Bostonian Louisa Loring and Milanese Gaia D’Alò have put the cherry on the top of their friendship by launching Make and Bake, a Florence-based company that produces gourmet mixes for American desserts made with quality Italian ingredients.
Bostonian Louisa Loring and Milanese Gaia D’Alò
The business was born out of Louisa’s passion for cooking and love of Italy.
“I was born and raised in America, but after moving to Italy I quickly fell in love with the Italian standard for culinary quality but missed the traditional flavors of American desserts. I wanted to create a bridge between the two countries, taking the best from each … We have found that foreigners always like our mixes, but our true target are Italians who have proven to be returning clients … We have even seen Italian nonne interested to making a batch of brownies!”
It was only natural for Louisa to partner with Gaia, an Italian native and avid foodie. “When Louisa first spoke to me about this project I was more than excited to be part of it, as I have always loved cooking and baking, and I’m very interested in traditional recipes from all around the world.”
Louisa replies: “On a day-by-day basis, I work with clients and product development and on production and marketing, meanwhile Gaia’s role is more prominent when dealing with bureaucratic elements, translations and representation of the company.”
Cake mixes from Make and Bake
Make and Bake launched with three recipes: chocolate chip cookies, chocolate brownies and classic carrot cake. The flour is grown and ground in Tuscany, while the salt comes from Volterra and the organic Fairtrade brown sugar, organic cocoa and dark chocolate are produced in northern Italy.
“We are working all the time to improve our visibility in stores and marketplaces in the hopes of expanding our network throughout Italy. Most recently, we were contacted by Pitti Taste, who invited us to participate at their annual fair this year. We couldn’t be more thrilled with this feedback and can’t wait to see what doors this opens for us.”
