Local woman living culinary dream after trading in old job to become her own boss

WORCESTER, Mass. — We’ve all heard the saying, variety is the spice of life. One local woman is trying to make that spice—a little healthier.

“This is my personal favorite,” said Alicia Haddad, of Alicia’s Spice Co.

Ever since Alicia Haddad was a young girl, she loved cooking with her grandmother, experimenting with all kinds of spices.

“We would make relishes, we would can pretty much anything that we grew in the garden,” said Alicia.

But as Alicia grew up, she went on to nursing school, then worked in construction in New York. While there, she cooked for everyone---and her boss took notice.

“My boss was very encouraging, saying, ‘you know, you’ve got something great here, you should really give it a try. You love cooking. He’s like, you know, I know you love your job, but he’s like, you’re not you’re not happy’,” Alicia recounted.

So Alicia returned to where she was happy--back to Worcester. She got back in the kitchen to follow her heart and to help others who are allergic to the dyes and certain ingredients in foods like she is and created Alicia’s Spice Co. (https://www.aliciasspiceco.com/) The all-natural, gluten free, kosher, keto, vegan and low-sodium mixtures provide an allergen friendly and healthy product that’s safe for everyone to enjoy.

“It kind of gives parents and adults, you know, a peace of mind knowing you’re what you see on the packaging is actually what you’re eating,” said Alicia.

This labor of love is personal: Alicia oversees every step of the process because she does it all.

“I make the product, create it, bottle it, package it myself,” said Alicia.

Alicia currently sells her spices in a couple of local stores, like here at Wilson Farm in Lexington. But soon, you’ll find her spice packets in Whole Foods and soon in Hannaford stores as she looks to expand.

Since starting in 2015, this Certified Woman-Owned business has won plenty of awards, including the Sam Adams ‘Brewing the American Dream’. But she never stops learning.

“I’ve taken business classes along the way to kind of educate myself more because when I did start the business, I didn’t have any prior knowledge,” said Alicia. “So I mean what my idea of running a business was as reality night and day difference.”

And she’s paying her success forward: speaking at local colleges, getting involved in charity work and donating to several food pantries. Alicia says she wants to continue create a bigger impact on the community she has poured her heart and spice into.

“Once I outgrow the space that I’m in here to build a manufacturing facility here in Worcester with a test kitchen for children’s programs, and the kids need to learn and feel the same gratification of being able to create something,” said Alicia.

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