SF Bay Area residents Candace Wu and Jonathan Weinstein love cheesecake as well as creating healthy versions of their favorite foods together. Unable to find any healthy, retail options for cheesecake, they spent a year making their low-carb, junk-free recipe perfect—and in 2021, Wonder Monday cheesecakes were born.
The company name signifies a new, upbeat vision for Mondays, which have a reputation for being tough, as well as their new take on a classic dessert. Mondays, they believe, should instead be magical and, to add to this allure, when you order their mini cheesecakes for delivery, you can also order a special, rainbow fork to eat them with! More broadly, Wonder Monday seeks to address the epidemic of obesity and diabetes through re-imagined desserts that retain the delicious taste people know and adore.
However, launching during the pandemic as a self-funded business was not easy. They had to source ingredients and organize deliveries of a perishable product against supply chain and labor shortages, and increasing costs of raw ingredients, fuel and e-commerce operations generally. Also, being aware of the impact of e-commerce on climate change, they made their packaging greener than average, with recyclable and reusable materials, which adds to cost.
Still, they managed to deliver value to their customers with a delicious alternative that can be eaten everyday. Not only are their bites-sized products fresh, but they can stay in the fridge for 7-10 days, keep for 9 months if frozen, and are soft enough to eat straight from the freezer—or thawed in 10 minutes—so it’s easy to enjoy them.
For Candace and Jonathan, it’s their customers that keep them going. As a small but mighty team, they appreciate hearing from customers and always work hard to incorporate feedback, and are thrilled when fans share their positive experiences.