Meet Sarah Smith | Founder and Co-Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sarah Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah, what’s the most important thing you’ve done for your children?
I started Southern Caramel as a way to be home with my daughter. It was important for me to be with her in those early years and be her primary teacher as she was learning how to interact with the world around her. Teaching her the foundations of our faith at an early age is the most important thing I have done. For her to understand that God loves her and to show His love and kindness to all she interacts with. She is in school now and most of her time is not spent with me. Those early years spent together are precious to me and I see it as the gift that it was. Also, read with your kids everyday from the day they are born. A love of reading turns into a love of learning and they will thrive as they learn new things and problem solve.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Moving from aerospace to manufacturing gourmet caramels was not a normal progression. Cooking and baking for others is my love langauge, so it was a natural progression for me to turn to something that I loved. Now, learning to run a business is definitely a work in progress. I was 26 when I started Southern Caramel and most of my early career did not prepare me for CEO. The number one lesson is to always be willing to learn new things. Every day is different and I love that, but you have to be willing to ask others for advice and learn something new as challeges arise.

Southern Caramel is known for our amazing caramel, but we really specialize in gifting. It is the foundation of all we do and it is important to us to give back to our community. We are grateful that by of our customers gifting to others, it can help fuel our ability to support organizations related to breast cancer support or hospice care.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Living on the Space Coast of Florida, I would take them to Kennedy Space Center for a tour of our history (and future) of space travel. The miles of oceanfront also give lots of options for activities from surf lessons, paddle boarding, boating, kayaking, and just relaxing on the beach. One of my favorite summer acitvities is the bioluminescence that you can see in Canaveral National Shore. I would also take them to Downtown Melbourne for lots of dining options, The Mansion is my favorite and the rooftop seating overlooks the river. The Avenues in Viera is a great outdoor shopping mall with lots of shops, restautants, bars, and coffe shops. I would wrap up the trip with an air boat tour, because what is a trip to Florida without seeing a few alligators?

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My Dad, Jimi DePietro, joined me as a partner in 2018. He brought the long-term vision to the company. In addition to being an advocate for the business and an encouragement to me, he has fine-tuned our operations so that we were ready for growth (and continue to be).

Website: www.southerncaramel.com

Instagram: southern.caramel

Facebook: Southern-Caramel

Image Credits
Lisa Marshall Photography