Meet Lauren Young | Owner of Sweet LaLa’s Bakery

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lauren Young and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lauren, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The success of our bakery Sweet LaLa’s Bakery and our mission to Make Life Sweeter has been in how we operate daily to do business the right way. We have spent years building a model to train and work with people to develop the skill set we need. We hire for happy and we can train all of the rest. We live in a world where mistakes happen, so we want to learn from the mistakes we make and be better every day, not just for our employees, but for our customers.

Our business is built on baking expertise, detailed handiwork and artful skills but what makes ours stand out is our personality to bake with purpose in mind. We do all we can to interpret what our customers want in a personalized cake or experience and we do our best to WOW them. We also believe in making people feel known and seen when they come to our space because we know everyone has a story to share. Our customers deserve our attention and we love their ideas. We need each other and we think when we deliver on our promise to Make Life Sweeter, people will join with us and do more too!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Our bakery has been able to grow through the years with our focus on social enterprises. We’ve developed partners all across Memphis, TN who care about making life sweeter one person at a time. We sell their products of purpose to help tell the story of change they are making in the community. We know business must work with community partners if we want to see our city thrive and grow and attract people to come shop and live in our space. Sweet LaLa’s Bakery is not just a place to stop in and grab delicious food, but it’s a place we’ve created to nourish and fuel people to go out and do good in the world outside our walls. We also ship our products nation wide to help shine a light on what is taking place here in our city and we are proud to represent the good work going on every day.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If spending a day in Memphis, TN I’d fuel up at our place, Sweet LaLa’s Bakery with an iced vanilla latte with oat milk. I’d head over to Shelby Farms and take a lap around the lake. Next, I’d drive out to Collierville to Sheffield’s Antiques and spend a few hours scouring for the perfect furniture piece. I’d shop all along Poplar Avenue from Saddle Creek to Regalia and stock up on fun jewelry and new clothes. I close out the day by eating comfort pizza at Hog and Hominy. Day two, I’d be sure to enjoy the Memphis Zoo and shop nearby at Palladio and Market Central. I’d clean up for a fancier evening and wear an outfit I bought at Indigo. I’d find my way to Central Station for drinks and watch the sunset over the Mississippi River and have dinner at Bishop.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to dedicate the work I do to John Young who I met in 2014 and still works on my team today. John has persevered to overcome all of the obstacles in his life and has had is hands on virtually every cookie we’ve ever made for our customers. His work ethic and focus has made him stand out. John’s story will be featured in an upcoming you tube channel called Flip My Life and I’m grateful we’ve navigated growing this business together.

Website: www.sweetlalas.com

Instagram: sweetlalasbakery

Facebook: sweetlalascookies