02/18/2023
It is with heavy heart that we announce that after fourteen years of amazing vegan marshmallows treats, Sweet & Sara will be closing operations next month. I’m heartbroken and still trying to process this painful decision we made this morning but based on several factors I know it’s the right thing to do. 1) Our lease is up end of next month and the rent increase is more than we can afford. Relocating is a lengthy and costly process and not an option for us. 2) Our two longest standing employees (10+ years), coincidentally, are retiring end of the year. We’re a small team so losing these indispensable workers hits us hard. 3) I became very sick a few months ago and although I am better now, my body can no longer handle 90 hour work weeks. 4) The most frustrating part. The demand for our products keeps growing, our PO’s keep getting larger, we have to constantly turn down working with large companies because we simply cannot meet the volumes. Our biggest challenge has been that our products are extremely labor intensive and we can only produce so much in a day. With our national and international distribution, manufacturing such labor intensive products and being sold through distributors, makes it difficult to be a viable business.
Sweet & Sara started in 2003 in my mother’s kitchen. I was a girl with a dream, to share with the world the most incredible marshmallows made without using animal ingredients. My folks gave me their life savings to build a small commercial kitchen. As soon as we occupied the space we found out the plant based gelatin we were using was actually animal based, the manufacturer duped us. I was told by every food scientist that vegan marshmallows didn’t exist for a reason, that it was impossible to formulate. After ten months and over a hundred trials, the rest is history. We pioneered a product - vegan marshmallows – we were told could not be done. My mission was to get our products as accessible as possible, to be a recognized and established brand, and it happened. S&S is sold all over the US, in several countries, from mom & pop shops to chain stores, featured in mainstream media, all without a sales or PR team.
I have never worked so hard in my life, I have never been so passionate about something. Blood, sweat, tears, my family and I put everything into this business and we ran this company with love and integrity. Despite all the challenges we faced, I will always look back, and remember fondly, why I took on this endeavor. I loved marshmallows, I loved animals, I wanted to make a difference in the world. There is no one that creates a product like ours and my heart hurts imagining a world without our marshmallows. What the future holds, I don’t know. I’m a caregiver, the breadwinner to three of the most important people in my life so there’s not much time to grieve. My only regret is never being able to fulfill my dream to take my parents to Korea but I am still hopeful that one day it will happen.
So much gratitude to so many people. To my staff, I have never met such hardworking, positive, loyal people. To my landlord, neighbor JT, UPS and mail carriers, you have gone above and beyond to help us grow. To my friends, I am the luckiest gal to be surrounded by you. To my aunts, uncles, cousins, I am blessed to have you in my life. To our customers, thank you all for your trust, love, loyalty, encouragement and support over these last fourteen years. This journey has been life changing. Lastly, to my parents and sister, you are my everything and the reason I wake up every day. Uhmma and Ahbba, you are the joy in my soul, the love of my life, my today, my tomorrow, my forever.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. We love you and will miss you more than you will ever know.
