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

Hi Alicia, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
The pandemic was actually serendipitous. A complete Covid story. As many, we all cooked our way through the pandemic. My daughter loves ice cream so we decided to buy a small maker and make ice cream at home. When I realized there was SO much whole milk, heavy cream and sugar, I decided to make a “healthier” version with organic oat milk and plant-based ingredients. I made pints for friends, then friends of friends started to place orders and a small grocer chain, Erewhon, asked to purchase them for their stores. Lavender and Truffles was born.

What should our readers know about your business?
I have been working in the fashion & beauty for over 25 years launching brands and products in the luxury market working with prestigious brands such as Prada, Dolce & Gabbana and LVMH. After learning from these established and legendary brands, I started working with smaller start-up companies and loved the fast pace entrepreneurial environment where decisions are made swiftly and results came to fruition quickly. But, my passion has always been in food as I come from a family of chefs and restaurateurs, so with my background in branding, I decided to launch a food product.

In the luxury market, packaging is key to branding so I knew I wanted my something unique, but every copacker told me it cannot be done. After 6 months of back & forthness, I decided to launch with a straight edge container with a unique label and I love it, They look like beauty products in the freezer! Its not going to be scalable, but I’ll cross that path when I get there.

Coming from the luxury market, its a bit of culture shock when you enter the CPG industry. This is truly a pennies business. Every single penny counts in your margin. My challenge is deciding which revenue channel to focus on to scale the business; wholesale, ecommerce or brick & mortar? Every avenue has its pro’s and con’s and Ive been testing all of them before making a commitment. In the end, you need to choose what’s right for you, what you believe in and the decision may not be driven by money. I had to think about how I want to live my life and my final decision is due to a lifestyle choice, so I’m on the hunt for a retail space to open my first scoop shop. Like my product, packaging and branding, its not going to be an ordinary scoop shop, it will be a new concept. Stay tuned!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
What a coincidence! My sister and niece were here last week visiting from NYC and we built a great itinerary of our favorites things in and around LA, but everything needs to be planned well if you want to get everything on your list and plan in sections around LA traffic!

West LA

What to do:
-Santa Monica Place, promenade, pier and farmer’s market as they are iconic
-World of Barbie
-Shopping on Abbot Kinney
-Get carnival-like food on the Venice boardwalk or check our the skate park
-Museum at the Getty-amazing contemporary art
-Paddle boarding with your pups at Mother Beach
-Sunbathing at either Matador Beach where you need to hike down a big hill to reach the rustic beach or Malibu Lagoon for calm waters then access to Malibu Pier so you can lunch at Malibu Farm
-hop on a scooter for short travels

Where to eat:
-Shirube-our new favorite Japanese Izakaya place that just opened 2 months ago. everything is AMAZING and all items are priced well
-Colapasta-one man show at this homemade pasta place-all dishes are unique and truly delicious!
-Taco stand-the northern stand in front of WholeFoods on Lincoln. Al pastor tacos are a MUST HAVE
-Din Tai Fung-hands down the BEST soup dumplings you will ever have, although we’ve been the original one in Taiwan and its even better
-Rita’s-best family run Indian restaurant
-The Destroyer in Culver City is the best farm to table cafe in my book.
-Demitass Cafe…for Lavender and Truffles weekly pop up’s for ice cream of course!

East LA

What to do:
-Griffith Park-hike to the Hollywood sign
-Little Tokyo-just get lost and check out all the cute shops and cafes
-Teahouse at Shiloh-you need to make an appt to enter, then they will send you the address. leave your shoes at the door!

Where to eat:
-Pine & Crane-for the best Taiwanese resto in LA
-Chifa in Eagle Rock-Chinese Peruvian food and they carry Lavender and Truffles ice cream!
-Yoboseyo-cutest superette with yummy asian snacks and amazing artisanal coffee

Other:
-hot springs in Santa Barbara
-cotton candy sculptures from Polar Playground in Huntington Beach

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My family’s culinary skills were passed down by relatives who were trained in the last Emperor’s kitchen in mainland China. Food has been the foundation in my life. I first started cooking at home with my father, a chef in his family’s restaurant in Argentina. He taught me life’s biggest lesson: preparation is everything. Prep work was the backbone of a perfect dish. Chopping was the art of cooking. For me, it became therapeutic. If it wasn’t for my father who gave me the appreciation for food, I dont think I would be where I am today.

Website: https://www.lavenderandtruffles.com/

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-liu-64b32516b/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lavenderandtru1

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

Image Credits
photography: John Von Pamer styling: Kat Turner

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.