Latest / The Realtor Who Wines / Viral S’mores, Big Flavor & Building a Dessert Brand That Stands Out

Transcript

Viral S’mores, Big Flavor & Building a Dessert Brand That Stands Out · The Realtor Who Wines

• 0:00
  Welcome to the Realtor Who Wines podcast.
• 0:02
  I'm Rashelle Newmeyer, your hostest with the mostes, a student of life, a connector, a passionate wine enthusiast, and your local favorite guide.
• 0:10
  Join me as we explore the vibrant Pacific Northwest.
• 0:14
  Savor the finest wines and champion the spirit of entrepreneurship.
• 0:18
  Each episode, I'll sit down with inspiring guests, supporting business ownership and uncovering the stories that make this community unique.
• 0:25
  So grab a glass of wine, settle in, and let's embark on a journey of discovery and connection together.
• 0:30
  Cheers.
• 0:58
  Thank you so much for having me at your location today.
• 1:02
  I can't wait to introduce you to everybody and all of your tasty goodness.
• 1:06
  Will you please introduce yourself to everyone? Yes.
• 1:09
  Good morning. We should.
• 1:11
  It doesn't matter.
• 1:11
  You can say good morning.
• 1:13
  Good evening. Good afternoon.
• 1:14
  It's podcast, so they'll listen whenever. That's fair.
• 1:17
  My name is Rodrigo.
• 1:19
  Or some folks call me Marsh.
• 1:21
  Love it.
• 1:22
  And my name is Freddie.
• 1:24
  Or also know as Mellow Mallow.
• 1:27
  Oh, my gosh, I love that so.
• 1:28
  I'm Rachel, and a lot of people call me rash because my name is spelled rash, and I have lots of jokes around that.
• 1:33
  Like, once you have me, there's no ointment.
• 1:36
  Like, you can't get rid of me. Things like that.
• 1:38
  I know some people are like, oh, and others are like like, I, I dig it, I dig it.
• 1:42
  It's a kind of friendship. I need my own.
• 1:45
  So he calls me harsh Marsh because I'm, like, doing all the numbers and the catering and things.
• 1:51
  And then he's the mellow Mallow because he just goes and gets motivated and find some cool flavor combinations for the flavor combination.
• 2:00
  Introduce marshmallow to everyone.
• 2:02
  Like, what is your business and what do you offer?
• 2:04
  Absolutely.
• 2:05
  So we are a gluten free gourmet s'mores company here in Portland, and we come on site where you come to us and we roast s'mores to order for you and your guests.
• 2:16
  Delicious. Mars.
• 2:18
  We are gluten free and everything that we do.
• 2:20
  And then I myself am a shepherd agrees.
• 2:22
  So I play around with a lot of like, flavor profiles.
• 2:25
  I pair like unusual things together, and I like to present them to see people's live reactions and what their take is on like, certain combinations.
• 2:35
  Awesome. Well, cheers.
• 2:37
  Thank you for having me.
• 2:37
  Thanks for having me.
• 2:39
  We're having us dessert wine today with my dessert guys.
• 2:46
  See, I like that one.
• 2:47
  It is a good one.
• 2:48
  If you are not a big wine drinker, that's great.
• 2:51
  Go to wine.
• 2:52
  And it is good for desserts.
• 2:55
  Or like with dinner, kind of a thing.
• 2:57
  We are in downtown Portland.
• 2:59
  Yes. Talk a little bit about this location and like, what made you want to choose to be down in this area?
• 3:06
  So Bunny Nephew was presented to us upon October of last year, like, right after our wedding.
• 3:13
  Oh, okay.
• 3:14
  And they were just they asked us if we would be interested in coming into this space that was available for two weeks, and we just, like, just like a pop up.
• 3:21
  Yeah, just as a temporary pop up.
• 3:23
  And we we thought it'd be really cool to just take on this opportunity and let us take it on as a learning, learning opportunity to see what it took to run a shop, at least for two weeks and see what we thought of it. Yeah.
• 3:34
  And if it was for you? Absolutely.
• 3:36
  Initially, our thought process was like, absolutely not.
• 3:38
  We're not doing it.
• 3:40
  You want us to be somewhere every day for some amount of time, and after experiencing the last brick and mortar, which we can at some point dive into.
• 3:47
  We were like, this is not the life.
• 3:49
  Yeah, yeah.
• 3:50
  We we really just going from going and finding our clients and going to their places or like wineries to go and chat with them in person to being stationed in one spot has been definitely a game changer and learning curve, but also in a good way.
• 4:04
  We're learning what it's like to run a shop and what we can do to promote ourselves and like really driving like business and how we can show off our skill set here.
• 4:14
  Absolutely.
• 4:14
  And just like really see people's reactions to it's just been the best.
• 4:17
  Like we get a lot of returning customers, which we wouldn't have experienced as just catering ourselves.
• 4:22
  And it's it's so true. Yeah.
• 4:24
  It's just really nice seeing people like, love what we do.
• 4:27
  Yeah.
• 4:28
  And I honestly, for me, like, it's so nice not having I love our clients but not having to drive to their houses.
• 4:34
  I mean, out in Gresham or, you know, in Hillsboro, like taking all the stuff with you.
• 4:38
  Yeah. Like, here you have your full kitchen here.
• 4:41
  Exactly. Yes. Everything.
• 4:43
  And this space director Park is such a beautiful park here in Portland in the summer.
• 4:48
  It's got a water feature, which is amazing.
• 4:49
  And the winter, they do this so they village.
• 4:52
  And it's always.
• 4:52
  There's always something happening.
• 4:54
  And so with us, we get this beautiful glass building.
• 4:57
  So you can see the chess boards.
• 4:59
  You've got all the beautiful nature, all that, you know, natural lighting.
• 5:03
  And then on weekends we put campfires out like little fire pits and like, we'll bring goats in, which is really fun.
• 5:10
  You know, so it's just already, like, a kid friendly place.
• 5:12
  And we just get to add to the vibe and, you know, keep it, keep it going.
• 5:16
  Well, and it's very walkable.
• 5:18
  For those of you that don't know this downtown area very well.
• 5:21
  It's right by Pioneer Courthouse Square.
• 5:23
  So there's tons of parking in the area.
• 5:25
  Lots of other things to go walk and do.
• 5:26
  So you could pop in here, have a little sweet treat and then like run over to Nordstrom's or run down the street to dinner, things like that. Yeah.
• 5:33
  And we've got two Mac stops right next to us, which is fantastic.
• 5:36
  Yeah.
• 5:37
  And we're open late.
• 5:38
  So right now we're open from noon to 10:30 p.m.. So, you know, if you're out and there's not a ton like Portland is a sleepy town, let's be honest.
• 5:46
  So there's not a ton of late night things.
• 5:46
  Yeah.
• 5:49
  Thank you for staying openly for people like us.
• 5:53
  But we get to be that late night dessert spot for folks.
• 5:56
  Yeah, which is cool, because the theaters are just on the street to, like, Broadway and all that stuff.
• 6:00
  So people can pop in here after they go see a show.
• 6:02
  Absolutely.
• 6:03
  That's really cool. What?
• 6:05
  So you said this has been a learning opportunity.
• 6:07
  What are some things that have surprised you in a positive or negative way about having a brick and mortar?
• 6:13
  So a cool thing that we do is we try to experiment a lot with our flavors, like marshmallow flavors.
• 6:21
  Being catering, it's very hard to try to experiment and try to get, you know, a a really good flow of actually consistent people who can come and try this new marshmallow with us.
• 6:31
  So having this brick and mortar, like trying out these new flavors with people, seeing all the live reactions, like we just recently came up with a buttered popcorn and a butter beer marshmallow.
• 6:41
  Oh, fine.
• 6:42
  And, you know, like, it's in a good way.
• 6:45
  Like, we get a lot of, like, you know, I don't know if I would have made that into my life.
• 6:49
  And I don't know if it should be a marshmallow.
• 6:50
  And that's that's the kind of feedback I really enjoy and, like, actually take, take to mine just because it's I want to know what people's opinions are.
• 6:59
  Yeah.
• 6:59
  Last time I was here, you gave us a marshmallow, and you didn't tell us the flavor.
• 7:03
  And I loved doing.
• 7:05
  Well, I want to, which is a good test to see.
• 7:08
  Like, does it taste the way you intended?
• 7:10
  So he was like, what do you think this tastes like?
• 7:11
  So it was kind of fun.
• 7:12
  And then we were all like guessing and trying to be, like sophisticated about it.
• 7:15
  The popcorn one is. Did you try that one I don't think.
• 7:18
  Okay.
• 7:19
  Yeah, that one is wild because it is literally a popcorn maestro.
• 7:22
  Like it smells like we went over to the Regal and got a bag of popcorn, and it smells just like popcorn.
• 7:29
  Like if you were blindfolded, I don't think you could tell the difference.
• 7:32
  And it's like, is this good?
• 7:34
  I don't I don't know it with chocolate.
• 7:37
  So I have been recently testing some things out, like I've done cinnamon butter and like little cinnamon sugar.
• 7:43
  Sprinkle on there.
• 7:44
  Yeah I've done like a white chocolate and like a caramel drizzle I've done like sea salt with chocolate on there. Yeah.
• 7:50
  One of my favorite things to do with popcorn is with meltdowns. So my popcorn.
• 7:55
  So that's I was like chocolate caramel all of those things.
• 7:57
  We have a pizza s'more which is my absolute favorite s'more.
• 8:00
  And I love because we have this space of getting to show it off people.
• 8:04
  And our last taste kitchen, a group did the popcorn marshmallow.
• 8:07
  I usually do vanilla, but they did the popcorn marshmallow on the pizza S'more, which I don't know.
• 8:12
  Did they like it?
• 8:13
  It was your group?
• 8:13
  Oh yes. It was a fan favorite by far.
• 8:15
  Really interesting.
• 8:17
  I wouldn't have guessed, right? What?
• 8:19
  So for those that are listening, I don't know what else is on a pizza.
• 8:23
  Some more? Yeah. So it's pizza sauce.
• 8:25
  Of course. The graham cracker.
• 8:27
  I get asked a lot of times for my personal opinion, and I don't know if anyone's asked you, so I love to hear.
• 8:31
  But for me, what makes us more as it has to have a marshmallow?
• 8:34
  Everything else is fair game, but it has to have marshmallows.
• 8:38
  And so it's a graham cracker pizza sauce.
• 8:39
  Two pepperoni slices.
• 8:41
  We torch the pepperoni slices, add some cheese, melt that a little bit, and then vanilla marshmallows.
• 8:46
  I'm getting so hungry.
• 8:47
  So my heart take on this more is it has to look like a more.
• 8:51
  Oh okay.
• 8:51
  Okay I could replace the marshmallow easily for like, a cube of cheese.
• 8:55
  Okay.
• 8:56
  And do like a hot honey and pepperoni slices.
• 8:59
  And then do like a black pepper graham or something along those lines.
• 9:02
  Yeah.
• 9:03
  If it looks like it's more and it quacks like it's more than it must be.
• 9:06
  It's more. Right. Right.
• 9:07
  So mine is much more than yours looks.
• 9:09
  We've never had this conversation before.
• 9:10
  So this is this is breaking news.
• 9:10
  I know. Well, and it's funny.
• 9:13
  How have you not had this conversation before?
• 9:15
  I don't know, like when you guys get home, do you just, like, turn it off.
• 9:18
  You're like, don't talk to me about s'mores.
• 9:19
  I don't want to know more.
• 9:19
  Just talk to me about being my husband.
• 9:22
  You talk about everything and everything else like it's a hot dog, a sandwich, or is it a hot dog, a hot dog?
• 9:31
  Yeah. What did we ask?
• 9:33
  I don't know.
• 9:34
  I don't remember.
• 9:35
  Yeah, but it's like there's like a debate.
• 9:37
  It's a hot dog, a sandwich.
• 9:37
  Or is it more like a burger? Right?
• 9:39
  Cause it's between buns.
• 9:41
  What makes a sandwich a sandwich?
• 9:43
  I mean, I've heard someone say that a smart could be a taco, and I will regretfully say that is incorrect in all aspects.
• 9:51
  What was their argument with that?
• 9:52
  So it was Taco week here in Portland, and a certain other s'mores company thought to join in on the fun, and claimed that one other s'mores was taco themed, but it was quite literally just a small.
• 10:04
  It's just a regular s'more.
• 10:06
  And I don't know how y'all, but I think every taco I've ever had.
• 10:08
  It's like a connecting shell of some sort or, you know, and the s'mores doesn't connect.
• 10:14
  It's two separate graham cracker pieces.
• 10:17
  Oh my gosh, how funny.
• 10:18
  And then no, like, actual, like taco place.
• 10:20
  No, it wasn't even inspired.
• 10:21
  It was just a classic smart, which is so interesting.
• 10:24
  So like right now this week is pizza week.
• 10:26
  And so that's why I make really showing off the pizza some more because it's pizza week and it's like that.
• 10:30
  In my opinion, it's more of a pizza, more than a taco, s'mores a taco.
• 10:36
  Oh my gosh.
• 10:37
  What are some other things that you have learned along the way?
• 10:42
  Man, I.
• 10:45
  That's a great question.
• 10:47
  Like a staffing different like stopping a wedding.
• 10:50
  Different than trying to stop the brick and mortar?
• 10:51
  Yeah, I think so.
• 10:53
  We haven't had too much. Like, this is our quietest time of the year.
• 10:55
  January through April is pretty.
• 10:58
  So for catering.
• 11:00
  So I think we will shortly learn and maybe regret keeping the space through September because August, September and October are busiest for like, I mean, every Saturday we've got four events.
• 11:12
  Yeah.
• 11:12
  And so we're going to quickly find out how to staff that and all this.
• 11:16
  We know last year, our busiest wedding day, we had six weddings in one day which was a mistake.
• 11:21
  We'll never do that again. Yeah.
• 11:23
  We went from all the way to Lake Eugene to like, Spokane.
• 11:28
  Yeah.
• 11:28
  It was it was insane and highly regretted it.
• 11:32
  It was just crazy.
• 11:34
  This is so totally off topic, but our S'mores Freddy can fit inside of it.
• 11:38
  And so at the end of that day, he literally, like, met me at the wedding I was at and just went in and sat in the cart and a couple came over like, oh, I thought you said Freddy was coming.
• 11:46
  I was like, oh, he's he's taking a nap. Yeah.
• 11:49
  He was sitting inside the cart playing on his switch.
• 11:51
  It was the funniest.
• 11:52
  Yes, the funniest, like decompressing thing he could do.
• 11:56
  Yeah.
• 11:56
  That would actually be a really funny social media post.
• 11:59
  Right. Again, out of it.
• 12:00
  Like, how do you guys take breaks and be like, oh, let me show you.
• 12:03
  Right.
• 12:05
  But I think that is something will for sure be quickly learning is how to better manage the staffing on that.
• 12:11
  But I think other things is just oh gosh, I'm trying to think of other lessons we've learned here.
• 12:18
  Well, I'm assuming overheads differ with a brick and mortar.
• 12:21
  I mean, it took even as like the space is more or less moving ready.
• 12:24
  It definitely costs us more than we expected to get it.
• 12:27
  Like, the green ivy was a lot more than we thought.
• 12:29
  Like the tables and chairs end up being more and like we could have gone with like, the park has tables and chairs that we could have used, but we wanted this to be its own vibe.
• 12:38
  Exactly.
• 12:39
  We didn't just wanted to feel like an extension of the park, it had to be, and one of the few like ours.
• 12:44
  So I think that was definitely something.
• 12:46
  And, like, I really want to cover this glass wall with a really pretty vinyl that says greetings from Portland's Morgan because we have the taste of Morgan.
• 12:56
  Yeah.
• 12:56
  And boy, did I learn how expensive vinyl is.
• 12:59
  Like, they're like $1,000.
• 13:01
  And I was like, oh, you're like, maybe next.
• 13:03
  Maybe. Maybe not.
• 13:04
  Especially because the space is only temporary.
• 13:07
  We're like, probably, probably not.
• 13:08
  So can we learn to is just like being temporary.
• 13:11
  Like we can't really get a good hold on our overhead for like, our inventory, at least just because we have catering on the side.
• 13:18
  But then also when do we start worrying more marshmallows?
• 13:21
  Yeah.
• 13:22
  This last week or this last month when we had that one viral reel we had just ordered like a good amount of marshmallows and it took about like maybe a week.
• 13:30
  And we were down to, like, maybe a bag or two of chocolate.
• 13:33
  Yeah. And we're like, what happened?
• 13:35
  Yeah, that was crazy.
• 13:36
  So there was a real done about you guys with what was a PDF kid.
• 13:40
  It was kid friendly PDX s'mores flight.
• 13:43
  And by the way. Yeah. Thank you.
• 13:45
  Oh my gosh. Amazing.
• 13:46
  It got like half, almost a half a million views and thousands of shares, hundreds of comments.
• 13:52
  And like, we were doing five, six, seven.
• 13:56
  I mean, you know, flights a day and then it became like 30 in a weekend kind of thing.
• 14:01
  And yeah, we looked at each other and we're like, oh, we are out of we're out of marshmallows.
• 14:06
  And the wonderful folks who make our marshmallows.
• 14:10
  Thankfully, they were over, like able to rush us some, which was fantastic.
• 14:13
  But like we and also we had three catering events in one day.
• 14:16
  I don't know what it was up with April 21st for like four events in one day, but that day it was just like everyone wanted s'mores.
• 14:23
  And being our solo season, we weren't about to say no.
• 14:25
  Right.
• 14:26
  Absolutely. So, like, is this a new us?
• 14:29
  Right. Right.
• 14:30
  So, like a wedding show that night, and normally I roast s'mores at them, and I was like, nope, I'm just giving out.
• 14:35
  I like pickle marshmallows.
• 14:37
  Butter pecan popcorn.
• 14:39
  Like, here's all the weird ones. I'm sorry.
• 14:41
  I don't have anything better to show you. Yeah.
• 14:44
  So inventory control is definitely been a learning curve. Yes.
• 14:48
  For sure.
• 14:48
  And honestly, just like, like, so last year we had a mango marshmallow.
• 14:51
  And it didn't do very well.
• 14:53
  And like, the lemon marshmallow didn't do very well.
• 14:55
  And now lemon is like we blow through that.
• 14:58
  And so learning like new customer patterns of like what actually.
• 15:02
  So we're going to bring now that we know we're saying till September we're going to bring the mango marshmallow back and see if it does better.
• 15:07
  Now that like it's an everyday kind of interaction versus just catering.
• 15:11
  Sure.
• 15:12
  Also having the space we can show up a lot more topping options as well too.
• 15:15
  So we have refrigeration here.
• 15:17
  We have like more storage.
• 15:19
  So like well yeah debut it with like my mango or maybe like fresh mango slices or white chocolate.
• 15:26
  Just having the overall space has been nice because you can really play around with all these different, like marshmallow flavors, and the world is your way through at this point.
• 15:33
  Yeah, totally.
• 15:35
  Moving to Oregon, I can be here.
• 15:37
  Yoda.
• 15:38
  Y is in strategic, slightly short, still totally magical and skilled as a Jedi that can navigate you through this galaxy of the real estate industry.
• 15:48
  I can even land you in your dream home, Millennium Falcon style.
• 15:51
  Give me a call today.
• 15:54
  And so when people come to visit you, they can order just one some more.
• 15:59
  They can get a flight.
• 16:00
  Do you want to talk about like, the different options everybody has?
• 16:02
  Yeah.
• 16:02
  So going into that I will say that we have some history with being in the s'mores industry.
• 16:08
  And so we we've learned a lot over the last couple of years.
• 16:11
  And that really helped create this space.
• 16:14
  And so it was really important for us to have seating.
• 16:16
  We've been in a, in a similar experience where there was no seating, and it was kind of like a get in and get out kind of thing.
• 16:22
  And it wasn't very great.
• 16:23
  And so for us, like our key thing, and if we leave here and go somewhere else, key thing is having seating. Yeah.
• 16:28
  And so we can do flights.
• 16:30
  And so, you know, if it's in the summer and it's 100 degrees, we have AC.
• 16:33
  People can still enjoy us more and not be standing outside sweating or, you know, in the opposite in the winter, if it's, you know, 20 degrees outside, they can come in and enjoy the, you know, heat.
• 16:43
  We brought board games and you know, we want people to to hang out in the space.
• 16:48
  So yeah.
• 16:49
  So you can buy one you know two s'mores as many as they want.
• 16:51
  We've got the flight option which is eight s'more or eight houses and comes with four drinks.
• 16:59
  And then we have two more like elevated experiences.
• 17:01
  So one of the called the our taste kitchen experiences.
• 17:06
  And so one of them is called Chef's Table.
• 17:08
  And so part of that is you can get a group of 4 to 6 folks together and essentially book out a table and will come and roast as many small Dave's as you want for about an hour.
• 17:19
  And you get like a toppings list of like 30 or 40 toppings.
• 17:21
  And I mean, we're talking caramelized onions, pepperoni, Brie.
• 17:26
  What else am I missing?
• 17:28
  Goat cheese.
• 17:30
  Fresh raspberries.
• 17:31
  Ube. Yeah.
• 17:32
  On top of all the, like, dessert types.
• 17:34
  Yes, yes.
• 17:35
  Some mixture.
• 17:36
  Absolutely.
• 17:36
  So you go from sweet to sour to spicy to.
• 17:40
  What's the last one?
• 17:41
  Sweet. Sour, spicy and savory.
• 17:44
  Yeah. I was like I'm missing it.
• 17:46
  So like, that's a really cool class you can take, you know, if you like.
• 17:50
  Maybe you and your family are going to do something fun in Portland.
• 17:52
  I know there's other dessert spots that do like cool little like build your own things.
• 17:57
  This is kind of our version of that. Yeah.
• 17:59
  Or you can book out an entire space and we can do like 16 folks.
• 18:03
  And that's a full like kitchen takeover and like bring in a whole crew to come and do this activity with us for two hours.
• 18:11
  And we actually roast right at the tables with you.
• 18:13
  You even get to roast round s'mores if you want.
• 18:16
  Which I will say, it's been interesting watching, like some people are really excited to roast our own s'mores and other people are like, I don't want to do that.
• 18:22
  I would want to do it, but I would be terrified of like, setting your restaurant on fire.
• 18:26
  That's fair.
• 18:27
  I'm clumsy, so I'm just gonna let you. That's so fair.
• 18:29
  It's a lot easier than it looks.
• 18:29
  I will say.
• 18:32
  Sure, but, yeah, I really thought, like, the, you know, get to restaurants more and be like the pool for people.
• 18:37
  And most people are like, I don't want to rest my own.
• 18:40
  Yeah.
• 18:40
  Sometimes it's best left that you don't let them though.
• 18:44
  Yeah. Depending on where they came from and stuff.
• 18:45
  Yeah.
• 18:46
  There's people that have a lot more confidence than they showed when.
• 18:49
  Yeah, yeah. Easy. We've learned that one.
• 18:52
  Like I got this.
• 18:53
  You're like, give me the blowtorch.
• 18:54
  Yeah.
• 18:55
  So like, you're not doing that anymore, right?
• 18:57
  But yeah. So I think those are the kinds of experiences.
• 18:59
  So yes. You can't just walk in. You don't need a reservation.
• 19:02
  You don't need a reservation to do a to a flight.
• 19:05
  But then you can book a like a private table for like a more personal experience.
• 19:10
  You can book out the whole space to do it.
• 19:13
  And then our couples get to come in and do their wedding tastings here.
• 19:16
  Even our corporate clients, they'll get to come in.
• 19:19
  And side note also, it's so fun having corporate clients downtown because we can just wheel the cart right to them.
• 19:25
  I don't need to drive.
• 19:26
  I can just pack everything right inside the cart and just.
• 19:28
  Are you listening? Portland.
• 19:30
  They want you to call them.
• 19:32
  Yes, yes, if you're in the Director Park area.
• 19:34
  I gave her the Ritz.
• 19:36
  Call us.
• 19:37
  You can take that two minute walk to you easily, right?
• 19:40
  But that's. Yeah.
• 19:42
  So it's a different ways to experience.
• 19:44
  And again, on weekends we like to put out fire pits from like 6 to 10 ish.
• 19:48
  On some Sundays we have goats. Yeah.
• 19:50
  So there's a lot of fun things.
• 19:51
  We've got a really cool summer programing coming up now that we know that we're staying for a couple months.
• 19:55
  Yeah, we're hoping to bring on some more vendors as well.
• 19:58
  So we've had like leash and leaf pop up in here and like get like a sampling of their teas and pairing with us.
• 20:03
  Oh cool. Yeah.
• 20:04
  We're looking at like, a potential calligraphy class happening here.
• 20:08
  That'd be potentially VHS swaps happening to just to like, really involved community here.
• 20:12
  Yeah, I love that.
• 20:13
  And you guys are really involved in the area like you carry other products like we have to say northwest accents in here.
• 20:20
  We love. Yeah.
• 20:21
  She makes all of our merch carry a small line of her stuff as well.
• 20:24
  Yeah.
• 20:24
  And then you also carry some other stuff.
• 20:26
  Yeah.
• 20:26
  So right across the street from us is bring.
• 20:29
  It's a dog.
• 20:31
  It's called a because of its cutest little thing.
• 20:35
  She makes all of the treats.
• 20:37
  She has Portland's first, like, food cart that's just for dogs.
• 20:42
  And then she opened at brick and mortar across the park over the holiday season.
• 20:45
  And so we carry, like, marshmallow, like marshmallow treats that she makes for dogs, which is really fun.
• 20:52
  Yeah, that's so cute.
• 20:53
  I'm trying to think of what else we've got here.
• 20:56
  We've got these s'more plushies.
• 20:58
  While they're not necessarily they're not they're local to the West Coast ish, but it's the women own business.
• 21:03
  Almost everything is here is by women owned business, a human.
• 21:06
  Our signage is from tawny, the flight boards tawny with crafty girl.
• 21:13
  Trying to think of what else?
• 21:15
  Our designs are done by Katie.
• 21:18
  By Katie makes. Yes.
• 21:21
  Some of the, you know, local women owned graphic designer.
• 21:25
  That's right, I love it, I love it.
• 21:27
  What are some things that you have, like on the agenda?
• 21:29
  I know you're staying here through September, but like, thinking of the future.
• 21:32
  Like, what are some goals that you have for the business?
• 21:35
  Find somewhere more permanent would be great.
• 21:40
  Well we'll see, we'll see. Also.
• 21:42
  Timber goes. I might regret that.
• 21:44
  I don't know, it's so hard because it's like I would love to.
• 21:48
  In a perfect world, this would just be a pop up and we could be like, any time, but August, September and October.
• 21:54
  But that's really hard to find.
• 21:56
  And then also really hard to keep your like fan base in, like your loyal customers coming through if you're gone for like half the year or like a couple months of the year. So so September will be really interesting with that.
• 22:07
  You really need as like a manager that can run things when you guys are off doing events.
• 22:12
  Yeah, that's so then it's been a team in that way because we don't need a ton of staffing here. Right.
• 22:17
  Which is fantastic.
• 22:18
  So I think definitely finding a more permanent space and I'm building out our team more would be great.
• 22:24
  So and maybe a couple more catering carts in continuing to grow that.
• 22:28
  Yeah I know like my brother I'm from Ohio and he's like we need to bring marshmallow out there and some like French franchise, right?
• 22:35
  I'm like, I have no idea how that works.
• 22:35
  But like, we'll figure it out.
• 22:38
  Let's get it.
• 22:38
  Let's get a permanent spot first and then we'll learn how to be franchise.
• 22:42
  Yeah, people. Sure, I love that.
• 22:42
  What about you?
• 22:45
  Is there anything on the goal horizon for you?
• 22:48
  I think me, I would like to get a little more involved in, like, our menu and bring out, like, more drink options.
• 22:56
  Oh, yeah.
• 22:57
  Like, now that the summertime is coming, I want to bring a little more like Latin stuff.
• 23:00
  Like maybe have, like, a hibiscus tea to pair with, like a more that has championed hibiscus.
• 23:04
  Oh yeah, that'd be cool.
• 23:07
  Or like some kind of like lavender lemonade with like, glitter in it.
• 23:10
  I my, my goal is to try to, like, make a little more of a immersive menu that you can pair stuff together and, yeah, well, being downtown, you can be involved in a lot of the events and stuff too.
• 23:22
  So like the Rose garden or the Rose garden, the Rose parade and all that stuff will be going on the Starlight Parade and then they go to is coming up.
• 23:30
  So excited for the parades, just because upgrades right behind us, like we're on route as well too.
• 23:35
  And like last year, we did pop up outside along the route and we had our like our card out and had like these cool lights all hung up on it.
• 23:42
  So we're excited to like put out like more light fixtures for the parade this year too.
• 23:46
  That'll be cool.
• 23:47
  And then Pride's coming up like there's a lot of things coming up that like, you can change the menu to be absolutely on theme.
• 23:54
  I love doing like little like weekend themed s'mores.
• 23:57
  Like, you know, Pie Day was back in March.
• 24:00
  We did like three pie s'mores.
• 24:02
  We just did. There's another holiday.
• 24:04
  You just had Earth Day like Earth Day inspired.
• 24:07
  Yep. So it was like we had like a like a dirt pudding s like s'more, like trail mix more and like, pickled lemonade.
• 24:14
  S'mores. Way fun.
• 24:17
  I'm trying to think we had, like, a breakfast s'more line for one weekend.
• 24:21
  That was pretty cool.
• 24:22
  I can't remember why I feel we should do, like, Mother's Day.
• 24:25
  Do like, brunch, s'mores with, like, mimosas or something. Yeah.
• 24:27
  I mean, it was just like, it was easier. We did it.
• 24:30
  Yeah, that's that's what it was that triggered our our brunch s'more line.
• 24:34
  So that was really fun.
• 24:37
  But we it's fun getting to make just a couple of, like, three, like, short weekends, like, come try this kind of this weekend only, you know, just to see what people like and don't like on s'mores.
• 24:48
  Yeah. What?
• 24:49
  So you do weddings and you do corporate events.
• 24:52
  What other events are in the middle of that?
• 24:53
  Like we do team builders, button mitzvahs, quinceanera.
• 24:58
  We once said a funeral, so.
• 25:00
  Yeah, we'll do what you're telling me about that.
• 25:02
  That was quite the experience that you were saying.
• 25:05
  The speeches were going, and you're like, what do we do with this?
• 25:08
  Similar. Yeah, yeah.
• 25:10
  So we busted them out as quickly as we could at the end of our time.
• 25:13
  And yeah. So it's very interesting.
• 25:16
  The most interesting.
• 25:17
  Well and it's probably yeah, hard to have like at a wedding you could be like are you guys having fun or like whatever.
• 25:22
  Without a funeral you're not going to be like, okay, how do you how does one answer when someone says, how's your day going?
• 25:28
  How did you in Rome. Right.
• 25:29
  Well, you're just telling everyone, here's your s'more.
• 25:32
  Eat your feelings showing.
• 25:32
  Eat your feelings.
• 25:34
  Hopefully your day feels a little sweeter after this, right?
• 25:37
  Yeah. We did.
• 25:38
  I think the other most awkward, but like, amazing time is we had someone's Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving, and so we were like, you went to their house?
• 25:49
  Yes. Okay.
• 25:49
  We were in the kitchen with our, like, smaller setup and roasted s'mores.
• 25:53
  And I honestly, I told Friday I was like, hey, they're probably not going to keep us long. It's a small group.
• 25:58
  They know they had this for the full two hours, which is like, you know, good on them, got their money's worth and small being.
• 26:03
  We thought it was gonna be like Group of 30.
• 26:05
  It definitely was not 30 people.
• 26:07
  It was five.
• 26:09
  Just five people eating s'mores for two hours.
• 26:12
  Yeah, they're eating dinner.
• 26:12
  And then they started getting smaller.
• 26:14
  Did they make their own dinner?
• 26:15
  Did they have someone come in and make dinner, too?
• 26:17
  I think they made their own dinner.
• 26:18
  Yeah. Interesting. So.
• 26:19
  And like I feel bad because now that we have like, the taste kitchen setup, we easily could have done that and that would have been really cool.
• 26:26
  But we it was we were so new at that time that we were just like we were trying to make up things that didn't happen.
• 26:33
  Yeah, just like break out into song and stuff.
• 26:35
  And like the funniest experience of that night was just like they had a no shoes rule and we were roasting in the kitchen.
• 26:40
  They're like, so you guys gotta leave your shoes to the door.
• 26:43
  So she just have to come on.
• 26:44
  Oh my gosh. Okay, so we're getting her socks today.
• 26:46
  I think I'll be in matching socks on.
• 26:48
  Like how embarrassing.
• 26:49
  That would have been fun if you had Brandon socks on.
• 26:52
  Like, that's what need to get next.
• 26:53
  We gotta ask Katie to get us some branded socks. Brandon?
• 26:56
  Oh, yeah. Like on the bottom two.
• 26:57
  So if you cross your feet, you have your feet up.
• 26:59
  It says Marshall on it.
• 27:01
  Yes, I have a marketing brain.
• 27:03
  Yeah, I love it.
• 27:04
  So yeah.
• 27:04
  So I think those are some of our other interesting events, a lot of our mitzvahs and bar mitzvahs.
• 27:09
  I think we have three this year and all three of bacon on their menus.
• 27:12
  Interesting.
• 27:13
  Yes. So that's pretty fun as long as the rabbits don't around.
• 27:17
  Right. That's what that's their words. When I was trying to think of any other things you like.
• 27:23
  A lot of grand openings for businesses with the smaller devs.
• 27:28
  Holiday parties like we didn't intend.
• 27:30
  Last year was really cool. That's so cool.
• 27:32
  We did a thousand s'mores in four hours when you do events at arms and things like that.
• 27:37
  Yeah, but yeah, we'll up to Seattle, go down to Sisters and Bend.
• 27:41
  Honestly, we'll go where we got to the coast.
• 27:42
  Like, what do you like, holiday fairs or like, I guess we're we're looking into, like, possible, like night markets.
• 27:51
  Oh, sure.
• 27:51
  The thing is, though, like, anytime the Portland night market comes around, we are typically booked out completely for something else.
• 27:57
  Yeah, literally every single time.
• 27:59
  Or, like, sock fest, like, I like, we want to go so badly, but by the time we have those dates, we're like, oh, we already have events.
• 28:07
  And you know. Yes, exactly.
• 28:09
  So we can't do it.
• 28:10
  All right.
• 28:11
  We got an inquiry to go out to Minnesota.
• 28:14
  And fun fact, it is a small shop out in Minnesota.
• 28:17
  And so I was like, hey, like, I would love to go out there, but hey, you're gonna pay way more in mileage and you are in s'mores, and B, you actually have something very close.
• 28:25
  So I gave them the contact info and was like, here, take like reach out to them.
• 28:29
  I'm sure they're lovely.
• 28:31
  It's like, but if they're not call me back.
• 28:33
  Yeah.
• 28:34
  Like we will will, you know, we'll do it if you want us, but you don't have to spend $1,000 a mile if you don't want to.
• 28:40
  You mentioned that you've been in the summer industry for a while.
• 28:43
  Is there like a more community like in real estate, for example, if someone was like, oh, I'm moving to California, I'd be like, what part of California?
• 28:49
  I know realtors all up and down California.
• 28:51
  I can partner you with somebody.
• 28:52
  Like, is it kind of the same for you guys or not that we found so far, but fun fact of the day, there is a subreddit out there where there's a lot of s'mores, tea and drama and it's just on fire all the time.
• 29:03
  Well, I think that's like, yeah, I mean, business, there's always going to be that internal for sure stuff going on.
• 29:08
  So I will say like we've we've talked to a couple of smaller shops out there like the one in Minnesota.
• 29:13
  And then there's another one that does like exclusively gluten free as well.
• 29:20
  But I don't remember where they're based out of maybe Colorado, but like, there's not like we all chat with each other.
• 29:25
  I mean, I'm really cool.
• 29:25
  I think we should.
• 29:27
  Well, it'd be cool before that exact example, like.
• 29:30
  Yeah. Oh, I wish you guys were in Oregon.
• 29:32
  Oh, we're not in Oregon.
• 29:32
  But we know somebody in Oregon.
• 29:34
  Yeah, yeah.
• 29:35
  So, but that's we we should become a we should put them all on Instagram group chat when? How fast they leave.
• 29:42
  I don't know.
• 29:43
  Or the the ones that you want to stay will stay.
• 29:45
  Yeah. Exactly.
• 29:46
  Exactly like collaboration over competition.
• 29:48
  You guys let's let's build this across the US.
• 29:51
  Absolutely. We make some more is one of the number one desserts.
• 29:54
  Exactly, exactly.
• 29:55
  And I don't know if you know the history of s'mores, but they're actually created by the Girl Scouts back in 1927.
• 30:01
  So next year will be the smallest 100th birthday.
• 30:03
  And so we're starting to think of some really fun plans for that.
• 30:07
  Yeah, but it's one of the few, like, American like treats that was like that was made here, you know, and you don't really find s'mores outside of the US too much.
• 30:18
  You can definitely get graham crackers, marshmallows, chocolate, but they're not really put together.
• 30:22
  It's kind of more of an American thing.
• 30:24
  It's pretty cool.
• 30:24
  Yeah.
• 30:24
  So that is so yes, we should have a small shop in every country in us.
• 30:28
  I don't want to actually deal with that, to answer the, you know, but like how great to like, collaborate.
• 30:33
  Exactly, exactly. You know, I love that.
• 30:36
  May the force be with your next move, whether you're buying or selling.
• 30:40
  Use the force or call me your Jedi realtor.
• 30:43
  With all the skills needed to navigate this galaxy and all the things that goes with it, don't do it alone.
• 30:51
  Well, talk a little bit.
• 30:52
  What do we have on the tasting board today?
• 30:54
  So on our tasting board today we have a white chocolate with lemon.
• 30:59
  So like lemon cello. Yeah I've got a essentially a hot honey with fresh face berries, chocolate mallow and dark chocolate as well.
• 31:10
  I've got a buckeye which is a peanut butter chocolate one.
• 31:13
  And then I got a salted caramel. Yum.
• 31:17
  Should we dive in? Yes, absolutely.
• 31:19
  Andreas, do you want to come grab one? Yes.
• 31:22
  He doesn't like to be in front of the camera.
• 31:23
  Get over here and grab 191 has goat cheese on it.
• 31:26
  I want that one.
• 31:27
  That'll be like you. Say goat cheese.
• 31:29
  I'm not a fancy cheese person.
• 31:31
  We actually invite our friends over whenever we're trying to mess around with fancy cheeses and s'mores.
• 31:35
  And we just said, hey, you guys like, like, cheeses?
• 31:38
  We all come try these for us because I can't even do cubed cheese. I'm sorry.
• 31:44
  Oh, God.
• 31:44
  Oh my God.
• 31:45
  I used to work at a kids camp, and every day, two of every session.
• 31:49
  The snack for dinner after dinner was cubed cheese.
• 31:52
  And I'm like, this is I just I just can't I don't know what it is.
• 31:55
  That's so funny.
• 31:56
  I love cheese.
• 31:57
  What is this? One loves cheese.
• 31:59
  Oh, sweet.
• 32:00
  I love our lemon marshmallow.
• 32:02
  It's so light and fluffy.
• 32:03
  Like for those who don't love like chocolate.
• 32:06
  Like heavy s'mores. Yeah.
• 32:07
  Go to the root and the lemon.
• 32:08
  I had the lemon last time I was here, and it was so good.
• 32:11
  S'mores. Cheers. Cheers. Cheers.
• 32:15
  Sorry for anyone listening.
• 32:16
  The crunching that's about to happen.
• 32:19
  Turn the volume down for two seconds.
• 32:27
  For not having anything to eat.
• 32:28
  So far today.
• 32:30
  I'm from wine.
• 32:30
  Yeah, that's the spot. Yeah.
• 32:34
  For any of the health listeners. Sorry.
• 32:36
  They're like, you guys are having wine and s'mores for breakfast, but, yeah.
• 32:41
  Gluten free, dairy free.
• 32:44
  Hey, it's kind of healthy.
• 32:45
  Yeah, it's not sugar free because sugar free marshmallows are terrible.
• 32:48
  All right. Pizza me one.
• 32:49
  See, right now, if you if you don't know what a sugar free marshmallow is, just picture a mr.
• 32:56
  Clean Magic eraser.
• 32:57
  Yeah, that is a sugar free marshmallow.
• 33:00
  We had asked often if we have them, and I just, I don't know.
• 33:03
  Yeah.
• 33:04
  No, no, we don't like there is a point where we have to be like, okay, this is compromising our quality, right?
• 33:12
  Absolutely.
• 33:13
  Especially when you're known for being tasty.
• 33:15
  Like you can't like. Yeah. Yeah.
• 33:18
  But my current favorite flavor is actually very similar to this.
• 33:20
  I love this one.
• 33:21
  This is something that Freddy whipped together.
• 33:25
  It's a dilemma.
• 33:26
  Lemon cream and then citric acid.
• 33:29
  That's been a really fun topic.
• 33:30
  And a lot of folks, like, either are like, yes, I can't wait to try it.
• 33:33
  Or they're like, no, I don't think I want it.
• 33:35
  And then I'll make them a small d'oeuvre just to get their opinion.
• 33:39
  And they're like, oh, that was actually like really good.
• 33:41
  And I was like, see?
• 33:43
  Like, right. It's like a Sour Patch Kids.
• 33:45
  It's really fun.
• 33:46
  And because it's a lemon marshall and lemon cream, it's a lot lighter, which is fantastic. Yeah.
• 33:52
  Do you guys ever get sick of s'mores? Oh, the fact that I'm eating this right now really has to tell you that I'm actually hungry. Really?
• 34:00
  Because you just get so burnt out on it.
• 34:00
  I get burnt out.
• 34:02
  And then also, being a diabetic, it's just it helps my favorite to.
• 34:05
  Just because, like, when I'm surrounded by all this stuff.
• 34:07
  Yeah, it's it's not special to me anymore because I'm, I can get it any other day versus like me going to a different type of something else that I need to go.
• 34:15
  And I was horse myself.
• 34:16
  Yeah, it is fun.
• 34:17
  Still like creating new flavors and trying new things.
• 34:20
  I mean, like, oh my God, that actually tastes really good.
• 34:22
  I'm so surprised. Or no, I didn't like that.
• 34:26
  That was not the weirdest pairings that like shocked.
• 34:29
  You taste good. Okay, I can't wait.
• 34:32
  I don't know if he actually liked this one, but there's two that I really liked myself that are weird.
• 34:36
  The first one is a.
• 34:40
  Mexican inspired flavor.
• 34:41
  It's called mole.
• 34:43
  It consists of a chipotle sauce.
• 34:45
  I toss in some cinnamon sugar.
• 34:47
  I put some dark chocolate on there and pair it with a chocolate chip marshmallow.
• 34:51
  It's a spot on, almost like a very rich mole.
• 34:53
  Some people have gone as far as saying it tastes like a barbecue sauce.
• 34:57
  Oh, interesting.
• 34:58
  The other one being a whipped cream cheese topped with bacon bits, pickle chips and potato chips and a pickle marshmallow.
• 35:08
  Yeah, I followed this. The midnight snack.
• 35:10
  What was the one that y'all did with the jalapeno?
• 35:14
  Oh, that one was like everyone's favorite.
• 35:17
  Our last class or last class, we had a group that had done one with whipped cream cheese, a red pepper jam, a little bit of sauteed onions, the pickle marshmallow, and then a pickled hopping your chip on top.
• 35:32
  Oh my God, isn't that crazy?
• 35:34
  I can't even imagine. We are s'more.
• 35:36
  I had that, I was like, wow, this really works as our brisket s'more.
• 35:40
  Oh my god, this this was a this was a client request last year.
• 35:45
  Their CEO, they're having like a summer picnic and they're like, our CEO loves brisket.
• 35:49
  And we need, you know, we'll book you if you can pull this together.
• 35:52
  And so we're like, okay, we'll figure it out.
• 35:54
  Challenge accepted. Right.
• 35:55
  And we had a OMS after dark coming up those wild wild west.
• 35:58
  And it's like this is perfect.
• 35:59
  We'll test it on Z, see what people think.
• 36:02
  And then I can call the client and say, hey, or I know this is not good and everyone loves it.
• 36:06
  It's sold out.
• 36:07
  So then we did it for the event.
• 36:10
  So it had sweet rabbit sauce with vanilla mushrooms and the actual piece of brisket.
• 36:15
  Funny enough, it was the least popular at their event, but it's because they had brisket for dinner and they didn't know that they were having brisket for dinner.
• 36:22
  I was gonna say otherwise I probably would have steer them away from it, but I didn't know that.
• 36:25
  So it just made sense that instead you could have partnered or paired like pick something that would pair.
• 36:32
  Well, yes. Yes, we did like that one.
• 36:34
  I think we did an apple pie smaller and like that.
• 36:37
  Yeah, maybe it was a bourbon peach.
• 36:38
  I think it was the two other ones.
• 36:39
  And like those are totally, you know, make sense.
• 36:42
  But I didn't at that point. Yeah.
• 36:44
  Like I didn't realize they're already having brisket.
• 36:46
  So, no, for a few years they asked for something specific like that.
• 36:51
  Like what do you. Yeah.
• 36:52
  What else are you having?
• 36:54
  Just so we know, we don't overload that same flavor, right?
• 36:57
  But it was a really fun s'more, and I like I want to do it again, honestly.
• 37:00
  Yeah. Well, we mentioned your location.
• 37:03
  How else can people engage with you and follow you?
• 37:05
  Like do you want to say your website, your Instagram?
• 37:07
  Yeah.
• 37:08
  So we've got our Instagram which is a smash and Moloko the and is spelled out not ampersand.
• 37:16
  They've I don't personally TikTok often but you can follow us on TikTok.
• 37:21
  Have a Facebook as well too. Yep.
• 37:24
  I'm trying to think of what else.
• 37:25
  What else?
• 37:26
  Yes. Marshmallow Co on there you can see our catering pricing.
• 37:31
  I'm one of the like.
• 37:32
  We are one of those catering vendors wedding vendors that are transparent with our pricing.
• 37:37
  Yeah I don't believe in hiding and pricing behind like inquiry forms.
• 37:42
  I appreciate that you even did a post that was like, because it's not a secret that all prices have gone up in America as far as like what the groceries are costing and all that stuff.
• 37:51
  And so even did book your event now because our prices are.
• 37:53
  Yeah, absolutely.
• 37:55
  And we want you to get in while you can which I appreciate it.
• 37:57
  So like I, you know, I want to keep us as transparent as possible with pricing just because we got married last year.
• 38:04
  And some people are like, oh, you have to submit this inquiry and do that and that and then do like a 30 minute phone call.
• 38:08
  And I'm like, I want to know if you're within my budget.
• 38:10
  Yes, if I can afford you or not. Exactly.
• 38:10
  Yeah.
• 38:13
  So you can find all of our catering pricing, find our like more our seasonal flavors that we have in rotation.
• 38:19
  Because you guys do rotate them. We do.
• 38:21
  You can find if you haven't heard of us before, a little backstory on us and like how we came to be as well.
• 38:25
  You can see some of our wedding photos, can see when our next taste kitchens are or our next.
• 38:31
  Like any event we have coming up, we'll be posted on our website as well.
• 38:34
  Yeah, you can book the private groups right off the website.
• 38:36
  You can go on there under Taste Kitchen Experiences.
• 38:39
  Click on Chef's Table and say cool.
• 38:42
  They've got a slot open on Saturday May 5th.
• 38:45
  Let me just go on in and pick the 2 p.m.
• 38:48
  slot.
• 38:48
  And for me and my four friends and I don't know who's out there that enjoy marshmallows, we do ship our marshmallows out to merch and marshmallows are available on our website.
• 38:58
  Yeah, like I want to try a pickle marshmallow.
• 39:00
  Just buy a little bag from us.
• 39:02
  Can't really find them anywhere else, which is fantastic.
• 39:04
  Yeah. That's a yeah, well thank you.
• 39:07
  Thank you for the tasty.
• 39:08
  Of course.
• 39:08
  Thank you. Hold on. We gotta talk to you.
• 39:10
  Oh, this is what always happens when you're drinking around the mix.
• 39:16
  So for those of you listening and not watching, I just knocked my wine over, which is not shocking, I'm sure, to anybody, but.
• 39:23
  Okay, let's do this properly. No.
• 39:25
  Okay. Cheers.
• 39:26
  Thank you for having me.
• 39:26
  Thank you for having.
• 39:28
  Please invite me back.
• 39:29
  Even though I just like everybody.
• 39:32
  Cheers, everybody.
• 39:32
  Thanks for listening and watching.
• 39:32
  I'll see you next week.