{"id":5063580,"date":"2026-04-20T19:46:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T12:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calatinonews.com\/?p=5063580"},"modified":"2026-04-20T19:46:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T12:46:07","slug":"rachel-fonseca-the-latina-owner-behind-strawberry-delights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/caln\/2026\/04\/20\/rachel-fonseca-the-latina-owner-behind-strawberry-delights\/","title":{"rendered":"Rachel Fonseca, the Latina Owner Behind Strawberry Delights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At 3 a.m., while most of the city of Long Beach is sound asleep, Rachel Fonseca is driving to Los Angeles\u2019 fruit market on a hunt for the freshest strawberries she can find.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy berry runs are from three to five in the morning,\u201d Fonseca told California Latino News. \u201cFor Valentine\u2019s Day, I literally get there at two.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For six years, the 25-year-old Mexican-American business finance student at California State University, Dominguez Hills, has balanced full-time school, a job as a payment specialist at a nonprofit child care agency, and a growing chocolate-covered strawberry business known as Strawberry Delights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What began as an idea to make money on Valentine\u2019s Day between Fonseca and her mother in 2020 has now become a year-round operation that serves customers across Southern California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was actually her who came up with the idea,\u201d Fonseca said, referring to her mom. \u201cShe told me she would take a class to learn how to make the strawberries, and I told her, \u2018Do it. Learn that. I will help you promote it and I will make a menu for you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd yeah, that\u2019s how it all started,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the beginning, the mom and daughter duo planned to sell only for Valentine\u2019s Day. Fonseca said she never imagined it would last beyond that. Fonseca is now the primary person who runs Strawberry Delights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An important aspect of Fonseca\u2019s identity as well as her business is the fact that she is a daughter of immigrants. Her mother, Mariana Heredia, immigrated from a city in Mexico called Cuernavaca, Morelos, when she was 11 years old. Fonseca\u2019s dad was 16 when he moved to the U.S. from Guadalajara, Jalisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heredia talks about how watching her daughter build a business from the little idea that she had reflects the lessons she tried to instill while raising her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a country where it\u2019s like a big pizza,\u201d Heredia said. \u201cYou get the piece of the pizza that you want. If you want a bigger slice, you have to work for it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Representing Latina business owners in the Wrigley neighborhood of Long Beach holds a place in Fonseca\u2019s heart as she continues to build her brand, especially during times of immigration controversy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis country was built on immigrants,\u201d Fonseca said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of disregarded beauty in the people who contribute to our country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, with a social media presence of 30,000 followers and thousands of berries later, Fonseca has been working on the expansion of her business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her menu now consists of a variety of desserts like cake pops, cupcakes, rice crispy treats, etc. Though there are businesses that are similar, Fonseca feels that her attention to quality and detail is what sets her apart from the rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI always buy my strawberries the day of. I always dip them the day of pickup,\u201d she said. \u201cEven during really busy times, I still like to keep the quality the same as if I was doing one order.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since she started the business with her mom, Fonseca has made family a huge part of her mission statement. Her team includes her dad, brother, her boyfriend, and her boyfriend\u2019s cousin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of her loyal employees, Long Beach native Niya Canonge, has worked with Fonseca for three years. She attests to the amount of perfection and time that goes into every box of treats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRachel is very, very dedicated to making her company look the best possible,\u201d Canonge said. \u201cEven if it\u2019s a little chocolate heart that fell off the berry, she always makes sure that everything looks good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canonge is responsible for managing Strawberry Delights\u2019 social media as well as customer pickup and drop-off to make sure the experience matches the quality of the desserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While customers see polished boxes of treats, they do not always see the labor that goes on behind the scenes. Fonseca revealed that a classic dozen strawberries may take 45 minutes, while larger orders can require up to 12 hours of time in the kitchen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During these long days, Fonseca admits that she rarely sits down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two <\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m standing most of the time,\u201d she said. \u201cSometimes I\u2019m like, why do I put myself through this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being a young business owner is not easy. Fonseca shared that she \u201csacrificed a lot of experiences that one would have in their early 20s,\u201d often working through holidays and weekends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless, her connection with customers keeps her going. Many of her loyal regulars are Latino families celebrating milestones. Fonseca highlights that she has some customers who have grown alongside her business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have one customer who booked me for her gender reveal, then her baby shower, then her daughter\u2019s first birthday, then her bridal shower, and then her wedding,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Fonseca, those moments make it all worth it in the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the future, she envisions Strawberry Delights moving outside of her home kitchen. Her long-term dream is to open a storefront cafe that combines her treats with more baked goods and coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have so many plans, so many ideas\u2026but I can\u2019t get too excited about them yet until I graduate,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heredia shares that vision for her daughter and the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think I will be the manager,\u201d she said with a laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until then, Fonseca continues to make a difference in her Long Beach community and positively represents Latinos one berry at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Breahna Patterson<\/strong> is a senior at California State University, Long Beach, majoring in sports journalism. She has experience in multimedia storytelling and covering community-based stories. She is the business coordinator for Beach Media and an intern with Orange County Soccer Club, where she works in marketing and merchandising.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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