Meet Brittany Gudino | Home Baker

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

Hi Brittany, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
After much encouragement from my coworker and friend John Viray, owner of Johnny’s Philippine Grill, I started my business. He encouraged me to sell my Ube Crinkle Cookies, but I was very apprehensive. I never imagined that I could create a business from 1 cookie recipe. I just finished an accounting class for my Master’s degree and didn’t feel prepared to take the next course. I thought, “Maybe I can start side-hustle selling cookies and apply the accounting principles I learned in school to help solidify the concepts.” We will see if I earned the correct grade in Accounting in April!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Tucson has so many incredible home bakers, but where my business stands out from other home bakers is my use of ube, a Filipino purple yam. Ask any Filipino or Asian-American about ube, and they will likely share a story about having ube ice cream in their Halo Halo on a hot summer day or eating ube crinkle cookies during Christmas. Eating ube is a core memory for many, so getting the opportunity to find ube-flavored desserts in Tucson, sharing the flavor, and retelling childhood stories surrounding the flavors is exciting. I love trying new foods and am grateful to have the opportunity to share my culture through food with others.

I started my business in September 2022, and it has been growing faster than I could have imagined. I accredit my business success to my customers, but the rapid growth has challenges. I am a one-woman business who works full-time, balancing a career I love and my passion for baking. I used to reduce my sleep to keep up with my tasks, but I quickly realized that was not sustainable. With the help of my husband and the skills that I learned in the military, I adopted more efficient processes to overcome work-life balance struggles.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Whenever my friends come to visit, the only thing they ask to do is eat out a lot! Our first stop would be HeeMee Coffee + Bakery for their red bean donuts and breakfast sandwich. Next, we would walk around downtown Tucson, catching up while sipping a few glasses of wine at Revel, and we’d finish the night at the MSA Annex for Soul Food Wednesdays. During the trip, we would also get a few workouts at Jet Sports Training and take a few bike rides on The Loop, but I know my friends are most excited about food, so booking a Tucson Food Tour would also be a must. Hopefully, my friends are visiting during the Gem Show or the 4th Ave Street Fairs. Those events are the most fun and what I brag about the most.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I am not native to Tucson, but the fantastic people of this city treat me like family. I have received so much support from other business owners such as Butter and Whisk, Tucson Coffee Cricket, Tita Tita, Johnny’s Philippine Grill, Wikilicious Tucson South, and so many customers who tag my Instagram and share my desserts with friends and family. At my first pop-up, one of my customers told me she drove from Oro Valley (50 minutes away) to try my cookies. I couldn’t hold back the tears!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ube_bae_desserts/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UbeBaeDesserts/

Image Credits
Tarah Maes