Today we’d like to introduce you to Ken Velky.
Hi Ken, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
When I was in my late twenties, I owned a box lunch catering business with two college biddies of mine. Our business did well and we outgrew our tiny little kitchen. We raised more money and bought a restaurant with the plan of continuing the catering operation out the back door. The restaurant quickly turned into a money pit and killed the business as well as the financial possibility of doing it again. However, the day I left that business was the day I wanted to do it again.
Life moved on, marriage, mortgage, kids. Knowing that all I wanted professionally was my own little food business as life meandered its path I kept the embers of that dream alive. I came up with the name, Dueling Grandmas, and the concept for the business 12 or 13 years ago. What I needed was the correct time, financial resources and financial stability to be able to make the move and start Dueling Grandmas.
Finally, after years of hoping and waiting for the “correct” time to come I knew that it would never come. My niece got married in October of 2020, she didn’t want a traditional wedding cake, instead she wanted me to make 140 of my Millionaire’s shortbreads. (Millionaire’s shortbreads are shortbread topped with homemade caramel and then topped with a layer of chocolate) I gladly accepted the honor and this was the final push I needed to tell myself that the correct time will never come, so on October 31st, 2020 I quit my job and November 1st, 2020 I started Dueling Grandmas.
I didn’t have any customers, I didn’t have a website, and I didn’t have a kitchen. I knew that if I wrote down everything I needed to do in order to start my business that I would be overwhelmed by list and it wouldn’t be done, but I also knew that I had the passion and the drive and if I just started working on everything, it would somehow get done.
Grandma MacKenzie (my grandmother) and my mother-in-law Grandma McIntyre are the inspirations behind Dueling Grandmas. My family has been making Grandma MacKenzie’s shortbread for years and years. It’s four simple ingredients but when they are put together correctly, yes – you can screw up shortbread, but when it’s put together correctly, baked at the correct temperature for the correct amount of time what comes out of the oven is one of the greatest cookie creations ever created by man, (Scottish women to be more factual).
My mother-in-law knowing how much I love cooking shared a recipe for Millionaire’s shortbread with me. Now, it would be sacrilegious of me to not use Grandma MacKenzie’s shortbread as the base of these shortbread cookies. I quite often made these cookies for hostess treats and gifts, everyone loved them. As I was trying to figure out if there could be a way for me to sell these and start my food business and because the cookie was inspired by and the blending of two recipes from grandmas the name Dueling Grandmas popped into my head. I liked it and so did everyone I shared the name with, now I just needed to right time to get the business started 🙂
Taking the leap and starting Dueling Grandmas has been greatest professional decision I have ever made. I love everything about owning and running my little food business. That said, this past year and a half has also been incredibly strenuous and difficult. The one thing that gives me solace as I grow my little business is knowing that the product I make is FANTASTIC. Having customers tell me that this is the best shortbread or even the best cookie they have ever eaten makes me happy and proud. it gives me the energy I need to keep establishing my online shortbread gift company, which is not an easy thing to do. I’m building my brand, increasing recognition (I only need about 50,000 more people to know I exist) and constantly working on new ideas in the kitchen.
This past year I have been blessed with great reviews and media attention. Dueling Grandmas was the lead front page article in the White Bear Press, and received a nice write up in White Bear Magazine. My shortbread has been mentioned on radio, the Jason and Alexis Show, and Lori and Julia both on MyTalk 107.1. But the biggest best and most impactful media has been my shortbread appearance on two local TV shows. The Jason Show and Twin Cities Live. When the hosts of these shows eat your shortbread in front of their audience and rave about how good they are, needless to say, that’s quite a good feeling.
A year and a half ago I started Dueling Grandmas with two varieties Grandma Mackenzie’s Original and Grandma McIntyre’s Millionaires. I have now made more than a dozen varieties from Raspberry White Chocolate, Brown Sugar Pecan to Pina Colada, and I just introduced Wee Bites, small individual shortbreads. In the future I have plans to create a gluten free line of shortbread cookies.
As I work on establishing duelinggrandmas.com I keep gaining a wonderful local following through the Farmers Markets I participate in. My primary markets are the Minneapolis Farmers Market, and I work closely with a 7 Vines Vineyard (yes, my shortbread pairs wonderfully with wine) and the tastings and markets they regularly hold. Dueling Grandmas can also be found at various other markets in the Twin Cities. This information can be found on my website duelinggrandmas.com.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road. Establishing my business in the midst of a pandemic has been very difficult, not only on some of the limitations I have in the markets, but my wife’s work has been greatly impacted and the financial strain upon the household is very difficult.
The simple fact is, Dueling Grandmas is a specialty gift product. It’s wonderful, it’s delicious, but it’s a special treat or gift. Because of that, getting as many people as possible to know I exist and for them to know that they can trust what they are getting is quality, is not a simple thing to do. Once people eat it, they’re sold, but it takes time to build a reputation.
Hopefully, the pandemic and public restrictions will dissipate soon and farmers market traffic will increase and corporate and social events will come back and Dueling Grandmas can increase its exposure.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The foundation of Dueling Grandmas is built upon the best shortbread cookie you can buy. I’m not a braggadocious person, I know it’s the best shortbread you can buy because my customers have repeatedly told me. “I’d sell a relative for this cookie” was the comment Jason Matheson said when he tried the Millionaire’s shortbread on ‘The Jason Show’.
The cornerstone of all of my shortbreads is the exact same shortbread my Grandma MacKenzie made. It’s shortbread perfection and when you use it as the base for recipe development everything just falls into place. Everyone of my shortbread cookies are made by hand in small batches, which keeps the integrity of the recipe in place. It is not being processed in giant industrial mixers and extruders. These are made with my own two hands and I truly care about the quality and taste of every single shortbread I have made. I have now made 40,000 shortbread cookies and the pride and joy that fills me as I package up the shortbread today is still the same as the first batch I produced.
Quite often when people order shortbread on my website I know that they are giving this shortbread as a gift. I love the fact that they are giving this gift with confidence. Confidence that the shortbread are excellent and confidence that the person receiving this gift is going to love the shortbread, which will make them more appreciative of the gift they just received.
At this time Dueling Grandmas is still the ultimate small business, as I am the only employee. Eventually, this will change but as of now, I love being the head dishwasher as well as the marketing director and global product strategist.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Right now Dueling Grandmas focuses of growing my online shortbread gift box business, farmer’s market sales and event sales (weddings, meetings, corporate parties). I have always come from the position that I will guide the growth of my little company, but I will not force it in any one direction. That said, my hope is that eventually the word of my shortbread will spread throughout America, and more and more people will know of and order Dueling Grandmas Shortbread.
As I grow, at the forefront of my growth is maintaining the quality of my shortbread. The primary reason so many people reorder from me is because they know and trust the quality of Dueling Grandmas Shortbread. So maintaining quality is priority number one as I grow, I know that my internal cost of making the shortbread will be more than my less expensive competitors in the online cookie business, but product integrity is more important to me than that extra percentage on the bottom line.
Five to ten years from now I hope that when people walk up to their doorstep and see that Mackenzie tartan box waiting for them a big smile will come across their face as they know they will soon be indulging in a wonderful treat
I hope that when people hear the name Dueling Grandmas they smile. Not just smiling at the cute name, but also smiling because they know how good Dueling Grandmas Shortbread is.
For many people, myself included, owning your own business is the American dream. I don’t know if any of my kids would have an interest in continuing and growing Dueling Grandmas, but I would be honored if they did. I would love for the legacies of Grandma Mackenzie and Grandma McIntyre to continue on with pride and within the family.
Pricing:
- Gift Boxes range from $18 to $33
- Farmers Market Pricing is 4 for $10, 10 for $23, or $3 each
Contact Info:
- Email: ken@duelinggrandmas.com
- Website: duelinggrandmas.com
- Instagram: duelinggrandmas
- Facebook: duelinggrandmas
- TikTok: duelinggrandmas
Image Credits
Julia Velky
Claire Velky
Grandma MacKenzie
