love - Pandoughra's Box

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Soumini Agate, founder of Pandoughra's Box, located in Toronto, ON, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

We are a female-owned and operated dessert business that specializes in jumbo stuffed cookies, ready-to-eat vegan cookie dough, and small-batch artisanal ice creams (both regular ice creams as well as alcohol-infused ice creams). We try to cater to all audiences from different age groups and dessert preferences (college kids, families, individuals with a sweet tooth, and so on). This way, we can have a little something sweet for everyone.

Tell us about yourself

I graduated with a degree in culinary arts from the Culinary Institute of America in New York but have always been passionate about baking and desserts. I started baking when I was ten years old and had since then loved learning more about desserts from around the world. After the pandemic hit, I lost my restaurant job, which motivated me to finally turn my love for desserts into an actual business and share that love with everyone.

What I have earned through this business is the love and support of all my customers, who truly inspire me to keep me going every day. When someone takes the time to reach out and let me know that my product puts a smile on their face, it truly warms my heart.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I feel creating this community of customers who love and support our brand and feel safe and comfortable continually trusting our brand, especially in these difficult times, is truly an achievement. Going from a freshly started brand that nobody knew about to being recognized and having people tell me that they've heard about us before is definitely an achievement.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

There are always hardships that come with being a business owner. One of them is to be able to make time for yourself. That definitely gets difficult sometimes since there's always some work to be done. Another thing that gets difficult sometimes is finding inspiration and being able to create new flavours all the time. It's harder than it looks ;-)

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

There are for sure some tips I'd love to share with people so that they don't make the same mistakes I made:
Tip 1: Always do your research before you start a business. Having a business idea is great, but you always have to make sure that there is a market/demographic for it. It is a viable business idea that you can support physically, mentally, and financially even through difficult times.
Tip 2: Don't rush into things. Take your time and take the necessary steps to grow slowly. Don't bite off more than you can chew, even though sometimes a tempting offer might present itself.
Tip 3: Patience is the name of the game. Sometimes you might feel you're doing everything right, but things aren't going as quickly as you want them to. Good things take time; great things take even longer. You have to have the patience to stick it out through the slow/rough times so that you can truly enjoy the success!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://pandoughrasbox.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pandoughrasbox/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pandoughrasbox/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.