With so much going on in the world, Marketplace is here for you. Support public news for public good. Donate Today!
My Economy

Baker’s treats have identity, family in the mix

Katie Reuther Feb 3, 2025
Heard on:
HTML EMBED:
COPY
Ferola's gochujang citrus sticky buns are a favorite with customers. Mim on Roseway Photography
My Economy

Baker’s treats have identity, family in the mix

Katie Reuther Feb 3, 2025
Heard on:
Ferola's gochujang citrus sticky buns are a favorite with customers. Mim on Roseway Photography
HTML EMBED:
COPY

My Economy” tells the story of the new economic normal through the eyes of people trying to make it, because we know the only numbers that really matter are the ones in your economy.

The concept for Marissa Ferola’s soon-to-open Korean American bakery, Nine Winters, started with her kids. “The shop really began as a passion project of baking with Korean ingredients with my oldest daughter who’s now 7, Janine,” she said. 

Producing American-style pastry with Korean flavors is a way for the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Ferola and her children to fuse their Korean heritage with their American upbringing. “I hope that they see when they’re older that they have deeply inspired me to dig deeper into my own identity and to love myself more and to be more open with sharing who I am as a person.”

Ferola is one of a growing number of women entrepreneurs. Since 2019, women have opened businesses at nearly double the rate of their male counterparts, according to a recent Wells Fargo report on the impact of women-owned businesses. 

But opening a brick and mortar is no easy feat. “A food business, it’s a tight margin. Knowing and understanding food costs and supply chain issues and also wanting to keep food accessible is a line that I’m walking every day, and it does force me to think more creatively.”

Let us know how your economy is doing using the form below, and your story may be featured on a future edition of “My Economy.”









There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.