BWW Preview: SWEET WHISPERS Fruit-Filled Meringue Debuts in NYC

Sweet Whispers are a delightful innovation: the first fruit-filled meringue to hit the market, created by founder and CEO, Maria Umana. All-natural, gluten free, non-GMO and made entirely from scratch, Sweet Whispers are crafted lovingly from 100% natural ingredients with no artificial dyes, preservatives or additives. Umana created these craveable gourmet treats with one goal in mind: to put a smile on the face of anyone who tries them. Her Whispers are a huge hit in her hometown of McLean, Virginia, and as word spreads, she's preparing to share them with the world.

Founded in 2016, Sweet Whispers started as a hobby for Umana after her children left for college. A talented home cook, she looked to her Colombian heritage for inspiration and remembered a favorite treat of hers, the traditional meringue dessert, merengón. Like other similar sweets, however, merengón is not filled, but rather topped with fruit. Because meringue is so delicate, it usually begins dissolving soon after coming into contact with fruit. Umana relished the challenge and tirelessly tweaked her measurements until she finally achieved the kitchen breakthrough she was looking for: a meringue bite that held filling inside without disintegrating. Her proprietary recipe yields a light-as-a-whisper, delicately sweet outer shell that remains intact. Current fillings include key lime, passionfruit, raspberry or blackberry, all homemade with real fruit. That means that the key lime filling starts as-you guessed it-actual key limes, and so on. Every step of the process is done by hand from cracking eggs to squeezing lemons, and only the highest-quality ingredients are used.

Umana first introduced Sweet Whispers to the public at a Christmas bazaar held at a community member's home-they were such a hit that the local school's PTA ended up ordering 450 bags. At this point she knew she had something special on her hands, but the next challenge was becoming a member of the Specialty Food Association, which requires a presence in retail stores. Umana started pounding the pavement, delivering sample packages with info cards stapled to the top. She managed to land three shops, Star Nut Gourmet, Bocatto Gelato, and Killer ESP, allowing her to join the SFA. She has since received large orders from Hilton in D.C., and had her capabilities tested when she was given 10 days to fulfill orders totaling 8,000 filled meringues from participating in the now-defunct Amazon Surprise Sweets program. To meet demand, she had her home kitchen licensed and converted to a commercial workspace where she currently employs a small team. Innovative and delicious, Sweet Whispers are like nothing else on the market.

Sweet Whispers will debut to the public on June 29th at The Sweet Shop NYC (https://www.thesweetshopnyc.com/), the specialty candy retailer that oozes with vintage confections, imaginative gifts, small-batch ice cream and craft desserts, zealously curated by husband and wife team Kelly and Glyn Jaime, both self-proclaimed candy buffs.

Sweet Whispers will also be showcased at the Fancy Food Show from June 30th-July 2nd booth number 6415 in the SUSTA Pavilion (https://www.specialtyfood.com/shows-events/).

Sweet Whispers may also be purchased online at www.sweetwhispers.store.

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