When Laura Jhaveri and her husband Akhil moved to Clark County from Texas in 2010 for him to take a new job, they didn’t know what was in store. Just a year later, Akhil received the devastating diagnosis of ALS, and Laura needed to find a way to eventually support herself and her children. She knew that the ALS journey would be difficult, but she was strong and creative. She had a natural ability to bake, and after encouragement from friends and weeks of trying new recipes, she created what today is known as a “cake bomb:” the product that led to the inception of Killa Bites.
Laura partnered with Donna Suomi in October of 2013 and together, the company was born. They began with three products: cake bombs, biscotti and gourmet caramel corn. Currently, Killa Bites has expanded its product offerings to include other types of cakes and desserts, as well as full-meal catering. The company, which crafts its products out of the kitchen of The Birds and The Beans coffee shop building in Ridgefield, primarily sells its products wholesale to local coffee shops, wineries and tasting rooms, and local stores such as New Seasons and Zupan’s Markets. Customers can also order directly to pick up orders, too.
Today, the company has annual revenues of more than $500,000 and has a team of 20 people. When it comes to what makes the company unique, Laura said that it comes down to their different products and flavors.
“The cake bomb is a complex product offered in 10 to 12 flavors at any given time,” she said. “Each cake bomb is crafted by hand with a filling like you might find in a fine chocolate, and that filling is wrapped in a rich, dense cake. The entire bomb is hand-dipped in chocolate. Flavors include Birthday Cake, Salted Caramel, Raspberry Cheesecake and Lemon Kiss, to name a few. Our biscotti are also handmade from scratch and come in some unique flavors such as Lemon Lavender and Fig & Fennel. We make our gourmet caramel corn in small batches using real ingredients – no powdered mixes. In addition to salted caramel drizzled with real Belgian dark chocolate and caramel apple, we make a couple of unique flavors: Masala Madness, which is a Chai tea meets caramel corn flavor and It’s a Par-Thai, which plays on the concept of Thai food, incorporating peanut butter and red pepper into the caramel corn.”
When the pandemic hit, Killa Bites had to get creative, as many of the retailers that sold their products were forced to close. This gave them the opportunity to expand the catering side of the business, and they participated in ‘Savor the Couve’ dinners.
Killa Bites has plenty of sweet things to look forward to.
“We are always exploring new products and ideas,” Laura said. Watch for some changes in the next couple of years as we refine our offerings and launch some new ones.”
