The recipe for Cloudy Donut Co. calls for a cup of Black love, a heaping helping of ownership, a pinch of perseverance, and plenty of plant-based sweetness. For Zewiditu Jewel and Derrick Faulcon, those ingredients have helped turn the country’s first 100% Black-owned vegan donut shop into a nationally recognized brand.
Founded by Faulcon in Baltimore in 2019 and officially launched in 2020, Cloudy Donut has grown from a neighborhood shop into a nationally recognized, 100% vegan brand with a presence in New York City and sold-out pop-ups across the country. Along the way, Faulcon and his partner, Zewiditu Jewel, have built the business around more than sweet treats, centering community, culture, and Black ownership with as much flavor as the donuts they sell.
The company brought its national tour to Atlanta with a Heavy Market pop-up during Invest Fest weekend. Ahead of the festivities, Jewel spoke exclusively with BOSSIP’s Lauryn Bass about building America’s first 100% Black-owned vegan donut shop and why bringing the brand directly to its longtime Atlanta supporters was important.
“We wanted to bring our Cloudy Donut pop-up to Atlanta, coinciding with Invest Fest weekend, talking about the Seven Streams brand, Cloudy Donut being one of them,” she said. “We really wanted to touch the people that have been supporting us online for many years by connecting directly with the city.”
Jewel attended the inaugural Invest Fest and said she still remembers looking out at “a sea of black people” carrying notebooks, pens, and pencils and ready to learn.
“This is really a festival that is for the betterment, the knowledge, the education, and the advancement of our people. Isn’t that what we want?”
That mission closely mirrors what Jewel and Faulcon have built with Cloudy Donut, although entrepreneurship wasn’t originally in her plans.
Zoditu Jewel Says Cloudy Donut Became A Black Love Story
Behind the bakery is also a Black love story, one that has taught Jewel lessons about business, finances, partnership, and maintaining her own identity while helping build a growing brand.
Jewel spent 14 years working in education before meeting Faulcon, who already had experience in the food and beverage industry.
“I had no ambitions of one being an entrepreneur, let alone working in food and beverage. I don’t bake. I didn’t know anything about making donuts,” Jewel said.
About six months into Cloudy Donut’s 2020 launch, Jewel left education and began finding her place within the company.
“I established my role in basically anything and everything that needed to be done. Like, okay, I do marketing now. Okay, I do PR now. Okay, I manage the front of the house and just taking on these different roles.”
As Cloudy Donut grew, so did their partnership.
“In my opinion, a true version of a love story of black entrepreneurship of two people that created something and using that as a vehicle to live the life of their dreams.”
That dream came with sacrifices that weren’t always visible from the outside.
“Even though we’re in the business together and we literally live together, now a lot of our time is consumed solely talking about the brand. If we’re not talking about a brand, what are we talking about?”
For Jewel, one of the biggest lessons was learning not to lose herself inside everything that required her attention.
“I think it happens for a lot of women, we take on the identities of the things that need us, and sometimes we sacrifice the needs for ourselves.”
Building Cloudy Donut Without A Co-sign During the Pandemic
Cloudy Donut expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, growing to two Baltimore locations while the founders owned the properties where the businesses operated.
“We scaled during COVID because we really took the initiative to own ourselves, to be responsible for our business and the way in which, like I said, we had ownership of those properties.”
The couple later expanded into New York City without major industry connections.
“When we moved to New York, I mean, I knew I had a few friends, but we had literally no connections. Like everything and how we’ve been able to grow is all organic. There’s no cosign or anything like that.”
For Jewel, ownership also comes with a responsibility to understand money, something she candidly admitted she had to learn herself.
“I know that I had a credit card when I shouldn’t have had a credit card, and I put myself in debt, like $20,000 in my early 20s–not understanding ‘how did we get here?’”
Jewel said Faulcon later helped her better understand credit and financial planning.
“I was not aware of the way in which I was handling my money. I just knew, like, I’m making money. I’m able to pay my bills. I’m cool, but there was no real longevity in that.”
Her advice now is to look beyond simply being able to cover today’s expenses.
“Let’s look at our finances, but let’s also understand the trajectory of the. Not just five or 10 years, but like the next year. What are we doing?”
‘We’re Our Mom And Pop’s Wildest Dreams’
Jewel’s perspective on Black ownership is also deeply rooted in her upbringing as a fourth-generation Washingtonian.
“I love to say we’re our mom and pop’s wildest dreams because I really understand the history of mom and pop shops,” she said. “Being from D.C. when it really was Chocolate City, you know, being a fourth generation Washingtonian, I’ve seen black businesses flourish in black communities that were owned by black people.”
That history shapes how she views Cloudy Donut’s distinction as America’s first 100% Black-owned vegan donut shop.
Cloudy Donut Gets Sweet On Atlanta
Atlanta customers got a taste-test experience of the brand through Cloudy Donut’s Heavy Market pop-up, where the menu includes orange saffron cake, sweet potato cake, pineapple upside down cake, basil olive cake, jalapeno peach cake, and Jewel’s favorite, lemon blueberry pound cake.
“I feel like it is a universal love language in a pound cake, and I love it,” she said.
For those feeling adventurous, Jewel said the jalapeno peach deserves some attention, too.
“The jalapeno kind of is throwing some people. They’re thinking it’s too spicy, but like we’re grown and we want to enjoy our food, so we’re not gonna do all that,” she said. “It’s not too much heat. We want you to enjoy it and not just go viral for the heat.”
The Atlanta menu also gives customers a preview of what’s next for Cloudy Donut. Jewel revealed that the company plans to begin shipping its cakes next year.
For Jewel, It’s Bigger Than Dessert
While the treats may bring customers through the door, Jewel hopes the feeling they get from supporting Cloudy Donut stays with them.
“There is a specific feeling when someone that looks like you is creating something that is intentionally for you, and I want people to resonate with that.”
She said the bigger message isn’t solely about what she and Faulcon have accomplished.
“It’s a reminder of what’s possible. I say all the time, possibility visibility creates possibility. It shows possibility, right?”
That message of possibility is also at the center of the couple’s Invest Fest weekend.
Derrick Faulcon Takes Cloudy Donut’s Ownership Story To Invest Fest
While Jewel connected with customers at Invest Fest’s Market, her husband took their entrepreneurial story to the Invest Fest stage.
Faulcon joined Jim Jones for a conversation centered on entrepreneurship, ownership, and his Seven Streams brand, with Cloudy Donut representing one of those streams. After Atlanta, Cloudy Donut isn’t slowing down. Jewel said the national tour will continue through the fall with stops in Delaware, Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans and Los Angeles.
Wherever the tour takes them, Jewel said maintaining the identity that helped build Cloudy Donut remains nonnegotiable.
“As we grow, I want people to see, and what will always remain is our commitment to being wholly and truly, who we are, and carrying who we are everywhere we go, and reminding you that anywhere you go, you can be yourself too.”