Delicacies Jewelry began in 2015 with two huge objectives—to sell enough jewelry to be a successful business and to donate money for food-insecure people throughout the United States and Mexico.
Oh, and there was a third purpose: Delicacies founders Nicolle Nelson and John Peter Larson wanted to show their then-8-year-old daughter that two people could make a difference. And they have: In September, the company hit its goal of donating the equivalent of 1 million meals through their jewelry sales.
“From day one, giving back was baked into Delicacies Jewelry,” says Nelson, who lives with her family in Mexico. “One million meals was a big number and at the same time seemed an impossible goal. But slowly but surely we reached our goal.… We took inspiration from the Desmond Tutu quote ‘Do your little bit of good where you are. It’s those little bits that overwhelm the world.’
“It’s also shown us that we’ve achieved product and market fit as we acquire more and more customers,” she says. “Reaching our milestone has been a long, slow build that we tally every quarter, so it wasn’t a total surprise. We look forward to celebrating it with some upcoming new products, new partnerships, and being able to donate more meals.”
As a charitable brand, Delicacies has sought out local organizations that the Nelson and Larson clicked with and could volunteer at regularly. Nelson says she and her husband enjoy operating as a jewelry line for food lovers and feel validated and rewarded in their mission.
“We believe that food is a way of knowing ourselves and relating to others, and that we can connect with different cultures through food and afterwards realize that we aren’t so different after all,” she says. “Making a home-cooked meal for family and friends is our favorite way to show people how much we love them. Our jewelry is an extension of the idea that ‘food is love,’ so that every purchase helps get nutritious and delicious meals to people who need them.”
Next month Delicacies will introduce a product to raise funds for Mérida-based El Renacer del Mayab, which provides after-school meals to kids in need in three locations. The company will donate 100% of all profits from the new product to the program, Nelson says.
Doing good and doing well can go together, she says. Plus, the journey has been fun because of Delicacies’ customers.
“We love the fact that brides buy our jewelry for their entire wedding parties, that families buy dumpling and pasta jewelry for their whole family around the holidays,” says Nelson. “And we love having customers use our jewelry to commemorate their kids, many of whom are named or nicknamed after foods—and you’d be amazed how many people have pets named after food!
“We’ve found that because of our give-back program, our customers have a deeper relationship with our brand, purchase more over time, and are our best brand ambassadors,” she adds. “Our commitment to giving back also keeps us very much engaged in our business because the more jewelry we sell means that we are able to get more meals to people who need them through our hunger partners.”
Top: Elbow macaroni is just one type of pasta on Delicacies jewelry—other shapes include penne, rigatoni, farfalle, and ravioli. (Photos courtesy of Delicacies Jewelry)
Follow JCK on Instagram: @jckmagazineFollow JCK on Twitter: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine
