Janna Kleineman, owner and creator of Sprinkle It, opened her business in August of last year. Inspired by her love for baking, the support of her three daughters and her background of growing up in New York, Kleineman decided to share her passion with the community around her.
What she has done is roll the concepts of creativity and baking into eye-catching treats.
“I was really liking the whole decorative process involved in making all these desserts really pretty,” Kleineman said. “When you see something that’s attractive to the eye, it makes you want to eat it even more.”
Kleineman got the idea to start her own business after making candy kabobs for a couple bat mitzvahs over the summer. After seeing the success those treats had, Kleineman ventures into trying other desserts, like Oreo pucks.
Kleineman grew up surrounded by many Jewish delis and bakeries. She credited her favorite desserts to bake to treats she would often get as a child.
“I grew up eating all of those wonderful Jewish treats,” Kleineman said. “I really love making classic Jewish foods and Jewish desserts that you think of from your childhood.”
Kleineman’s clientele is slowly growing since her start in August. She said many of the clients she has done bat mitzvahs for have come back to her for more treats and is helped by those clients sharing photos of her treats online.
Despite the number of orders increasing, Kleineman still faces struggles as a small business owner. She said one of her biggest challenges is finding an audience outside of her friends, family and acquaintances.
Another challenge she has faced is finding a reasonable price to sell her custom-made items.
“When you open up a small business, you’re always going to be competing with grocery stores and bakeries,” Kleineman said. “You can’t really price custom things that you make at home the same as something that’s being created in such a large quantity and sold in that way.”
To get around this, Kleineman purchased an editable printer so she can have the flexibility to be more creative with her designs by adding pictures and specific messages.
Kleineman finds joy in the looks on her clients’ faces and how impressed they are when they come to pick up their custom-made treats.
“When you’re a crafty, artsy type of person and you love food, you put those together and it makes a nice pairing,” Kleineman said.
Although Kleineman makes these treats on her own, she said she wouldn’t have been able to start her own business without help from her daughters, ages 6, 7, and 12. According to Kleineman, when she needs a taste tester, her kids are the ones she goes to first.
Kleineman said she is looking forward to what comes next. With a list of designs and new desserts she wants to try, the opportunities that lie ahead to get her business’s name out are plentiful.
“Once there’s an awareness of a company like this, which is really creating something very unique, they start to think about it for their own upcoming events,” Kleineman said.
Baking is something Kleineman has always loved, so she decided to take her passion and share that with the people around her. She encourages others to do the same.
“It’s given me something to look forward to besides the norm of my day,” Kleineman said. “When I know I have an order coming up, it’s exciting.”
