Divas Dips’ Small-Batch Confections Are Irresistibly Delicious

Mother-Daughter Team Plunges into Sweet Entrepreneurship

Some mother-daughter relationships are like oil and water, but the relationship between Sandy and Carissa Meekins is as sassy and comfortable as their delectable treats are sweet. With no history of working together—and only on-the-job training in culinary arts—the mother-daughter team launched Divas Dips and Gourmet Treats in 2021.

“My mom is my best friend … we’re basically the same person, and we’re both stubborn,” says Carissa, who juggles cookie-making for Divas Dips with parenting her 14-year-old daughter, Cydnee, and her 3- year-old son, Miguel.

After witnessing an overwhelmingly positive response to chocolates that she crafted and donated to her church fundraiser, Sandy wondered aloud: “I’ve always wanted to start a business; should I try it?” Her sister’s response—”It will work or it won’t; if you don’t try, it won’t happen”—inspired her to take the leap. She leapt with Carissa, who left her job as a medical lab technologist after her son was diagnosed with autism. Support from Woonsocket-based culinary incubator Millrace Kitchen and the Small Business Administration were instrumental. Now nestled in a cozy shop in Pawtucket’s Hope Artiste Village, the duo turns out an impressive assortment of sweet treats.

“Most recently, I’ve been inundated with making decorative sugar cookies,” says Carissa, who had never cooked or baked until launching the business. The woman who once dreamed of being a doctor now bakes creative cookies, decorated and topped with royal icing, made from confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder and vanilla. An early customer’s request for Mickey Mouse cookies thrust the then-reluctant Carissa into cookie-baking.

“Carissa worked really hard to find the best sugar cookie recipe that would keep people coming back for more,” says Sandy. “Carissa tweaked the recipes and taste-tested the cookies again and again. We have one customer who finds the cookies so addictive he calls them ‘crack cookies!’” Cookies decorated with University of Rhode Island helmets are popular at URI, as are their “paint your own cookies” packages for children’s birthday parties. Their sugar cookies and caramel-wrapped pretzels are best-selling items.

“We create all the coloring of our treats by hand, for our chocolates and our sugar cookies,” says Carissa. Divas Dips offers small-batch gourmet popcorn for customers who want something other than—or in addition to––chocolate.

“I’m the one who brings the hip new ideas to the store,” says Carissa. “I’ll find ideas, research them and give them our own little twist,” such as adding a hit of raspberry to the chocolate that enhances the citrus flavor of the chocolate- dipped dehydrated orange slices.

Tempering chocolate—melting it to between 115°F and 118°F––is Sandy’s precise and tedious task. “If it’s not done properly every time,” says Sandy, “the chocolate looks dull.” Calling those occasional dull chocolates “the blooms,” which taste no less delicious than the shiny chocolates, they sell them at a deep discount. Sandy also makes ganache, caramel-wrapped pretzels, chocolate clusters and peanut butter cups, with her own peanut butter filling.

They’re developing a small but loyal following of customers who find their goodies at Stock in Providence, the Village Art Cooperative in Chepachet and the Wednesday evening farmers market at Hope Artiste Village. They’re regulars at craft and holiday fairs, and members of Providence’s Hood AME Zion Church––where everything began for Sandy––enjoy the turtles, chocolate- coated pretzels and cashew clusters, says Sandy. As small as the business is, they’ve supplied treats for weddings and other large parties, including a recent Rhode Island School of Design event, for which Carissa and Sandy baked off 1,000 small Whoopie and Oatmeal Cream pies.

While juggling childcare with long hours at the shop is a challenge for Carissa, she’s blown away by responses from customers, including one who returned minutes after finishing his ice cream sandwich to request more. “We are a small-batch business, but those moments truly show that we are doing something right to keep people coming back, who appreciate what we’re doing. We’re putting out products that I––and our customers––want to eat.”

“The chocolate-dipped [dried] orange slices became an instant Stock classic the minute we rolled them out,” says Stock Culinary Goods’ owner Jan Dane. “Dipped chocolate is a passion of mine and Divas Dips gets it right––the hit of chocolate, the satisfying crunch and the delightful tang of citrus. The combination satisfies on all levels.”

“I want to make money so Carissa can have a paycheck and grow this business,” says Sandy. “Watching Carissa bake and decorate the cookies––and watching the company grow––is such a joy. I’m just happy here.”

Eager to support other small businesses, especially women-owned businesses, they hope to expand to include a coffee bar with locally sourced coffees. Humble and grateful for this opportunity, Sandy and Carissa work nearly round the clock to produce their small-batch gourmet sweets for Rhode Islanders––and out-of-staters––to enjoy.

Might sweet treats be in their DNA? Sandy’s father, Tom Braxton, spent his career working for the once-iconic School House Candy, which produced its candies in the same building that Divas Dips occupies. Cydnee makes her own hot cocoa bombs and created her own lemon curd cake and peanut butter-and-jelly cake. “She wants to be a young entrepreneur,” says Carissa, who credits her daughter with the company name, given Sandy’s preference to be called “GrandDiva” rather than “Grandma.” When asked which of them is the Diva of Divas Dips, they speak with one voice: “Both of us!”

Divas Dips and Gourmet Treats 1005 Main St., Suite 8226, Pawtucket 401.829.9032; DivasDips.com W 4–8 pm Th, F 9 am–1 pm (If the lights are on during off times, try knocking on the door.)