Meet Amelia and Cristina Leon of No Nut Vegan Sweets

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amelia and Cristina Leon

Hi Amelia and Cristina, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
We are two siblings who established an allergen friendly, vegan desserts company to make food more accessible for those with dietary restrictions. We started off making allergen free, vegan macarons because we were never able to try them since we were allergic to tree nuts. Since then, we have expanded our dessert menu to include recipes from our great grandmother and express our Cuban heritage. We are constantly striving to create products that have never been accessible to people with dietary restrictions. Vanessa, a girl with celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, and many other diseases that prohibits her from having a normal diet, was the one who inspired us to make our products completely allergen free. She had an extremely strict diet, to the point where, for a period of time, all she could consume were juice boxes. She would watch other kids eat brownies, cakes, and pies, but could only eat them with her eyes since they were chock full of things that would make her sick. After hearing her story, we decided to make our sweets completely top 8 allergen free to make them accessible for kids like her who struggle with these diseases. Vanessa was one of the first to try our desserts and when she nearly cried of joy after eating them, we knew we had something special.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has never been an easy road, especially with the fact that we opened right at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. We were forced to solely rely on social media for marketing and promotion. For a while, we also could not sell in person because we did not want to risk the spread of COVID-19, and it was hard to get people to buy our desserts since there was a fear that ordering out would spread the disease. With every business, you have to establish a name, which was challenging during a pandemic. Some weeks we had many orders. Others didn’t have any at all. It’s also hard being a minority owned business to have people support us because some will stay away from our company just based on the mere fact that we’re Latine or an openly queer owned business. That’s why it’s important to support local businesses: to support marginalized people in the community who rely on these businesses for income.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about No Nut Vegan Sweets?
No Nut Vegan Sweets is a dessert company that provides top 8 allergen free, vegan sweets to those who have dietary restrictions. We officially opened in August 2020. We sell Latin desserts like flan, tres leches, arroz con leche, and merenguitos. We also sell baked goods brownies, cake pops, and customizable sugar cookies. Our company is different from others because try to make food more accessible by eliminating common allergens in our desserts. We are one of the few companies that do this while also staying true to our Latin roots. We also focus on sustainability, which means we try our best to minimize the waste our company produces, like providing bamboo spoons rather than plastic. We are most proud of our brand’s ability to change lives. So many of our customers are happy to finally have desserts the whole family can eat.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
The owners names are Cristina and Amelia Leon. Cristina graduated with her Bachelors in Hospitality and Management and is pursuing a Master’s degree in the same field. She was a competitive dancer for five years and has experience working in food and beverage, as well as cruises. For this reason, it seemed fitting for her to open up this business with Amelia in order for her to pursue her passions. Amelia graduated Worlds Ahead with an Honors Biology degree at FIU and will be pursuing a Masters in Epidemiology in the fall. Interestingly enough, Amelia’s background in Biology helps them come up with innovative recipes for the business. With Cristina and Amelia’s diverse backgrounds, they are able to combine their talents and help make No Nut a unique company.

Pricing:

• Flan $5
• Customized Sugar Cookies $4
• Arroz con Leche $3
• Tres Leches $4
• Brownie $2.50

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.nonutvegansweets.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nonutvegansweets/
• Facebook: https://www.Facebook.com/NoNutVeganSweets