{"id":1071655,"date":"2026-07-06T09:07:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T09:07:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1071655\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T09:07:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T09:07:25","slug":"startups-look-to-family-for-food-inspiration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1071655\/","title":{"rendered":"Startups Look To Family For Food Inspiration"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Margo Jones pitches Assiah Tea and Wellness.<\/p>\n

Memories of two grandmothers made their way to CitySeed\u2019s James Street headquarters on Monday night, in the form of dried rose hips and Albanian Sheqerpare cookies.<\/p>\n

The grandmothers were honored by two different up-and-coming local entrepreneurs at a celebratory showcase by the Food Business Incubator program, a joint effort by the nonprofits CitySeed and reSET to support the growth of early-stage food enterprises.<\/p>\n

Over 50 people came to hear grant and investment pitches from 15 burgeoning food businesses located across Connecticut, specializing in everything from sourdough to cold-pressed juice to Caribbean cuisine.<\/p>\n

Each of the entrepreneurs had received 12 weekly sessions of business training, focused on skills ranging from appropriate pricing to food safety licensing to scaling up operations.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

CitySeed Director of Food Businesses Sasha Fay said that one goal of the program is to help local entrepreneurs find opportunities to connect their products to customers, anywhere from \u201cBig Y\u201d to \u201cAtticus\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Incubator program grew out of a years-long collaboration between CitySeed and the local entrepreneurial training organization Collab. This year marked the first iteration of the program since the Hartford-based reSET absorbed Collab in 2025.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are here to support Connecticut\u2019s culinary industry!\u201d said Katrice Claudio, reSET\u2019s food program manager and the evening\u2019s emcee.<\/p>\n

Albanian Sweets Commemorate Hatixhe<\/p>\n

\"\"Florina Gosturani pitches Ina Sweet Bakery and Coffee.<\/p>\n

Florina Gosturani\u2019s grandmother is present in the very name of her home-based Albanian bakery: Ina Sweet Bakery and Coffee,<\/a> after the nickname given to Gosturani by her grandmother.<\/p>\n

Gosturani\u2019s grandmother, Hatixhe, \u201ctaught me how to cook,\u201d she said, tearing up at the memory. \u201cShe did everything with love.\u201d She taught her to \u201cpay attention to the quality of every ingredient.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like many other businesses in the incubator program, the idea for Ina Sweet came from the Covid-19 pandemic. For Gosturani in particular, the idea came from longing. Unable to travel due to Covid, she found herself missing the Albanian desserts that she grew up with. And she realized that other Albanian community members shared the same desire for a local bakery rooted in their cuisine.<\/p>\n

So for two years, Gosturani used social media to sell desserts baked in her kitchen \u2014 from crunchy baklava to sweet Trile\u00e7e cakes to syrupy Sheqerpare cookies<\/a>. Business grew so quickly that she couldn\u2019t keep up. She said that her customers, from both within and outside the Albanian community, purchased enough to generate a $6,000 monthly profit. She entered the Food Business Incubator program to help her determine how to scale up to a brick-and-mortar bakery and coffee shop. On Monday, she pitched a $50,000 investment ask to make the dream a reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe impact is bigger than profits,\u201d she told the room. Her business is a way to \u201cpreserve culture\u201d and \u201ccreate jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hibiscus and Rose Hip \u201cBalance\u201d Honors Lillie<\/p>\n

\"\"Margo Jones.<\/p>\n

Margo Jones\u2019 first exposure to tea was from her grandmother, Lillie Stephens. When Jones was a child growing up in Ohio, Stephens would make her cold hibiscus tea (technically an herbal \u201ctisane\u201d) in the summer. She\u2019d brew rose hips<\/a> when her grandkids were sick and chamomile when they needed to calm down before bed.<\/p>\n

Many years later, Jones, who works at the state\u2019s Department of Revenue Services, found herself exhausted and burned out from work. She took a trip to Thailand in 2023, in search of restoration \u2014 and gained insight into the global roots of the tradition she shared with her grandmother.<\/p>\n

Since then, while continuing to work at the office by day, Jones has poured her spare energy into her tea business: Assiah Tea and Wellness<\/a>, based out of Hamden.<\/p>\n

Through Assiah, Jones sells original herbal blends along with individual herbs and teas. She offers a \u201cRevive\u201d blend geared toward burnout, containing ashwaganda, and a \u201cHarmony\u201d blend with red clover and dong quai focused on menopause and PCOS.<\/p>\n

One of her blends, \u201cBalance,\u201d puts her own twist on the same herbs her grandmother would brew: bringing together elderberry, echinacea, hibiscus, rose hips, and lemon balm.<\/p>\n

Her grandmother taught her that \u201cTea is not just a drink,\u201d said Jones. A cup of tea can contain family memories and health remedies. It\u2019s the product of intercultural traditions and intensive labor.<\/p>\n

According to Jones, her herbal ingredients are all sourced from local Connecticut farms when possible. The herbs that are grown out of state come from farmer\u2019s collectives, she said. And she sources her black, green, and oolong teas directly from \u201cfourth generation tea farmers in Nepal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Jones\u2019 original tea blends.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlucking tea is hard work,\u201d said Jones, who finds value in \u201cunderstanding where your herbs come from.\u201d She noted that a majority of tea pluckers are women. \u201cWe have to appreciate them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

This year, Jones has begun selling at CitySeed\u2019s Edgewood Park Farmers Market. She envisions one day offering wellness and tea etiquette classes.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing an entrepreneur is like jumping in the middle of the ocean and learning how to swim,\u201d she said. With help from the Food Business Incubator program, she said she found \u201ca community really willing to support me\u201d in growing her business.<\/p>\n

A Food Truck Love Story<\/p>\n

\"\"Lauren Barnes and Javier Diaz Mosquea of Pika Food Truck, the Audience Choice winner.<\/p>\n

Other participants included early-stage businesses still obtaining their licenses and permits, home-based businesses eyeing commercial expansions, and at least one food truck envisioning a brick-and-mortar operation down the road.<\/p>\n

That food truck, Pika<\/a>, belongs to Lauren Barnes and Javier Diaz Mosquea, who specialize in a mix of Dominican, Spanish, and American cuisines. At Monday\u2019s event, they offered samples of roasted chicken with sweet yuca and pickled onions.<\/p>\n

Barnes and Diaz Mosquea are not only business partners but life partners. They met while working at a golf course together. When their jobs paused during the Covid-19 pandemic, the pair decided to pivot and start their own food truck. Diaz Mosquea is the chef, while Barnes handles the customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe only have one life,\u201d said Barnes. \u201cWe opened the truck so we could spend as much time as possible together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, Barnes and Diaz Mosquea have five kids together. The food truck, Pika, has been operating for about six years.<\/p>\n

Diaz Mosquea said he hopes that the business will one day inhabit a storefront. He wants a consistent spot where customers will know they can find him and Barnes.<\/p>\n

Pika Food Truck received the \u201cAudience Choice\u201d award on Monday night. Meanwhile, a panel of three judges selected two pitch winners of the evening: Soledad Kristan\u2019s<\/a> bakery Downright Breads<\/a> and Mariah Boria\u2019s sourdough business Mariah Bakes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Hispanic Federation, the state Department of Community and Economic Development, and the federal Local Food Promotion Program funded grants of up to $1,000 for all participating businesses as well as an additional $1,000 for Monday night\u2019s winners.<\/p>\n

The other Incubator graduates featured on Monday included:<\/p>\n