Kika’s Treats are yummy goodies that you won’t find anywhere
else. Seriously. I had never heard of honey cakes before
finding Kika’s, let alone chocolate covered Brazilian honey cakes. For those of you still in the dark, Brazilian
honey cakes are small, dense, slightly sweet pastries with a brownie-like consistency. They are similar to a blondie, but without
the chocolate chips. Ok – now Kika’s
covers these in chocolate. Viola.
As a caramel addict, I was skeptical at first, but my favorite
Treats are the Crunchy Caramels. They
start with a traditional caramel recipe, but use coconut palm sugar and add
puffed brown rice. Brown rice? Again – I was skeptical. They are so good that they don’t even need
the chocolate coating, (what am I saying – there is a definite cocoa protocol followed
here). If that doesn’t intrigue you, then try the Caramelized Graham Crackers, also
covered in chocolate. They are made by
hand in small batches and baked in a small oven in the shop.
Recipe for Success: High Standards
Kika’s Treats was started by Cristina Arantes 2006. Since then Cristina has grown the business organically in the Bay Area through specialty shops, gourmet stores, and online. Although she has been approached to supply large chain stores, Cristina has been careful to manage growth without compromising quality. This is incredibly important to her. For a lot of companies, this is just PR, but she means it. How do I know? While visiting her factory, I saw the defective products being set aside. (And then I ate one. For the sake of research of course.) I could not see or taste anything wrong. I was told that they are lopsided. Who says quality control is dead?
Kika’s Treats was started by Cristina Arantes 2006. Since then Cristina has grown the business organically in the Bay Area through specialty shops, gourmet stores, and online. Although she has been approached to supply large chain stores, Cristina has been careful to manage growth without compromising quality. This is incredibly important to her. For a lot of companies, this is just PR, but she means it. How do I know? While visiting her factory, I saw the defective products being set aside. (And then I ate one. For the sake of research of course.) I could not see or taste anything wrong. I was told that they are lopsided. Who says quality control is dead?
What is even more impressive is that the company donates 5%
of proceeds to La Cocina – the non-profit San Francisco incubator specializing
in the food industry.
Find Kika’s Treats at Bi-Rite, Village Market, and other
retailers. Or go to kikastreats.com.
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