Like all ventures, it must start with an idea. This was simply a craving for a great beignet in the middle of the night.
One night in 2016 in their home nicknamed “Sugar Shack,” they craved a good ol’ beignet and thought, “What if we open a place that sells beignets and we can have them at any time?” Well, Louisiana native, actress Elizabeth Morris, and her bestie Christina Milian, took their idea and envisioned it into something more. They paired up with friend and Lafayette native, Robyn Holbrook, to begin the process of logo design, branding, and even recipe development.
Robyn is a Senior Graphic Designer who also cooks, bakes and caters on the side. Popular in Lafayette and Houston, Texas, for her fabulous and creative cheesecakes, she was the
perfect fit for creating the concept, design, and helping craft ideas in the kitchen. Catch her on Instagram under the user name “hornandhalo,” but be warned, you will become hungry
glancing at her page.
The original name for the company was “Sugar Shack,” but it later changed to “Beignet Box” to reflect the vision of simply amazing beignets. “You know immediately what’s on the
menu, dahling,” said Robyn.
The idea was born in 2016. The logo and branding was completed in 2017. Now for the other important part, the beignet. We best describe our beignets as if a traditional beignet and
a croissant had a pillowy, powdered sugar, perfect baby.
“If we couldn’t stop eating them after several different samplings, we knew others would be in the same boat, beau,” said Robyn.
2018 was an amazing year, full of pop-up events at various locations, including on the set of Bad Boys 3 (Will Smith loved and continues to love them) and Beignet Box’s first big Louisiana gig, LSU Tiger Stadium. While this helped gain more exposure for Beignet Box and the delicious beignets, Elizabeth wanted more. Her resilience paired with her go-getter attitude landed the next move for Beignet Box — a food truck in Los Angeles.
She found a sleek, custom-built Mercedes Sprinter, specifically designed for frying. Lawd, if that ain’t a sign, I don’t know what is! Elizabeth and Robyn collaborated on the vehicle wrap to
create an inviting cafe feel with a kiss of Louisiana southern hospitality.
“These are authentic Louisiana beignets from Louisiana babes, and I want everyone to know they’re getting the real deal,” Robyn states, on why she designed the ‘Originally From (shape of Louisiana)’ graphic.
In 2019, Robyn was flown out to the L.A. launch for the Beignet Box food truck, as she was the vibrant and friendly personality for the company.
“For the three weeks I was in L.A., all walks of life came to the truck. Celebrities, Louisiana natives, locals and travelers that were either familiar with the treat or have never had a beignet,” she said. “Some didn’t know how to pronounce it. I helped everyone experience the sweetness that is Louisiana hospitality, paired with the sweetness of Beignet Box beignets. I love that I was a part of this process and
it was with friends.”