October 24, 2017

Meet Antonia Poland and Cynthia Wood of Dipped Fresh in Chattanooga

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Antonia Poland.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Antonia – In 2010, I received a mail order Mother’s Day gift of chocolate dipped strawberries. While the gift was thoughtful, the strawberries weren’t very good. I thought to myself, I could do a better job and so I made some for myself. From then I started making them for family and friends. My 9-year-old daughter said they were so good; I should sell them. So for Valentine’s Day in 2011 I went out and gave away samples of my strawberries. For every sample I gave away, I got an order. I made $3,000 in one day. After that, I knew I had to pursue this possibility full time.

Cynthia – Dipped Fresh started as a gourmet deli and dessert shop. We combined Antonia’s love for chocolate dipped fruit with my love for sandwiches. My aunt and uncle took me to the World’s Fair in Knoxville TN when I was a kid and we ate at a place called Sam & Andy’s. It was the best sandwich I’d ever had. From that day forward I always worked hard to create sandwiches that had the same kind of attention to detail.

Antonia – Dipped Fresh started out as a gourmet deli and dessert shop. We quickly built a loyal customer base and had an extremely successful business. Customers loved what we had to offer so much, that they began to ask us to do catering for them. Catering meetings, turned into catering events. Sandwiches and desserts, turned into savory food items and full line catering.

Cynthia – While we loved being in our storefront it began to take a toll on us in ways we had not anticipated. We were working 16-18 hour days, 7 days a week to keep up with the demands a storefront requires. After two years, we decided to make a shift away from the storefront and focus on our catering business and our online store. This change in direction freed us to be more creative and allowed for us to stay passionate about the service we provide. Today, Dipped Fresh is a full line catering service. We do weddings, corporate events, business meetings, family reunions and just about any other event you can think of. We also provide private chef services as well as romantic packages for that special occasion. Our online store is a great resource for that special gift or if you just want to treat yourself.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Antonia – Anything worth having comes with hard work attached to it. One of the things we did not anticipate starting out was an advertising budget. Since we didn’t have one, we worked extra hard at networking and getting the word out about our business. The success we have today, is solely based on word of mouth recommendations made by the people we serve. While things have turned out well for us, looking back it is a lesson learned and something we would do differently if we had known better.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Dipped Fresh – what should we know?
Cynthia – At Dipped Fresh we specialize in dipped desserts and catering made fresh. Our philosophy is that people should be able to eat well and eat healthy without it costing and arm and a leg. We provide food for the soul, made fresh, using the best ingredients and offering an incredible experience for all your senses. Our food looks good, smells good and tastes good. That may sound like a common sense kind of thing, but I promise you, not all offerings are created equal.

Antonia – One of the things we are really proud of is that we don’t deep fry anything. You can get fried food almost anywhere. However, we made a conscious choice to go a different route in food preparation. At Dipped Fresh we offered dishes that are braised, roasted, grilled, baked and sautéed to bring out the truest essence of the flavors each dish has to offer.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Consistency is the most important thing when it comes to our success. Dipped Fresh offers a consistently superior product, at a consistently competitive price.

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