Under The Hood with Rachel Wexler, founder of Recette. 

Rachel, maybe we could start with a quick introduction to Recette. What exactly are you selling on the internet? 

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Recette is a children's table brand that is re-imagining mealtime from the ground up. Our plate and bowls are made from plant-based PLA which is an alternative to melamine and petroleum-based plastics that is safer and more sustainable. 

And we pair those with stainless steel utensils and silicone place mats that look beautiful on your table and are easy to clean. 

Recette is about giving families products that are safe, practical, and designed forward so that family mealtime feels as intentional as any other part of home life.

And did you have a background in the world of DTC? What gave you the confidence to launch this business?

I started my career in finance and I was an equity analyst focused on the consumer sector covering big companies like Walmart, Target, and Costco. And really staying on the pulse of consumer trends at some of the largest retailers in the world. 

From there, I started a digitally native women's apparel brand in 2019. Founded that and ran that for five years. So I did have some experience in manufacturing and production and brand building and just managing day-to-day operations of a digital first, but omnichannel brand.

How different is the product you're working on now versus being in apparel, does it feel like two completely different worlds? 

I did pull a lot of lessons from my apparel days: one of the core tenets of our brand was taking really timeless, sophisticated silhouettes and using beautiful colors and prints to update them. 

And I think also what I learned from that is, in fashion inevitably, you have so many different styles and sizes and they fit people differently. And when I thought about what I wanted to do next, I wanted to move on from creating different styles every season to focus on a core collection that I could build out over time.

Was the idea for Recette something you had for many years? 

Yeah, I really started Recette out of frustration as a mom. So I started my clothing line when I had a tiny baby at home and we launched when I was pregnant with my second. 

So it was a crazy five year period of being a mom of young kids, but also starting and running a business. 

And when I finally picked my head up, I had gotten out of the baby stage with all of the bottle sterilizers and the puree makers and the bouncers and the play mats. 

But really, the vestige of that stage was I had this crazy drawer of mismatched dinnerware that I had accumulated over time, always trying to get what was the safest and best product for my child. But being totally overwhelmed and confused by all of the noise out there in the market.

I had a red silicone bowl that was attached to a placemat and like a rainbow stainless steel plate and then like a pink silicone bowl and then like a wheat straw plate. 

I just couldn't figure out what I should be using, what was safe to go in the dishwasher, what was safe to go in the microwave. And I wanted to do something about it. 

So when I couldn't find children's tableware for myself that was free of hidden toxins, easy to use every day, aesthetically pleasing and micro microwave and dishwasher safe I decided to really hone in on this problem. 

Everything really just seemed to make me compromise: Either safe but hard to look at or stylish but breakable or unsafe.

So I surveyed other parents to make sure that I clearly understood the pain points in the market and that it wasn't just me and got on my way.

But I think I understood the opportunity to create products that give family mealtime the beautiful moment that it deserves without sacrificing safety because of my background in fashion and brand building.

What was the product R&D process like? 

It always takes longer than you expect, it was a lot of research and testing and back and forth with factories. 

I knew from the beginning that I didn't wanna use any materials currently on the market. So the first thing I did was bring on a chemical engineer to engage in materials research.

And I spent months understanding the nuances of materials alongside the benefits and drawbacks of stainless steel, silicone, bamboo, wheat straw, melamine. And we identified PLA as the ideal material for children's tableware. 

And from there I began the process of identifying a factory, and ultimately engaging in third party materials testing which is a very rigorous process.

Getting to that first prototype really meant endless sampling and rejecting samples, creating molds, refining colors and finishes until they felt just right which was like painstaking and exhilarating at the same time as really, each iteration brought me closer to showing me that the vision was possible.

And did your vision change along that journey? or was the product discovery journey confirming everything along the way?

The biggest pivot for me was that when I originally imagined the brand, I was really inspired by vintage China. So when I saw China with beautiful butterflies, or birds or flowers on it, or jungle prints, I always felt like this is absolutely timeless and gorgeous.

My children would like this and so would I. This is what I want on my table. And why is there not children's dinnerware using these beautiful, timeless, sophisticated designs? Instead, my kid’s table is filled with Daniel Tiger and Paw patrol on kids' plates.

So my original vision was to take these beautiful, timeless designs from antique dinnerware and bring them to children's dinnerware. 

And then when I finally found a factory, they were like: 

‘we can't print on this material. It will fade in the dishwasher you won't have the quality that you want and the same degree of material safety, if we print on it.’

So I ended up making solid plates. Which I think was for the best actually. And then what I did to really complete that aesthetic and the look on a table that I wanted while still remaining kid friendly, is I created silicone place mats in those beautiful, timeless prints.

And the matts have been a great addition to the collection. Not only do they help, visually define the brand and create the kind of table that I want. They are incredibly easy to clean, lightweight, and stick on many tables depending on what your table is made of. 

They really do help to redefine that mealtime moment with a family making it more beautiful and happy, and all the things that I was hoping to achieve.

You're live now - I'm curious to get your take on how you're marketing this product now that it's got all the foundations to be a real hit. 

Yeah. We are a small team of one right now, as you know. 

But the really nice thing about that is I'm super nimble and excited to test out different channels and see what delivers the types of ROI that we're hoping to achieve. 

So far events have worked really well for us in building brand awareness and given us an opportunity to tell our story. 

I've dipped my toes in Google Ads and SEO. We have also worked with influencers but it's been primarily organic at this point. 

We've been really lucky to get a lot of support just organically. which for me has really validated the opportunity in this market and the void that parents are really feeling and, you know, all of the confusion and dissatisfaction out there. 

Yeah, I feel like the social angle of Recette is super strong. I could see the storytelling being very crisp on TikTok videos

We just got on TikTok, so follow us. 

And we also have some really exciting brand partnerships coming up. One of the nice things about the placemats taking the direction that they did is that they lend themselves as well to really, great brand partnerships. 

So we have a placemat drop. Coming in January with a really exciting, female founded business also in the home space. So definitely look out for that and we'll have some exciting activations and events surrounding that.

On the TikTok front: A lot of brands these days are going founder-led first on the marketing side of things. Is that an approach that you're taking? 

For now we are really focusing on identifying with parents who are in the same shoes that I was in and frustrated with all of the hidden toxins, greenwashing and confusing messaging and the really messy drawer filled with mismatched dinnerware. 

So we're trying to tell the story through that angle instead of directly through me, but I'm open to any and all directions that make sense for the brand in the future.

Lastly, I just want to hear about some of the resources that have helped you along the way. Have there been communities that you've joined, books that you've read, podcasts that you've listened to,or any other resources that have been helpful to you along the way?

I have been angel investing for a long time, and so I've had the opportunity to meet so many fantastic founders through the years.

And I've really leaned on my community of other founders and investors to identify really talented people to work with on building this.

Through my network, I've met great people including a great team to build my website, as well as a  wonderful industrial designer. 

The one thing I would say is that having started a company in 2019, and now another one in 2025.

I've been leaning a lot on AI for a lot of the basic tasks that I used to do myself, such as writing fantastic customer service emails and stuff like that. 

So I definitely would not underestimate the role of AI. It’s really helpful in building a business in 2025.

Rachel: If there's anything that people can support you with from the community, maybe now's a good time to mention that.

Definitely sign up for our newsletter on recettehome.com and follow us at Shop Recette on Instagram and at Recette Your Table on TikTok.

And I'm always looking for feedback or introductions to great marketers & talented professionals that I can partner with as I grow Recette.

Thank you, Rachel! 

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