In her home kitchen in the Adelaide Hills, May Pike found the ingredient for sweet success with a batch of homemade marshmallows. Pippa Haupt spoke to the Cloud Theory founder about the journey so far.
May Pike is no stranger to the business of sweet treats. The eldest daughter of Cambodian refugees, her family immigrated to Los Angeles when she was just two years old, and opened a doughnut shop nearby LAX.
She attributes her love of business and entrepreneurship to growing up – and working – in her parents’ shop.
Pike says, “I was witness to my parents’ resilience and determination; fleeing the Khmer Rouge genocide and starting all over again in America. Having that foundation gave me the mentality that if you work hard, you can make it happen. So that was the mindset that I had growing up.
“I always knew that entrepreneurship was my passion. Being in that small business environment with my parents, and seeing them achieve ‘the American dream’ from starting with nothing, taught me that you don’t have to be the smartest or most creative person, but if you work hard, you can get there.”
Still living in Los Angeles as an adult, Pike met her Australian husband in a Hollywood bar, and moved to Australia in 2012. She now lives with her family on their farm in the Adelaide Hills.
“After taking that leap moving to Australia for love, I noticed the only marshmallows available in the supermarkets were Pascal’s. They were very powdery and small – not big and fluffy like in the US.
“I jokingly said I should just try making my own marshmallow, and seven years later I finally did for my son’s first birthday.
A lightbulb moment
Pike thought, if she was going to try, she would go all out.
“I thought, if I’m going to make marshmallow, I should make it fancy. So I made a raspberry marshmallow using real raspberry puree. I figured out how to make it from watching YouTube and Googling, but I am an intuitive cook. It’s my hobby to be in the kitchen,” says Pike.
From there, light bulbs started going off in Pike’s head.
“The idea really came to fruition when I was able to make it. They tasted great and essentially ticked all the boxes: easy ingredients; low cost; scalable; and shelf stable. Unlike other desserts like cookies and cupcakes, marshmallows are pretty durable and have a long shelf life,” she says.
Working at the donut shop had shown Pike how much product could be wasted every day. Doughnuts not sold on the day would be thrown out because they go stale quickly.
“Doughnuts weren’t a sustainable idea in my mind, but marshmallows ticked all the boxes. I immediately wanted to take the next step and booked myself into a farmer’s market, and Cloud Theory was born,” Pike says.
An online pivot
Cloud Theory started taking flight when Pike pivoted the business into an online store during Covid, opening it up to the whole of Australia.
She managed to secure the use of a small commercial kitchen at an Adelaide Hills winery’s cellar door, which was on a forced hiatus due to the pandemic.
It was during this time that Cloud Theory started garnering plenty of attention on social media channels.
“I think that this company and this concept would have never worked in any other time in history except for now with social media, because how could a small brand like myself compete with larger confectionery brands with the budgets to be able to market to a lot of people?
“Social media levels the playing field for small businesses to be able to gain attention – and a lot of it,” says Pike.
Pike secured the brand’s first stockist and then, through a partnership with one of Adelaide’s biggest grocers, gained access to a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen, allowing it to scale.
Cloud Theory then caught the eye of international retailer, Costco, which would become its first major retail customer.
“To be ready to launch into Costco we needed to scale up drastically and quickly.
“That’s when the beauty of the marshmallow comes in: it doesn't need to bake, it just needs to set.
“As long as we had the cool room space, we didn't need a lot of equipment. Essentially, you need people and space,” says Pike.
With Costco on board it was all systems go, the company immediately expanded its team to ramp up production.
Pike says that getting stocked in Costo was a full-circle moment for her.
“One of my key childhood memories was the weekly trip to Costco with my mum where we would pick up a trolley full of ingredients for the shop. It was symbolic and a reminder to me of the remarkable progress my parents achieved and what I’ve achieved,” says Pike.
From here, the business is striving for even greater heights.
“Unless it's something you're absolutely passionate about, there’s a risk of burning out in this business, so I feel very fortunate to have found my passion.
“I hope my experience with Cloud Theory will give me the platform to encourage other women to give their business idea a go,” says Pike.
This story first appeared as Rising Star in the October-November issue of Food & Drink Business magazine.
