Racial Equity Fund Spotlight: Roselle Capili

AIM’s Racial Equity Fund Alumni Spotlight – Roselle Capili, Founder, Mac’d With Love

Thursday, June 27, 2024

The Racial Equity Fund (REF) is one of AIM’s core strategies tied to our Path to Racial Equity, and this month we are proud to spotlight Roselle Capili, Founder of Mac’d with Love, and beneficiary of AIM’s Racial Equity Fund. Mac’d with Love is run primarily by Roselle, who makes cute and delicious macarons with unique flavors that change every week.

Roselle started Mac’d with Love in 2020 during the peak of the pandemic. What started as a way to pass time during lockdown became an opportunity to launch a small business.

“It started out just as something fun, something to do while we were all stuck inside,” Roselle recalls. “It was a really nice outlet to start something I was passionate about. I didn’t even know that it could be anything besides posting cute pictures on social media.”

It wasn’t long before Roselle’s sweet treats began to gain attention online and she realized her passion could become more than a hobby. She began looking into getting licensed and started reaching out to different farmer’s markets in the Bay Area.

“I wanted to do things the right way,” Roselle remembers. “I really wanted to be involved in my community. I used to really like going to the farmers markets—get some sun and see all the farmers and small businesses come together. I’d see their passion in their business, and I wanted to experience that too.”

After many phone calls and a few dead ends, Mac’d with Love finally made its way to the market and began selling Roselle’s cute and colorful creations.

“I reached out to a few different organizations, and nothing really clicked until AIM.”

In 2022, Roselle applied to and was accepted into the first cohort of AIM’s Racial Equity Fund.

“Every day that [Mac’d with Love] is up and running is something to be proud of, but I feel like the most pivotal part of the whole journey was the Racial Equity Fund. It felt nice to feel seen.”

AIM’s Racial Equity Fund strives to reduce barriers to market entry, by specifically supporting BIPOC farmers, food producers, and artisans at AIM’s farmers markets. Each gift to the REF allows AIM to cover the cohort’s market registration fees, 6 months of market fees, a $1,000 stipend for any market-related costs, and a mentorship with an established market participant or Small Business Development Center advisor.

For Roselle, the support she received from the REF helped her take more risks with her business and invest in things that went beyond necessity.

“The stipend really helped me take chances and buy products or buy banners and different signage that I normally wouldn’t spend money on. But it really helped enhance my business and booth. It was nice to be able to not have to worry about ‘okay is this a necessity or just something extra.’ One of the things I bought was the little A-frames that you can put next to your booth. I think that caught people’s attention because I used that to show the different flavors I had for this week and next week. I could see people stopping to look.”

Since starting her business, Roselle has dreamed up incredible flavors like Ube x Oreo and Peppermint Hot Chocolate. As Mac’d with Love grows, Roselle is hoping “to dive more into artistic pieces.”

You can find Mac’d with Love at AIM’s Sunday Newark Farmers Market and order from their online store at macdwithlove.com.

HELP SUPPORT THE NEXT COHORT OF AIM’s RACIAL EQUITY FUND 

We have a special matching challenge to raise $1000. Your gift will be generously matched by Jonathan Mi.

AIM’s goal is to accept as many Racial Equity Fund participants as we have the funds to support each year, so please donate generously today.