Once upon a time, a startup sneaker brand helmed by Vanessa and Angela Simmons held a sizeable piece of the sneaker market. The sisters’ Pastry brand was not only popular for its colorful color schemes and unique packaging, but also became the No. 1 dance shoe for university and pro dance teams, according to Vida.
During her appearance on Shannon Sharpe’s “Club Shay Shay” podcast, Angela reflected on the power of Pastry and how, at one point, its sales were on par with one of the signature sneaker brands of all time.
“We had a really fun run with that,” she said around the 28-minute mark. “We learned a lot business-wise being 17 and stepping into something that big… getting the news that our sneakers were competing with Jordan at the time, we were like, ‘What? We’re competing with Jordan?’ You know, because we love Jordan.”
The sneakers launched while the Simmons daughters were on “Daddy’s Girls,” a spinoff of the “Run’s House” reality TV series that aired on MTV. Several notable celebs were spotted wearing them at the time, including a young Zendaya and Hailey Bieber. The brand made $15 million in its initial year on shelves before exploding into a $75 million brand, at one point outpacing Michael Jordan’s legendary sneaker line at Foot Locker.
“Going to these Foot Locker stores and 3,000-plus people lining up just to come see us and us to sign autographs and for them to buy sneakers was like, ‘Whoa, this is different.'” Simmons told Sharpe.
In an interview with Complex earlier this year, Simmons reflected on the original end of Pastry, chalking it up to something out of her and her sister’s control.
“It’s just business stuff,” she said. “You know behind-the-scenes stuff that really have nothing to do with my sister and I, because you know we’re creative. Just business stuff.”
In its current iteration, Pastry has become the de facto sneaker for dance teams from high school to college to pro teams. Angela’s sister, Vanessa, is back with the company, serving as a creative director to help shape its future.
Angela Simmons said she had zero qualms about launching the brand or taking it to the next level while on “Daddy’s Girls” or doing reality TV in general.
“It gave my sister and I… a platform to do it,” she told Sharpe. “We started something there. We traveled the entire world… But that was all based off of being on a show that people actually got to watch unfold.”
