Community Highlights: Meet Alyssa Ortiz of Sugar Mama KC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alyssa Ortiz.

Hi Alyssa, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Well for starters, I am the woman behind Sugar Mama KC, a local baking business that specializes in decorated sugar cookies! It is something I am very passionate about doing, but I surprisingly did not even start baking until about 3 years ago. Honestly, if you told me 4-5 years ago that I was going to both own my own business, or even be a baker, I would have laughed in disbelief!

Growing up, I knew nothing about baking. As a kid, I grew up in Derby, KS. I later moved to Manhattan, KS, for college and went to school for an art major with a concentration in graphic design. While I was there, I got a job as a graphic designer at an athletic apparel company, now known as Champion Teamwear. I had worked a few different jobs previously in high school and college, but this was my first real design job and loved it. Mind you, by this time, I still had never learned how to bake!

After my boyfriend (Gus) and I had finished up at Kansas State University, we knew Kansas City was our next adventure. We found ourselves coming this way for all sorts of things like shopping, concerts, shows, all things entertainment. We eventually fell in love with KC and moved out here as soon as we could!

We moved to KCMO in April 2018, but it did come with some hurdles. The main one being that I worked the opposite schedule of my significant other. So needless to say: there were many afternoons I spent at home with our puppy, trying to find something on TV to watch that was not a show we were watching together. This led to me watching a ton of cooking and baking shows. I started falling in love with all the beautifully decorated desserts until I finally thought, “I HAVE to try this!”

Through baking shows and the internet, I taught myself how to bake from scratch and decorate. The first thing I ever decorated was a unicorn cake. After that, I started dabbling with royal icing on sugar cookies for Christmas time and fell in love! This was something I instantly connect with. I had a knack for it. And for someone who always loved arts and crafts, this filled my need for a creative outlet.

I started posting my work on my personal accounts, and quickly after, I had many friends encouraging me to look into selling my work. In July of 2019, Sugar Mama KC was born! I am proud of the work I do and how far I have already come. But I am not stopping here! I plan to keep pushing and seeing how far I can go with both my skills and my business. I currently am still working as a graphic designer while running my business but have goals to expand my business more in the future.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Yes and no! I think the main challenges have mostly been with my location and time constraints. I currently can only do business inside the state of Missouri and I have another full-time job I do during the day. If, and when, we move to another part of the city, I may look in to getting licensed in Kansas so that I can do pop-up shops and decorating classes on both sides of the city. My current goal is to expand my business more in the future, so these will be just a few of the things I look into while doing so.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Sugar Mama KC is currently an at-home bakery in South KCMO. I specialize in decorated sugar cookies with royal icing, but I occasionally dabble in other baked goods. I do pride myself on the home-baked bite that I provide. I have been told by many customers that usually they do not expect for pretty cookies to also be as tasty as mine. Hearing things like that always makes me so happy! If you like homemade anything, I believe you will enjoy my cookies. But we all have different preferences when it comes to flavors, right!? So, I’ll let you all be the taste testers and decide for yourselves.

I am most proud of the detailing skills and baking techniques I have learned over a few short years. If you go back through my cookie photos from a few years ago, you will see how much I’ve grown as a cookie artist and as a business. It is with this kind of effort and attention to detail that I plan to continue to always use in order to put my best foot forward and ensure you receive a quality product. Every single order I work on is handled with lots of focus, care, and love. I do everything I can to ensure I am giving you exactly what you are requesting while also going above and beyond so that you have the coolest, tastiest sweets around!

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Customer satisfaction, of course! Without satisfied customers, it is hard to run a successful business. I think it is always important for any business, big or small, to stay current with any trends in their line of work. There is a lot that goes into that: from the actual products being made to how you advertise and promote your business. And making my customers excited and happy is my top priority. I love connecting with people and figuring out how to make all their cookie dreams become a reality! Bringing people’s ideas to life is the most fun and rewarding part of what I do! This is best achieved with clear communication and full transparency with all my customers. If I connect with my customers and provide them with something they love, then I will always feel like I am doing my job right!

Pricing:

• Custom DIY Sugar Cookie Kits: $20-30
• Plain/Sprinkle Sugar Cookies: $25-26/dozen
• Patterned Sugar Cookies: $27-28/dozen
• Custom Decorated Sugar Cookies: $35-65/dozen
• “Favorite Things” Decorated Sugar Cookies: $48-65/dozen
• Hot Cocoa Bombs: $5-8/bomb

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sugarmama_kc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SugarMamaKC

Image Credits
All photo credits are from myself, Alyssa Ortiz.