Daily Inspiration: Meet Denisha Jones

Today we’d like to introduce you to Denisha Jones

Hi Denisha , so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
The Sweet Peaches origin story starts by happenstance and is sustained by a dream.
After making a peach cobbler for my brother-in-law’s birthday party, I was suddenly
hailed for making the best cobbler in the city on my Facebook feed!
I began fulfilling orders as a pandemic pivot, but soon I realized there was potential to
create a profitable business venture. Sweet Peaches Cobblers is a wholesale, retail, and
direct-to-consumer business featuring a line of frozen cobblers and pie fillings
made from premium ingredients. The ready-to-bake cobblers are reheated in an
aluminum baking pan and ready-to-serve for a sweet finish to any meal or celebration.
I initially made the cobblers at the Enovation Center in Independence, Mo. I could
gradually move product into 660 grocery stores by adding a co-packer. I have
traveled with a national BBQ Festival, supplied concession kiosks at GEHA Field at
Arrowhead, home of the Kansas City Chiefs, with peach cobbler eggrolls, and added a
mobile food trailer to service events and bolster marketing efforts. 

All told, Sweet Peaches Cobblers has sold over 40,000 cobblers in the 4 short
years we’ve been in business.
The current product lineup includes Premium Peach Cobbler and Premium Apple
Cobbler, limited-time offers, and seasonal flavors, including our new lemon blueberry
and blackberry flavors.

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?
Although I have struggled with working capital as a small business owner, I am proud to have received a $10,00 grant from AltCap, which provides fair access to
capital for businesses not served by mainstream institutions, a $25,00 grant
from Kansas City G.I.F.T (Generating Income for Tomorrow) for Black-owned
startup businesses operating in low-income areas to bridge the racial wealth
gap, as well as a $30,000 grant by Hy-Vee’s OpportUNITY Inclusive Business Summit
after winning a pitch competition.
I’ve also been named a 2024 Pipeline Pathfinder, an elite program for
entrepreneurs, where I’ve received mentorship in & and creating the
ecosystem
We are grateful for the support, and it has helped us to move into stores and secure our
first co-packer, a company that will create cobblers to our specifications using our recipe
so we can focus on distribution and marketing.
But, as we try to scale up and add a second co-packer, I have not had luck obtaining a
loan from traditional funding institutions, such as banks or savings and loans.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My name is Denisha Jones. I am a black, woman entrepreneur going after the
American dream. But instead of All-American apple pie, my dream is to gain
nationwide distribution of the nations first frozen cobbler product available
year-round in grocery freezer sections.
I earned an associate degree in psychology and a bachelor’s degree in social psychology
and worked with children and behaviors for 20-plus years until I was laid off during the
Covid-19 pandemic.
I’ve sacrificed my own career at several key points in my career timeline for the best
interests of my children. The first break was for my son, who eventually conquered his
autism and today is a successful college music major. The second was for my daughter,
who was born prematurely, weighing 2 lbs., 7 oz., and is now flourishing as a first-year
college student. We adopted a daughter who is in remission from cancer. Then my
husband, Willie, and I lost our minds and adopted a newborn baby, who we have
fostered since she was 3 days old and is now 7 years old.
I don’t regret my choices, not for one minute, and my children are the reason I’m
pushing to attain generational wealth by scaling up Sweet Peaches Cobblers, LLC.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
I have learned that when there is crisis, there needs to be a financial safety net in place for more middle and lower class families. I was without income for months and was also diagnosed with long Covid and will be having a heart procedure to remove the scaring from when the virus attacked my left ventricle. It’s taught me that generational wealth is more important now more than ever.

Pricing:

• Food Truck Private Booking Fee $250+

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.SweetPeachesCobblers.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweetpeachescobblers/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SweetPeachesCobblers