Building a Brand Story: Loren Brill Castle’s “Sweet Loren’s” Journey

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Check out Rucus Avenue Radio dot com for our full
schedule and listen to past episodes available on all major
podcast platforms.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
You're listening to Curiosity Storyteller Studio on Ruckus Avenue Radio.
I'm speaking to Lauren Brillcastle, founder of Sweet Lawrence. This
is a DRUSHA and you're listening to Curiosity's Storyteller Studio. Lauren,

(00:33):
your journey to creating Sweet Lawrence is deeply personal and inspiring.
Your mom was diagnosed with cancer and you watched her
battle it for years, and then slightly after college, you
were diagnosed yourself. And you've talked about your health journey
and how you quite naturally became obsessed with what you
were putting into your body during this crisis. You were

(00:56):
always very healthy, but that became very important to you,
and you also talk about the new mindset you got
this kind of beautiful yolo, take life every day to
its fullest and just live, live, live, live live. Can
you describe the moment when you realize that your personal

(01:17):
story could inspire a brand.

Speaker 3 (01:20):
I think the answer that is twofold. When I was
going through treatment, I just made like a deal with
the universe, Like I was like if I get through this,
I promise I will find a way to make the
world more beautiful. I will give back, I will find
a way to improve it. I will make sure that
I like use my life to its fullest, best use

(01:42):
of itself, and I'll never take it for granted. And
I'll find a way to turn this from a negative
story into such a positive. So I had that, and
then when I started to make my own cookie recipes,
it was really you know, personal need. I was just
having fun with it. I was fulfilling my sweet tooth.
And when I saw the reaction of other people, that

(02:03):
was the second aha of Wait a minute, I'm not
the only one who wants this.

Speaker 1 (02:09):
No, you're not.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
I can tell you she's not the only one who
wants this.

Speaker 3 (02:12):
Like this makes everyone happy? Yes, wait a minute, Like
I could turn this crazy thing that happened to me
into like the most beautiful way to make people happy
all around you know, the country, the world eventually, and
you know, find a way to make this my personal
story into an amazing business.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
Welcome to Curiosity Entertainment's Storyteller Studio. My name is Adrusha,
and I create and write movies, music and television Each week.
Join me and my team as we talk to the
world's greatest storytellers in pursuit of the answer to the
question where do the best stories come from? Now, let

(02:52):
me introduce you to today's guest. They say that magic
sometimes is born from the darkest the situations. When facing adversity,
some humans break and others explode like fireworks, leaving their
story of overcoming obstacles imprinted in the world, shining like
a beacon of hope for others to follow. This type
of legacy is the type of legacy Today's guest leaves behind.

(03:14):
As a female founder myself, some of the most inspiring
stories that I find as a filmmaker are stories of
entrepreneurs who, against all odds, build companies that affect our
lives in bigger little ways every day. In our search
for where the best stories come from, we wanted to
spend some time meeting with some of these individuals with
real life stories that inspire people like us to create art.

(03:37):
Meet Lauren brail Castle, a storyteller in the world of
entrepreneurship whose life narrative intertwines with her creation Sweet Laurence,
the number one healthy dessert brands sweeping the Nation, from
facing her own illness while in college to transforming her
passion for baking into the magic of her brand. Sweet
Laurens join us as we dive into Lauren's hiring narrative,

(04:01):
explore how her personal struggles can lead to groundbreaking innovations
and how a single idea can truly heal the world
when wholesome, bite at a time. Her story is a
testament to the amazing results to become possible when personal
experience and passion drive the why behind a brand's mission.
Get ready for an episode of resilience, innovation, and the

(04:23):
sweet taste of success. Let's welcome Lauren to the studio.
This episode was brought to you in partnership with Little
Black Tucks. Little Black Tucks is my go to when
I need a timeless look, whether I'm speaking on a
film panel, walking a red carpet, or need a bold,
sophisticated look for a photoshoot, Little Black Tucks has me covered.

(04:45):
Little Black Tucks isn't just a clothing company. They're a
company with a story, a strong why, and you know
I love a good story. They're breaking boundaries and creating
clothing that empowers women with versatile, upscale options. I love
my little black tucks and I know you will too,
So welcome to Storyteller's Studio, Lauren.

Speaker 3 (05:06):
Oh, this is so much fun. Thank you so much
for having me.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
Oh, We're so happy to have you. You talk about
growing up with your sister in a household with your mother.
What is your earliest memory of creating sweet treats or
being in love with baking.

Speaker 3 (05:24):
So, my mom was an entrepreneur. She was the breadwinner
of our family too. I don't remember her baking ever,
because I don't think she has had time. She didn't
have time. You know, she didn't have time. So I
wasn't baking a lot when I was younger. But I
do think that I'm the middle child. I have an
older brother of a younger sister. I was the one
who was kind of making dinner for the family, or

(05:46):
reheating leftovers, or maybe making pancakes on the weekends for
my siblings because my parents were both really busy and
they kind of let us be very independent. And so
I remember that. I also grew up in New York
City around the corner from love Van Bakery. Oh do
you know it?

Speaker 2 (06:04):
Then? I spent time in New York. I was there
for almost two and a half years right after I
graduated college, and it was Levan was just so scrumptious.

Speaker 3 (06:12):
And so that was my neighborhood bakery. And so I
ended up working there in between, way in the summers,
like in between you know, when I went to college
and before I went to college, just you know, to
make money. Thinking like this was just like I loved
being around happiness and I you know, I love the
way bake Like people would line up around the block

(06:33):
and there was something really magical about that. And so
I didn't realize at the time, but I was drawn
to being around things that made me people super happy,
something that felt like there was magic making and.

Speaker 2 (06:45):
We love that and so and so.

Speaker 3 (06:49):
That was really my experience with baking. I was not
the baker. I just I have a huge sweet tooth.
Everyone in my family has a huge sweet tooth. But
we're picky about what we you know, what we eat,
and we want like dark chocolate, but super high quality
dark chocolate, and you know, and and eating from delicious bakeries.
And so that was that was the extent of it.
I really got into baking because I got sick.

Speaker 2 (07:12):
Okay, let's talk a little bit about that. In film,
we have something called an inciting incident. It's like that
turning point when someone realizes their purpose. And you talk
about being a healthy eater, as a family, as children
growing up. And I know for me when I had
I had a health crisis and it was the first
time that I really became clinical about like what I

(07:34):
was putting into my body, and that obsession led me
to people like you and brands like you, and and
really discovering the power of whole food. We'll be back
after these messages with more from Lauren breil Castle, founder
of Sweet Laurens. Right here on Curiosity Storyteller Studio.

Speaker 4 (08:00):
Anradio dot com for our full schedule and listen to
our past episodes available on all major podcast platforms.

Speaker 2 (08:12):
And we're back with more from Curiosity Storyteller Studio. I'm
speaking to Lauren Brillcastle, founder of Sweet Laurens. For you,
was there an inciting incident like a of course, your
your illness and what you were going through, but was
there a moment where you felt like this was your

(08:33):
purpose being able to create this for other people?

Speaker 3 (08:36):
Absolutely?

Speaker 2 (08:37):
So.

Speaker 3 (08:38):
When I was going through treatment, I asked my doctor,
what else can I do because I was just I
was going through the chemo treatment, but what else could
I do to make sure I was going to get
through this and not just get through this like, of
course number one was just surviving, but also I wanted
to make sure once I got through it and hopefully
came out healthy, I wasn't feeling scarred or like not

(09:00):
as great as I used to feel. I wanted to thrive,
like that was the only way I wanted to live.
So my doctor said to me, and he was an
amazing doctor, but he just was like a very serious oncologist,
and he he was like, just keep doing your normal stuff.
He didn't really have anything else to kind of teach me.
And that's when a big aha for me was I've
got to be my own doctor. And I did a

(09:21):
lot of soul searching.

Speaker 2 (09:23):
How old are you here?

Speaker 3 (09:24):
I'm twenty two years.

Speaker 2 (09:25):
Old, so it's just after college.

Speaker 3 (09:27):
A couple of months after graduating college, lymphotes in my
neck were really swollen. Went to I was done with
my pediatrician because I was twenty two.

Speaker 2 (09:35):
Yeah, don't worry. I did the same thing, you.

Speaker 3 (09:38):
Know, and my mom, unfortunately had a type of leukemia
and she had. Her doctor was an oncologist, and she
just saw my lymphotes and was like, I'm just bringing
you to my doctor arm because how lucky this looks weird.
And so she brought me to her doctor. You know,
I'm the youngest one in the room by decades, and
he looked at me and said, you've nothing at all
or Hodgkins lymphoma. And wow. It took a month of testing.

(10:02):
Nothing showed up in my blood work. I had no
other signs. So it was incredibly surprising and devastating because
all my twenty two years old.

Speaker 2 (10:10):
I mean, of course you're just starting your life.

Speaker 3 (10:12):
How you feel invincible, you know, And on the outside
I looked so healthy. Of course I'd been a yoga instructor.
Like I wouldn't say it was crazy healthy, but like
I just I was always a health conscious person.

Speaker 2 (10:23):
Well you thought you need to do to stay a
healthy human.

Speaker 3 (10:26):
Being exactly, And that just you know, knocked me on
my knees, like I was. I just was like, is
my life gone? Is this it? Like this that's this
isn't This isn't my movie. My movie is like thriving
and happy, like it doesn't end at twenty two So
when my doctor kind of had no other, you know,

(10:47):
advice for me, I realized, like I had to do
a lot of soul searching to figure out, like what
do I want to do During this time I had
six months of chemo, I wasn't working, and I was like,
during days I don't have treatment, I'm gonna do everything
I can to like fortify myself, like mentally and physically.
I'm going to meditate as much as possible and like

(11:08):
just really try to stay positive. Well, you know that's
kind of what I mean. I meditate just.

Speaker 2 (11:12):
Such a big part of the healing process. It is
it is making sure you have everything in alignment with
that healing energy totally.

Speaker 3 (11:20):
Because for the first two months, I will say I
was like devastated. Devastated I was. I was depressed for
the first time my life, like zero interest in life anymore.
It was like all ripped from me and I was
like this, And once I really tasted what that was, like,
I was like, feeling bad is the worst feeling in
the world. Yeah, Like, all I want to do is
be happy. What can I bring into my life that's

(11:43):
going to make me feel happy? And so I started
to studying nutrient. Food was just obvious to me, like
food is just energy if you and I just knew myself.
Anytime I ate package process food that didn't really have like,
I didn't feel great. So I started to study. But
you're not taught nutrition, you know, my mind, flowers flower
like white refined you know, flower wheat flower is like

(12:05):
the only flower out there. Meanwhile, there's a million healthier
other flowers out there that just really weren't mass market yet. Sugars, oils,
you know, there's just there's Now we know, there's a
lot more education out there that all oil isn't great
for you.

Speaker 2 (12:19):
But as a twenty two year old you in crisis,
this is not Yeah, this is not something you have
to learn. Something you had, something you have to learn.

Speaker 3 (12:26):
So I started studying nutrition, whole food, real food, ingredient nutrition,
just how do you keep nutrients as much as possible
in ingredients? And then how do you make food taste better?
Because of that? And then I started to take a
cooking class so that I can you.

Speaker 2 (12:39):
Guys see this movie, so she I can see this.

Speaker 3 (12:42):
I do want I would love this movie.

Speaker 2 (12:44):
She has this pivotal moment and then she has an obsession.

Speaker 3 (12:49):
I can obsess it is an obsession.

Speaker 2 (12:51):
I can hear Anne Hathaway like heels clicking away as
she likes, you know, like the obsession where you know
you really dive deep just trying to figure out, like
what do I do with this information? I think it's
so important. Also, you know, during these types of times,
if you're able to find something to throw yourself into,

(13:12):
it helps you stay positive.

Speaker 3 (13:14):
Well, that's exactly right. And I think baking actually even
took it a step farther because it's.

Speaker 2 (13:20):
Not because smell. They because because that's my endorphin hit
for the day, everybody warm cookies.

Speaker 3 (13:28):
There is literally nothing better but baking. As I said before,
it's not like I grew up loving baking or something
like that.

Speaker 2 (13:34):
This is why I asked you this question though, so so.

Speaker 3 (13:36):
Like cooking so to cooking class, and I was like,
the only reason we don't eat healthy is because we
don't really know what healthy is and we don't know
how to make things taste great. If food tastes good,
you're going to eat it. That's why most people don't
eat healthy food, like because it doesn't taste as great.
Of course, So it's like if I can learn how
to make everything taste delicious, and you're going to feel
better after you eat the healthy food. You're going to
choose the healthier option. So became a great cook. Like

(13:58):
but it was easy to make salads and and proteins
and everything tastes great because you know, you can learn
the techniques. But baking dessert different animals science. It's a
different animal. And all the recipes in this baking class
were like the conventional stuff. It was, you know, butter,
white flour, corn syrup. You know, it was just heavy.

(14:20):
It didn't make me feel good. And that's where I
was like, wait a minute, baking is so but I
love baking because it was so therapeutic.

Speaker 2 (14:28):
So tell me about this process and getting to So
I've had Lauren's cookies and they're so good. And I'm
not just saying that like a I am a someone
who you know, I eat very healthy, but you know,
to find dessert items that are healthier and that are
also absolutely delicious. Your boyfriend, your father, the people who

(14:52):
are you know, thumb their noses up traditionally at these
types of treats, eat and don't know the difference. That's
exactly that is finding a winner and these are absolutely delicious.
We'll be back after these messages with more from Lauren
brill Castle, founder of Sweet Laurens. Right here on Curiosity
Storyteller Studio.

Speaker 4 (15:17):
Book Us Avenue Radio, And.

Speaker 2 (15:23):
We're back with more from Curiosity Storyteller Studio. I'm speaking
to Lauren brill Castle, founder of Sweet Laurens. I want
to paint the story. So I want you want you
to tell me about this moment when you create your
first like cookies, your first and the process, because I
can picture you right now. You're in a kitchen, you're starting,

(15:44):
and all of us have done this. We've tried healthy eating.
We tried with like a little stevia here, a little munk.
Fruits of the early brands don't taste that great. You're
throwing out those batches. You're trying again, your poor families
trying having tastes us throughout the almond flower, the coconut flower.

Speaker 1 (16:01):
And the all of it.

Speaker 2 (16:02):
So this is this is the vision I have of you.

Speaker 3 (16:05):
And that's that's right.

Speaker 2 (16:06):
Yeah, it says thing tell us about this one if
you Fonde.

Speaker 3 (16:10):
Has made I don't think as many recipe iterations as
I have, Like that's how that's how dedicated I was
in the early years to make this recipe. So I started,
you know, studying nutrition, fell in love with whole food ingredients,
just whole grain flowers, finding gluten free flowers that were
just better for you, less inflammatory for your body. Like
I fell in love with oat flour and you know,

(16:32):
sea salt instead of like you know, refined processed salt,
healthier oils, all these things. So have a huge sweet tooth,
you know, saw the magic of you know, a bakery
and having a line out the door, and I was like,
I'm going to recreate that amazing, delicious joy that you
get from a warm cookie, but I'm going to make
it as whole food ingredient as possible, but it's still

(16:53):
going to taste just as good, even better than something
conventional and processed. So I tried my rich recipes, like, oh,
here's the normal toll house recipe, you know, yeh on
the back of a chocolate Pease, let's just sub it
one for one. Absolutely not, you know, it is not
there is no one for one. And that's where I
started to realize, like, this is a problem, Like this

(17:15):
is a hard problem to solve. This is not a
one for one. Let me decrease this and add a
little bit more this. Oh, let me add a little
bit of water and mix it with the flour and
the oil. Oh, baking powder versus baking soda. Oh, maybe
it's a flower blend.

Speaker 2 (17:29):
Where in your health journey were you when you started
experimenting with these recipes.

Speaker 3 (17:34):
It's a great question. I thankfully had been cured, okay,
but you still needed to have checkups and scans for
like the next five years. So I still felt like,
you know, fragile, and I wanted to like stay in
New York City, you know, be at home near my family.
So probably the first couple months after I kind of

(17:56):
got cleared from my doctor because I realized, like you know,
once I once he gave me the clear, he was like, Okay,
go get a job. You're not coal now, you know,
you're normal now, like you're clear, got a job.

Speaker 2 (18:09):
I would have been like, I'm going to go live
in Costa Rica pizza, But.

Speaker 3 (18:14):
I mean he was saying that, like you're you know,
like you're normal now going through friends. You can do
whatever you want. But in my head, I was like,
I am not normal, Like my body is still sensitive.
I never wanted to get hurt again. I will do
anything I can to keep it happy and healthy, and
so I just you know, I was on high alert
about everything and so, but I didn't want to be

(18:35):
on a strict diet my whole life, you know. I
want to eat my favorite foods. I love food. I
love great food. So that's where like the aha came of, Like,
wait a minute, I'm trying to just have a healthier lifestyle.
I don't want to be on a diet. I don't
want to ever feel deprived. I have a sweet tooth.
What can I have on a normal basis that makes
me feel great? Because when I would go to those
conventional bakeries, you know, I never felt great after I

(18:57):
ate their their cookies and muffins and thing.

Speaker 2 (19:00):
Two hours later you feel awful.

Speaker 3 (19:01):
I just feel awful. And I was like, my body
can't process this easily. There's no nutrition. Really, like I
need to solve this for myself. So that's what happened.
I was like I and I saw it was a
difficult problem. I was like, I am gonna And the
thing about baking is because it's very difficult, even though
it seems sweet and everything.

Speaker 2 (19:20):
Oh you have to measure everything precise.

Speaker 3 (19:21):
Everything is grams, I'm precise everything, the humidity, the different Yeah,
it's chemistry. It completely changes. And so but I kind
of fell in love with that because I was like, oh,
this is difficult, Like I'm excited to I'm going to
use it exactly.

Speaker 2 (19:38):
That's an independent kid in you and baking.

Speaker 3 (19:40):
I didn't realize it, but it is very therapeutic and
it helped me heal. Like, it's very meditative. It makes
people very happy. There's so much joy at the end
of it. It is magical. You know, you create something
all of a sudden, goes into an oven and it
comes out completely different. So I didn't realize at the time,
but like, I think being methodical, paying attention to the
details of grams and weights and measurements of each ingredient.

Speaker 2 (20:03):
Gave you that brain space.

Speaker 3 (20:04):
It did. Yeah, it made me feel like I was
using what I had learned during that year of nutrition
for good for good and so and so that like,
and I just needed positivity in my life, you know,
I needed to make something.

Speaker 2 (20:19):
I love the magic that you've created. Let's talk a
little bit more as we go fast forward through your story,
because we're about halfway through, and I want to ask
you questions about the brand and marketing, but I want
to talk the next piece of a story arc is
you always have a midpoint crisis, and so you start
these making these great recipes. You find a recipe that works,

(20:42):
you're bringing joy to your friends and family. You decide
to start a company, right. I've read about you going
to the different trade shows and taking your little toaster
oven and having to set up and have that presence,
and we've all watched this movie about the grind of
bild holding a company for you on that way up,

(21:03):
when was the next moment where it just felt like
it might all fall apart, or the next big obstacle
that you faced as a company.

Speaker 3 (21:13):
So my original recipes were now Sweetluren's products are gluten free,
dairy free, nut free, or like free really of the
top fourteen allergens. My original recipes weren't. So they were
just healthier versions of a chocolate chip cookie. And I
got it into Whole Foods after so much hustle of

(21:34):
as you as you said, I you know, I was
that girl like setting up booths at you know, like
Union Square.

Speaker 2 (21:43):
Farmers smartsplace that you ever set up a booth.

Speaker 3 (21:47):
I mean there was like these hester streets, like just
like street fairs that were just you know, like the hustle.
I mean, it's not like I had a crew with
me that was like here's a truck, Lauren, we got
the table and the setup. We'll do it all for
you and you just show up. It was like I
had to figure out how to schlep all these things
around New York City?

Speaker 2 (22:01):
Do you have any help?

Speaker 3 (22:02):
I had no help. I really my sister kind of
and friends would kind of help me a little bit.
But I had no money. I you know, I didn't
I didn't have a business plan yet. Like I was
just like, let me just keep testing this out.

Speaker 2 (22:14):
Like pepki is just taking them in the market.

Speaker 3 (22:16):
People like keep asking me marrying them to like dinner
parties and things like that. And then I got it
into whole foods, into a couple together. So so I started.
I did. I did try to work for other people.
I did. I tried to work for a restaurant. I
tried to work in finance. I tried to work in
a PR agency, and like I was miserable. And I

(22:37):
think that's when I realized and The only joy I
really had was when I came home.

Speaker 2 (22:40):
This is while you were building the cooking.

Speaker 3 (22:42):
I was coming up with new recipes for you know,
I wasn't called Swee Laurence yet, but I was coming
up with new recipes and just building like a binder
of recipes. And I realized the joy I had in
the day was like being creative when I came home
and like creating new flavors. And I just realized I
was pretty unemployable, you know, like I didn't have I
didn't have like prior experience, you know, working in some

(23:03):
other industry. So I was really just trying to like
get my footing in an industry, figure out what I wanted,
and like, I just hate when someone tells me what
to do. I just I feel imprisoned. I feel trapped.

Speaker 2 (23:15):
I am the same way, you know.

Speaker 3 (23:17):
So when you start listening to that, you're like, oh,
the only way I'm going to be able to pull
this off is like start my own thing. That's the
only way. And guess what, I hate working for someone
else so much that I don't care how hard it
is to start my own thing. I will do whatever
it takes. Wow, Because there is no other option for me.
I love that and that freedom and that like you know,
really that freeman, that independence is worth everything.

Speaker 2 (23:40):
bill Castle, founder of Sweet Laurence. Right here on Curiosity
Storyteller Studio.

Speaker 4 (23:53):
As we have, you're listening to ruck us out a
new radio.

Speaker 2 (24:04):
speaking to Lauren brill Castle, founder of Sweet Laurens. The
no seed money, no startup money. You just making cookies,
going to bake sale, not baked sales, going to fest
the fair sorry, street markets, yeah, street markets, to grocery stores.

(24:25):
I would let you us so.

Speaker 3 (24:26):
Yeah. So, like just the beginning was like bringing my
recipe like a bunch of cookies to like, you know,
friend's houses when they had a party, or bring into
my neighbors, or doing some street fairs just to like
test it out, like are able to pay for this?
Do they love it? What flavors?

Speaker 2 (24:39):
How do you end up with whole foods?

Speaker 3 (24:41):
So I decided, when I realized I'm an entrepreneur, I
have to figure this out. I was living at home
with my mom and she was like, I'm giving you
six months, otherwise you have to start paying run. You
can't just like live at home free. And I was
like okay, and it made me like really get into
you know, go.

Speaker 4 (24:55):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (24:56):
We talk about this a lot in this show. Sometimes
putting a time limit really creates that drive. I had
the same thing. I had a time limit on it's
so important for a success in film.

Speaker 3 (25:07):
And also, you know what I just went through. I
had this mindset like everyday counts, Yes, every second counts,
Like I don't want to let this life just like
fly By don't. I don't know what's going to happen
in the future. And you know, when I was going
through treatment, I really like made a deal with the universe.
Like I was like, I promise if I get through this,
I will make something so amazing and so like, I

(25:28):
don't know, it was in my head. It was like
it was like, this is what I've this is what
I've committed to. I'm not going to let this life
just like happen to me and then have regrets later on.
So I took a business writing course. Sign up for
this like six week business writing course so I could
figure out am I going to open a bakery? I'm
going to create a consumer package goods product. If I
was to create a product in a supermarket, what would

(25:51):
it be? Is it a baking mix, is it baked cookies?
Is it cookie dough? It was a lot to figure out.
And again I had no one and I'd never done
this before, and my family wasn't in the food industry,
so I have no idea what I'm doing. And in
the course, this guy named Corey worked in Whole Foods.

Speaker 2 (26:04):
Oh no way, I'm.

Speaker 3 (26:06):
Talking worked in the overnight shift, free stocking. But still,
and I said to him, how does one get into
Whole Foods? Like, what is the process? I didn't know
what you had to have? I didn't know. Yeah, how
long it would take? And he called me the next
day and he was like, you have a meeting with
the head buyer of the club.

Speaker 2 (26:21):
Wait, the guy had did the overnight.

Speaker 3 (26:25):
He just talked at the buyer of the dairy section.
And by the way, like this is shift.

Speaker 2 (26:29):
The guy got to your interview.

Speaker 3 (26:31):
I love Corey and I always will because he went out.
He went to bat for me and it was so great.

Speaker 2 (26:36):
Did he have a cookie with it?

Speaker 3 (26:39):
But I always brought my cookies to class so he
tried that. He was able to say yes.

Speaker 2 (26:45):
He had the cookie fever that I get, and.

Speaker 3 (26:49):
You know, I was pissed. I was like, Corey, my
website says coming soon, like I don't have an actual
packaged product. I don't want to look unprofessional, right, But
he was like, just go and tell him your story
and tell what your goals are. And I was like,
you know what, you have one life like, I'm going
for it.

Speaker 4 (27:04):
I love this.

Speaker 3 (27:05):
So I put together like a one pager of like
what sweet worn stood for in terms of the ingredients
we use, why I created it, and I made like
ten different flavors of cookies put them in this like
you know, I got like a gift and took out
what the gift is and put them inside like some
fancy box that I regifted and brought them. Had the
meeting with him, walked around the supermarket with him, and

(27:25):
he was like, you know, if you do baked cookies,
like they're not going to taste warm and fresh like
this for days. So you know, I and go there.
Baking mixes move very slowly. That's not maybe a great
market to choose. He was like, no one's really built
the next brand name in natural cookie dough. There's like
two brand names out there, but they're very conventional, and

(27:45):
he's like, I have two daughters, like I would want
to buy a better brand. And it was really a
light bulb moment for me because cookie dough.

Speaker 2 (27:53):
I love that the Whole Food guy gave you the
full he the rest of the concept.

Speaker 3 (27:58):
What a great I just wanted to business so badly
that I like, I just wanted him to place in
orders so badly that I was like, we can make
anything you want, what you want, we can do it
whatever you want, just place the order. And so I
really needed him to tell me like what would he
actually buy? What weird is he? And so it really
helped me, and it really made sense to me because
friends had actually always asked me like can I just

(28:19):
buy like some of your cookie dough because like I
want to make it warm at my house later.

Speaker 2 (28:23):
For my kid.

Speaker 3 (28:24):
Yeah, So it made sense to me just from watching
human interaction, like people are obsessed with warm cookies out
of the oven and people love eating cookie dough raw
period full stop. So so I was so he's like,
let me meet with my team, like give me the samples.
He also asked me like why I started the company.
And I didn't really feel comfortable those early days, like
telling the cancer story, because I don't know, I felt vulnerable.

(28:46):
I wondered if they thought I was going to like
be healthy enough to like you the do the company.
I didn't want them to feel sorry for me. It
made me feel emotional all the things. But I realized
it's actually it was like so powerful, just humanized, you know,
me and him so much. And it made him understand
this wasn't just going to be a cookie company, Like

(29:07):
there was a purpose and there's going to be a
difference in the way that we did things than anyone else.
So so I called me the next day and he
was like, my team said, they've never tasted something so good.
How soon can we get this as cookie though? And
that was like, how soon did you? And so I
was like, give me one month, in one month, one month,
I thought, in one month, give me one month. In

(29:27):
one month, I'll figure out how to find a factory
design packaging. It took seven months.

Speaker 1 (29:32):
Wow.

Speaker 3 (29:33):
But I stayed in touch with him, thankfully, he didn't
leave Whole Foods and he stayed in the position, and
you know he I think he understood how hard it
is to start a food business, and so he was
he was supportive, and he was like, let's just get
it on the shelf and see what happens.

Speaker 2 (29:46):
And then what was your driving What was your I mean,
we've talked about your your driving force for creating all
of this. What was the driving force to keep going
at this point? Just the I think the freedom right,
the freedom of being able to do what you want
and create something what you want and take that mess
and make it magic.

Speaker 3 (30:05):
It's a combination, because I definitely that. I mean, that
was like, you know, the healing moment for me was like,
let me if I can turn this mess into magic,
then like I've won. I won this life. You know,
it was a crazy thing that happened, not just to me.
And I lost my mother the year I launched Sweet
Lorens and I'm so sorry, and it's you know, it

(30:26):
was it was terrible. It's miserable. It's still terrible, you know,
over ten years later, but.

Speaker 2 (30:32):
That's your midpoint crisis. But we found it.

Speaker 3 (30:34):
But you know, all of this had to be for
something better. That's really how I looked at it. But honestly,
the thing that drives me because I've been doing this
over ten years. Now is the reactions of other people.
So I got into a couple Whole foods. I was
like girl demoing it, you know in the store, you know,
on a freaking subway, bringing a post your oven on

(30:56):
the subway in a rolling suitcase, setting up someplace with
a plug in the flood, freezing supermar picture to pain.
It was so miserable, but I was so happy, right
because I'm like, I can't believe this is happening. I
can't believe I get to like start this company. But
you know, from that day of sampling it to people,
I heard the magic of it, like I would hear
people say, wait a minute, this is brilliant, a healthier,

(31:18):
delicious cookie. Though of course I would buy this over
the conventional. Oh this is dairy free. Oh my god,
I can't find anything that's dairy free. Wait minue, this
sas nothing artificial.

Speaker 2 (31:27):
I think I've helped a lot that you your cookies
are delicious.

Speaker 3 (31:29):
I'm just gonna keep saying no, no, no, said I'm still.

Speaker 2 (31:32):
Being healthy brands that are not.

Speaker 3 (31:34):
No, no, amazing hundred percent. We would not exist if
it wasn't insanely delicious.

Speaker 2 (31:40):
It's insanely that's.

Speaker 3 (31:41):
The number one goal of the company. Everything we make,
the goals just to be insanely delicious. But we're going
to use as simple, unprocessed ingredients as possible so that
you feel better after eating these. They're not going to
weigh you down. They are not empty. It's still cookies.

Speaker 2 (31:57):
Said guys. That's why for last night, well I was.
Briill Castle, founder of Sweet Laurence. Right here on Curiosity
Storyteller Studio.

Speaker 1 (32:14):
Blick per Se. You're listening to rock Us Avenue Radio,
available now on the free iHeartRadio app.

Speaker 2 (32:32):
speaking to Lauren brill Castle, founder of Sweet Laurens. We
talk about brand, think about brands, and we think about
powerful stories. I think that you know, your brand is
a testament to the story being as big as a brand.

(32:53):
And we've seen that that a lot of times really
resonates with the general public. It's what resonates the story
tellers like me. It's what creates a great moment in
pop culture. Let's talk a little bit about that community
that you guys have built as Sweet Lauren, you guys
are very as a brand. You have a very strong community.

(33:16):
Do you hear stories from this community? How have you
continued to build it? What is it about this community
that has really helped propel this story forward to the masses.

Speaker 3 (33:30):
So the community has been everything, and that's really, honestly
what's given me the energy over the last you know,
ten years, and I have even more now, Like I
feel like we're just getting started because it's taken this
song to be taken seriously, you know, and sold in
twenty five thousand supermarkets and you know, so now it's like, Okay,
we've gone this far to build a platform, what else
can we do? But that's really what's kept me going

(33:52):
is like we have the most amazing fans and customers,
and I can't tell you how many emails I get
that people say you've changed my life, like, thank you
so much.

Speaker 2 (34:01):
Do you remember a specific story that really touched you?

Speaker 3 (34:04):
Well? In the early days when I started, I started
to get a lot of emails from fathers too that
would say, wow, like my daughter like sees like your
name and I have the picture of me has always
been on the package, like you know, my daughter just
you know, read the back of your package and saw
your story of just like strangth and like survival, and

(34:24):
like she sees herself in you. She loves to bake,
like she's going to be an entrepreneur or like she's
going to be like a business woman. And I really
think it's because she's seeing examples of women like you,
so like I can't thank you enough. I started to
get a lot of emails like that at the beginning.
And Sweetlarens all of Sweet Laren's products now are you know,
of course delicious, but they're also you know, gluten free,

(34:46):
dairy free, nut free, the free the top frees, all
the freeze free, which normally means it's not going to
taste good, but we did that in addition, and that
has brought on a whole new amazing customer base. I mean,
can you imagine if you had someone your family that
had a nut allergy or dairy allergy or gluten allergy.
They're eating the weird food and they're always separated, and

(35:06):
they don't get to go to the birthday parties with
other kids, or they're just frustrated, Like if you're if
your body doesn't like one of those ingredients because you know,
you just feel better staying away from a certain ingredient,
or you truly have an allergy, like you're the weird
joy bad Yeah exactly, And we've given the joy back.
And because it's so delicious, as you said, then dad
likes it, Mom likes it, No boyfriend likes it, No

(35:28):
one complains, no one cares, no one's paying attention that
like it happens to be gluten free and vegan, but
you'd never know, so like making and I really resonate
with with people that have food allergies, I think just
because I just want everyone to feel great. Well, yeah,
I want to just feel great.

Speaker 2 (35:42):
Yeah, tell me about when you finally get into Whole
Foods and you have your first success, both as because
I want to finish the story part before I ask
you a couple more questions about the brand and the
community and what you guys have really built, and then
we're going to do a great character analysis on you,
because the story is all about you when you have

(36:04):
your first success because you you know, you didn't have
a bunch of money backing you. You had really been scrappy,
You had been working all hours just to get this
thing out. You've been carting your Chester oven, which is
a great image on a subway to go get these
things out. Now you have that first financial success with
the Whole Foods order, Like what does that like on

(36:25):
a personal level, Like, well, how does that change your life?
What was the change for you? What was that moment
for you?

Speaker 3 (36:32):
So right when I got into Whole Foods is really
when my mom passed away. And I really feel like
Sweetlarin saved my life in the sense that, like all
of a sudden, Sweetlarens had legs of its own, Like
once I got it into one supermarket, there was demand.
I got on the Today Show, I got on Rachel
Ray I like we had fans, and people loved the
story and the product, and they wanted it more across

(36:53):
the country and so and so. Thank God, though I
had this like positive thing that's happening in my life
that I could put energy towards. It made me feel
like my future was going to be bright. That again,
there was this positive thing that was going to happen,
you know, even though negative things happen to you, you know,
and you know a lot of people go through this,
like why does someone pass away? I mean, there's no

(37:15):
rhyme or reason, right, and so it's like you just
look at life like it's not promised. I don't want
to be the victim in it, and I'm going to
do whatever I can to like build my dream life
and empower myself and just know that like I gave
it my all. So like whenever that day is, hopefully
when I'm one hundred and twenty, you know, it's like
there aren't there aren't regrets because like I live so

(37:35):
fully and my eyes wide open. You know, I lived
with joy.

Speaker 2 (37:39):
What was that relationship with her during the building, like
prior to you getting the whole foods and well, she's
living this journey and fighting her own battle next to you. Yeah,
very different battles at that point in your lives, but
you'd fought the same battle. Now she's still fighting her
battle and you were fighting a very different battle.

Speaker 3 (37:59):
I mean, and she was so supportive. My mom was
an entrepreneur as well, and she, I mean she was ridiculous.
Like anytime she saw a cookie, it didn't matter what
type of cookie, she just would bring it home. Hey, hey,
I just got you some more market research. I was
like Mom, I don't like, that's not even a good cookie,
or like why did you even bring this home? But
you know, she was so proud. I think that I
just was so dedicated to something and excited about something.

(38:22):
And you know, she would say to me, like she
would always say to me, you got to be strong, Lauren,
You just you got to be strong.

Speaker 2 (38:28):
What did she do?

Speaker 3 (38:29):
She was a lawyer.

Speaker 2 (38:30):
She was a lawyer.

Speaker 3 (38:30):
She was a lawyer.

Speaker 2 (38:31):
What did she do on She'd have her own she had.

Speaker 3 (38:33):
Her own law firm, and she was the face of
her law firm. And she she was a co friend
of Jacobi and Myers, which is, you know, major law firm,
and she was they were the first law firm to advertise.
She was on a lot of those And being a kid,
I mean, she wasn't the mom that was like, you know,
going to basketball games.

Speaker 2 (38:51):
She still sounds amazing.

Speaker 3 (38:52):
No, she was. She was the most amazing, but she was.
It was amazing to have just to watch a mom
who was so passionate about like doing her own thing
and doing something that made the world better, safer, et cetera.
So but it showed me like, like, you know, you
can't be the victim in your own life, like whatever
happened to you? Whatever cards you're real dealt, because we're

(39:14):
all going to be dealt certain cards at different parts
of our life, like make your own story, make magic, and.

Speaker 2 (39:21):
What's what's the the like if we're watching the trailer
of the movie those end cards, like what is that takeaway?
What is the next evolution of you? And then I
want to pivot a little bit and talk to you,
talk about how you've been using this story to spread
your brand. But tell me what is that is it?

(39:41):
Is it an end scene of you all across the
nation with your cookies being distributed and now you finally
are healed and you've got what is that end scene
for you?

Speaker 3 (39:52):
Yeah? I think that end scene is built the next
brand name and better for you baking and have when.

Speaker 2 (39:59):
All the consumers is enjoying it and their happiness. That's
the end scene.

Speaker 3 (40:02):
That's the end scene. We've we've we've brought happiness across
the world.

Speaker 2 (40:06):
Briill Castle, founder of Sweet Laurence. Right here on Curiosity
Storyteller Studio.

Speaker 4 (40:21):
You're listening to Ruckus Avenue Radio Avenue available now on
the free iHeart.

Speaker 2 (40:31):
Radio app, and we're back with more from Curiosity Storyteller Studio.
I'm speaking to Lauren brill Castle, founder of Sweet Laurens.

Speaker 3 (40:44):
I think I think it is and I think it's
that I now have two daughters, I'm married, I'm happy,
I am healed. As you know. It's a journey, but
I mean, I am living my dream life. You know,
I still have huge dreams above. But you know, I
think that it's getting to this point where it's like
we did it. We created like the top brand, you know,

(41:08):
out of this and look at all the people we've
made happy, and look how we've shown it's possible, and
how we've changed the food industry to make it cleaner, safer,
more delicious, better for all. And I mean, and what
I want to make sure that's in this movie is
like all the hard work because she's you know, I
talk about it.

Speaker 2 (41:29):
We've got her to a full movie, guys.

Speaker 5 (41:32):
I mean I've been I've been playing this movie in
my head since where we are a man of it.
It's just like you know, you can talk about one
or two stories on like an interview, but it's like
every day for the first you know, six seven years,
such a hustle, like outsmarting, you know, using your charisma, charm,

(41:53):
you know, befriending everyone, doing whatever you could, a lot
of things that like don't even cost money, right, It's
more about like how to build. It's not like when
I started the company, I could you know, pay people
a lot, you know, buy my way onto the shelf.

Speaker 1 (42:06):
You know.

Speaker 3 (42:07):
It's more that like I sent samples to someone, like
how we got into public's. I got a meeting with
the buyer and then you know, he was interested. He
was like, come back. I came back. I brought him
extra cookie does so he could bring it to his
family life. And yeah, and honestly, there the the buyer
was a man, and his wife was really the one
who makes a lot of the decisions about their home.

(42:29):
And she was like, yeah, I would. I would feed
my our boys lists over the conventional stuff on the shelf.
And that's what made him say, yes, I really think,
you know, And so I think just taking so many shots,
taking so many meetings, being so pushing myself to really
the limit. And I used to live in New York City.
Now I'm in LA but I used to live in
York city in a tiny studio apartment. So did I,

(42:51):
And so you know exactly what.

Speaker 2 (42:52):
I'm saying exactly.

Speaker 3 (42:54):
Was your apartment also a test kitchen?

Speaker 2 (42:58):
No, but my apartment was my kitchen. Yeah, so I
at least know what that feels.

Speaker 3 (43:05):
I raised my bed as high as you could so
that I could put ingredients like buckets of chocolate and
flour under it, and then like get a long enough
like you know, bed curtains like coverage, so that like
I could, it could look normal. I could have a
guy over, but like when they found out that you
should like jump into the bed or use the latter,

(43:26):
because you know, so just you know, figuring out, figure
out how to be as scrappy, you know, as possible.

Speaker 2 (43:33):
I want everyone who's listening to know we are going
to continue asking Lauren some questions, specifically about building a brand,
building a brand story, and that engagement with the community
on our YouTube. So if you guys would like to
hear more from Lauren, please make sure you check out
her episode we'll be posting shortly after this, but we

(43:55):
want to do our rapid fire with you. The end
of each show, we usually do a character analysis on
our storyteller and so their rapid fire questions. First, I
want to say that you said your favorite drink was
coconut water.

Speaker 3 (44:09):
Fresh coconut water, fresh cocain. There's a difference.

Speaker 2 (44:11):
There's a difference. Is this alicit any memories for you?

Speaker 3 (44:16):
This to me just it makes me feel like I
won't call myself an athlete, but I feel like we
all are athletes. So when I drink coconut water like this,
this is a good kind, like super fresh, I feel
like I'm hydrating myself like an athlete, so I can
just take on the day.

Speaker 2 (44:31):
When I say the word home, what comes to.

Speaker 3 (44:33):
Mind my husband and my two daughters.

Speaker 2 (44:37):
When I say with word heaven, what comes to mind.

Speaker 3 (44:40):
A bubble bath with like all the oils and bubbles,
and just super happiness, realizing what about hell? Working for
someone else? What is the food that.

Speaker 2 (44:57):
You find most comforting?

Speaker 3 (45:00):
A dug up, honestly thought, like a warm cookie out
of the oven.

Speaker 2 (45:07):
What sound makes you smile?

Speaker 3 (45:11):
A baby gurgling and like learning to kind of talk
so sweet? I have a nine month old and she's,
you know, just making all the cute sounds.

Speaker 2 (45:18):
How do you define love.

Speaker 3 (45:21):
Something that makes you feel so happy and so understood
and so adored and so lit up.

Speaker 2 (45:41):
How do you define success.

Speaker 3 (45:44):
When you're proud? How do you define failure when you
want more?

Speaker 2 (45:51):
I love that I know the answer to this question.
But do you believe in magic abs, a fucking movie
second chances?

Speaker 3 (46:02):
Yes, but you really have to show that you've changed.

Speaker 2 (46:05):
What about love at first sight?

Speaker 3 (46:07):
I think my husband would say he had that so sure.
I had love first sight with cookie recipes.

Speaker 2 (46:16):
Without considering time, ability, or money an obstacle. If there
was one thing you could do or learn, what would
it be other than what you're already doing.

Speaker 3 (46:29):
I would love to learn interior design. I just think
it's there's so many details that need to come together
to make you feel great.

Speaker 2 (46:39):
Absolutely, I can hook you up with my sister. My
sister's redoing our house. Guys and a tiar Design.

Speaker 3 (46:44):
Is an art.

Speaker 2 (46:45):
Let me tell you it is an art. I've never
messed up so many times in my life. What would
you if you could create a story with any person
or about anything in the future, what would your story
be about.

Speaker 3 (47:02):
I think my story would be about stories about female entrepreneurs.
I don't think there's I thought you.

Speaker 2 (47:09):
Were going to say the sweet Lauren, story, we already
wrote a movie where everybody's out there.

Speaker 3 (47:13):
That's given, that's a given, but there aren't enough in
like real time, real today.

Speaker 2 (47:19):
What were best describes you as a storyteller? Passionate, passionate,
what inspires or drives.

Speaker 3 (47:29):
You reaching my potential?

Speaker 2 (47:34):
Last, but not least, Lauren, what is your favorite story?

Speaker 3 (47:41):
My favorite story?

Speaker 2 (47:43):
First one that comes to mind.

Speaker 3 (47:45):
It might be the story of Nike is actually I
love a really good story.

Speaker 2 (47:54):
Yeah, did you like Air?

Speaker 3 (47:55):
I saw Air and I loved the Phil Knight's book
Shoot Dog. I thought it was amazing.

Speaker 2 (48:00):
Lauren, thank you so much for being with us. Tell
us where people can find you and Sweet Laurens.

Speaker 3 (48:07):
So you can find me at Lauren Brill on Instagram
l O R e N b r I L and
then Sweet Laurens at Sweet Laurens, which is sweet R
E n S. You can go to our website throw
your zip code in so to find where our products
are sold near you. But we sell our cookie dough
in Target, Whole Foods, Ralphs, vaughand Safeway, Wegmans, all the

(48:29):
major supermarkets in the refrigerated cookie dough section. And now
we actually have these new breakfast biscuits that are sold
in the cookie aisle that are.

Speaker 2 (48:39):
Saying saw blast biscuits. You didn't make it up.

Speaker 3 (48:41):
They're delicious, They're great, they're ready baked, they're grab for
on the go. They're pograms of protein, whole grain like
so delicious. So those are found actually in whole foods
in the cookie asle right now, stop and Chop, many
other supermarkets or on Amazon you can have it primed for.

Speaker 2 (48:56):
The rest of this interview. Please make sure you check
out YouTube. And thank you so much for listening to
Curiosity Storyteller Studio.

Speaker 3 (49:05):
Thank you for having me on the Mede Jollivi and
I on the meeting Jollavi and I gid A Good
Eye

Speaker 1 (49:16):
The world's most listened to South Asian radio and podcast
network

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

Hey Jonas!

Crime Junkie

Betrayal Weekly

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Building a Brand Story: Loren Brill Castle’s “Sweet Loren’s” Journey

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}Hey Jonas!

Crime Junkie

Betrayal Weekly

All Episodes

Building a Brand Story: Loren Brill Castle’s “Sweet Loren’s” Journey

Hey Jonas!