Edible Delights finds Small Business Success

As a child, Fransel McCoy grew up eating healthy and delicious fruit snacks, lovingly prepared by her grandmother. Years later, as an employee with Dallas ISD, she noticed that young students often skipped the fruit selection in the school cafeteria.

“I just thought my grandmama’s recipe might inspire the kids to eat their apples,” said Fransel, who began treating apples with her grandmother’s recipe and selling the snacks after school, often selling out.

She soon left her job to open her new business, McCoy’s Creative Edible Delights, in 2015. Fransel continued her business education through a mentorship program with the Fair Park District Entrepreneurship Center, which introduced her to LiftFund and other small business resources.

In 2017, Fransel successfully secured a LiftFund loan for working capital, which allowed her to purchase additional business materials and open a retail space inside a local shopping mall.

“I’m so grateful for LiftFund,” she said. “They helped [my] business really get started.”

Fransel is among the thousands of African-American business owners that create new goods and services, develop jobs and spark community growth. In fact, almost 60% of African American-owned businesses are women-owned.

When she realized that the store’s location lacked the necessary foot traffic she reached out to the mall and City Square, a community development organization, to find the business a new home in a commercial kitchen.

Today, Fransel is successfully running her business from the commercial kitchen to fulfill online orders for delicious and healthy fruit trays and edible bouquets. She expects to expand the Creative Edible Delights brand by building and strengthening her partnerships with local catering businesses.

“My business is taking off and I’m just holding on,” she added. “The sky’s the limit for the future.”

Success stories, like Fransel’s, recognize the valuable contributions that African-Americans make to the economic growth and overall success of our communities. This February, as we celebrate Black History month, we honor African-American entrepreneurs, their dedication, commitment and their role in our future growth and success.

 

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