Jesse Wen Takes a New Approach to Sweets and Success

Jesse Wen operates Red Modern Sweets entirely on her own, but her vision for success includes all Sacramento small businesses. At Red Modern Sweets, Jesse creates uniquely flavored baked goods by incorporating tea and flowers. The Sacramento-based small business is most well-known for its tea and floral-infused cheesecake cookies.

For Jesse, the concept was simple: “I love tea and flowers, and I thought it would be unique to incorporate it into sweets,” she said. “They are flavors that are usually not found in sweets, especially in Sacramento.”

Her menu is constantly evolving, but her social media boasts a history of mouth-watering desserts, including a jasmine shortbread with honey center and kumquat black tea panna cotta. With a wide variety of items and a creative baking approach, Jesse’s one-of-a-kind business has created its own niche.

Besides the delicious desserts, Red Modern Sweets also provides high tea catering, with the coveted cheesecake cookies included, of course. Jesse started her business in January 2020, and it seemed to take off until the coronavirus pandemic quickly brought business to a halt. As the pandemic introduced new obstacles to Jesse’s vision, she shifted her focus to doing pre-orders and pick-ups for customers, rather than her regular pop-up shops.

It’s tough to plan for the future as the pandemic keeps businesses in a state of uncertainty, but Jesse is looking forward with a renewed strategy to continue sharing her sophisticated desserts. She hopes to eventually have a brick-and-mortar, while continuing to do events and preorders. Jesse added, “I would like to build my platform to be able to help other small businesses like myself and bring attention to them.”

As a valuable part of the Sacramento small business community, Jesse is always the first to repost and reshare other small businesses’ content. She is not only an entrepreneur, baker, and business owner, but also a recognized supporter in encouraging other Sacramento small businesses.

Jesse runs Red Modern Sweets on her own – her roles include photographer, creator, and baker. Despite wearing many hats, she has felt the support she gives to other small businesses is reciprocated.

“I have had a lot of help from other small businesses like Tea Cozy, Propagate, Warehouse Creative, and We Are Sacramento. They provide a space and/or highlight small businesses,” Jesse said.

She emphasized the importance of bringing people together – whether it’s through social media, small business partnerships, or just splitting a cheesecake cookie with someone – success is even sweeter when shared.

Check out and support Red Modern Sweets below:
Website: redmodernsweets.com
Instagram: @redmodernsweets
Facebook: Red Modern Sweets