Meet Annika-mie Racadio | Pastry Chef & Co-Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Annika-mie Racadio and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Annika-Mie, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Our community. We aren’t self made, we are community made. We wouldn’t be where we are today without them. I am in constant awe of how loved we are and how much they show up and support us. From markets to online sales, they are incredibly vital to the success of our business. Without them, we wouldn’t be here.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a Filipinx, Asian & Pacific Island Inspired Bake Shop based out of Stockton, CA. We are a fully licensed and certified cottage food bakery. I make everything from scratch and majority of our baked goods are inspired by flavors and desserts i grew up eating and love. It’s been a long hard road to get where we are today from moving 500 miles away from San Diego (my hometown) to opening up a business in a place I wasn’t familiar with and wasn’t sure how we would do. I did a lot of research, picked the brains of fellow small business owners that were heavy into pop-ups at the time and asked my fellow colleagues for advice and took the leap and now here we are, almost 4 years later. I learned along the way that it takes a lot of perseverance, dedication and a lot of pivoting and coming to terms with that sometimes things don’t work out how you wanted or hoped and you have to keep growing and figuring things out to make it work. We’ve been in multiple different shops and a lot of them didn’t work out, due to one reason or another. I will forever be grateful for those opportunities because they helped us reach customers we wouldn’t have been able to otherwise and we also learned what to do next time and what not to do. I love what I do and I hope that it shows. I am incredibly passionate about not only food and desserts, but also with sharing that with others. I love seeing the smile on people’s face when they take a bite of one of our desserts or hearing about how it’s become their new favorite dessert or having the honor of creating birthday cakes for their special occasions. I will never take for granted the opportunity i’ve been given to be able to share my passion with others and be a part of their special moments and creating new memories.

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.
I am fortunate enough that my best friend lives in the same city as me, but if she didn’t I would take her to the famous Angel Cruz Park here in Stockton. It is filled with local vendors and generations of families selling delicious food. From lao sausages and papaya salad to fresh pressed sugar cane juice to delicious desserts. Then I would take her to House of Mokah in Manteca for the most delicious Yemeni Coffee, they have an amazing pistachio latte there. We would then hit up Terra Coffee off Yosemite Street here in Stockton during one of their open mic nights to experience local talent and an amazing atmosphere. Go shopping at The Little Shop on the Mile on Miracle Mile for some cute local hand made products such as cups, jewelry, body care and other beautiful things. Take a walk in the rose garden at University of The Pacific. Then end the trip with donuts at Donut King (my favorite donut shop here).

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to shout-out my husband, Chris. He’s been my rock, my sound board, my biggest supporter, hype man and the best partner in life and in this business I could ask for. He does all of the in person selling at markets, which I will be forever grateful for, because I am a huge introvert. He helps with not only selling but setting up at markets, helping me decide where we should grow our customer base at next and so much more. He is truly a rock star for helping me so much, without him I wouldn’t be as far as I am and neither would Nika’s Mad Sweets.

Instagram: nikasmadsweets