Meet Dahlia Weinman of Ann Arbor

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dahlia Weinman

Hi Dahlia, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I combine an MBA from Harvard, success as a cake designer and a love of food and sense of whimsy. Marzipops is now my passion, following earlier experiences in finance, publishing and marketing.

I am originally from New York, and moved to Ann Arbor with my husband when my children were young. I started marzipops when they were little, and now my children have grown up and marzipops has expanded to a new location on the east side of Ann Arbor with a team who is obsessed with delivering the most creative and most delicious marzipan direct to your door.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Covid, of course, was a challenge. We shut down for 6 months. But we used to time to renovate our new space and came back stronger than ever. Customers new and old all wanted to indulge in delicious candy when the masks came off and socializing started again.

Finding our own space took a while. We were sharing a bakery space with a colleague and we were bursting at the seams. Once we moved we were able to breathe again.

We are very seasonal and finding team members around the holidays is always stressful. But we are flexible and have been successful in identifying talent to work with us during these busy seasons.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Marzipan is an amazing canvas. A combination of ground almonds and sweet sugar, marzipan is mixed into a delicious paste. It is easily colored and manipulated. Some customers call it edible play dough. We are know for playful and delectable designs for all the holidays and for everyday, many that are unique to the marketplace.

We spend tons of time brainstorming new products and improving on current designs. We also love tapping into our customer community for new ideas and doing custom and corporate projects.

My favorite assignment is actually new product design. Our recent new products include cutie marzipan birds, a bee & flower edible tic tac toe game, pizza bagels and a set of mah jong tiles. All delicious, all made from marzipan, all delivered to your door in lovely gift boxes. And I adore our personalized items, where we personalized designs for use as placesettings and party favors. For example, we personalize pumpkins and add guests’ names so you can put one on the plate at each Thanksgiving table setting.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
It is important to utilize all your resources. Does your school have an alumni network? What about friends or friends of family? Get out there and interact with people. You never know who you might meet.

Always remember that most people want to be helpful, so don’t be afraid to ask. Someone once told me there are two kinds of people – askers and guessers. Askers are direct and upfront – they ask for what they want without expecting a specific answer. They ask for a wide variety of things, and are ok with getting a no. Guessers ask only for things if they’re certain of a positive response, and often apologize for asking. Be an asker.

And always, always, always send a thank you note.

Pricing:

• We sell our products in collections for the holidays and for everday. Our collection prices typically range from $48 to $58, with some higher and some lower.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://marzipops.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/marzipops
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marzipops
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mymarzipops

Image Credits
Team photo credit: Mark Bialek Photography