Erica Pietrzyk is the owner of a booming Michigan-based pierogi business - Pietrzyk Pierogi. Founded in 2017, the business has grown from a dive bar snack to a product that can now be found in 32 different states!
The story of Pietrzyk Pierogi is one of resilience, community, and growth, so it’s unsurprising that when they ran a Honeycomb Credit campaign, 80 investors put $95,000 into their expansion.
From Dive Bar to Freezer Aisle
When she was tending a dive bar in Hamtramck, a once mostly Polish suburb of Detroit, Erica realized that she needed to feed her hungry customers. It was a natural decision to start making them pierogi, which she had been making for her entire life. At first, it was just a pop-up for a week, which turned into months, and just never stopped.
At her day job, Erica was working in a dairy manufacturer and learning about how to scale production up - she took these lessons to heart, and thought about how she could apply it to her growing pierogi business.
Pietrzyk Pierogi started in 2017, with always handmade pierogi and a value system centered around their employee community. Pietrzyk Pierogi is an employee-focused company, always working to build a prosperous environment for employees to achieve more together and give back to the community. While building the company up, Erica found healing in the process after experiencing a domestic assault - it instilled in her a passion for going after her goals without fear.
Over the years, Pietrzyk Pierogi has continued to grow, despite setbacks such as their distributor dropping out, and severe health problems that Erica experienced and left her options for working constrained.
Even so, the business is planning ahead for the future, building out their current manufacturing facility and growing into a new one - the plan is not only to scale up to increase production, but also create opportunities for customers to come to the facility and learn about Polish cuisine in an immersive kitchen environment.
To fund this growth project, Erica decided to launch an investment offering with Honeycomb Credit, a platform that allows independent business owners to find investments from their customers and communities. Pietrzyk Pierogi’s Honeycomb campaign raised $95,000 from 80 investors to make it happen!
Building Community Alongside Investments
When Pietrzyk Pierogi launched their Honeycomb campaign, they saw a lot of positive response from their community.
Some investors are those who know Erica personally and want her pierogi to succeed, like Chester Belecki, who says, “I have met Erica a few times. Have eaten her pierogies a few times. And have had a few beers with Erica. I love Erica and I love her pierogies. I grew up on my mom's delicious pierogi and Erica's are pretty close. I am excited to invest and believe in Erica. Now let's make some pierogi. Smacznego!”
Other investors were impressed by the story of resilience that they saw in Pietrzyk Pierogi and were moved to invest. Investor Ryder Noyes comments, “Reading through your discussion page, it sounds like you and your staff are willing to do what it takes to overcome any obstacle. I hope to see you all prosper in your business ventures. As a fellow small business owner I tip my hat and wish you the best.”
These investors heard the message of “Make pierogi, eat love” and loved it! Pietrzyk Pierogi met and exceeded their minimum investment goal and ended up with $95,000 to start making upgrades to their facility. They ended up throwing a party to celebrate the growth and invited investors to party with them!
Thank you to Pietrzyk Pierogi for letting Honeycomb Credit be a part of their story - we’re so excited to see how the business grows and to get more pillowy pierogi full of love on grocery shelves across America!
Take your product to the next level with your community at your side
Products such as Pietrzyk Pierogi thrive on Honeycomb because they’re widely available, lovingly made, and have community at the center. Your product could be the next one to grow - get investments from your community when you run a Honeycomb Credit campaign - fill out the form below to learn more!
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