Her Story
About Suerence
Suerence "Sue" Marcelle is the founder and owner of Marcelle Foods, based in Rex, Georgia, where she leads a company specializing in Caribbean baking and the wholesale distribution of produce. What began in 2020 as This Little Light Bakery & Caribbean Delights, a bakery known for desserts like wedding cakes and rum black cake, grew last year into a full wholesaling operation that now combines baked goods with produce distribution for grocery stores and other wholesale partners. Through this work, Marcelle spends much of her time connecting with clients to help them lower their costs on produce and frozen foods, all while operating in an industry she describes as deeply rooted in trust and relationships. Marcelle's path to entrepreneurship was not a direct one. She attended Georgia Southern University to study therapeutic recreation. It was the onset of the 2020 pandemic that pushed her toward baking full-time, a craft she built largely by teaching herself through YouTube tutorials and guidance from working chefs, including mentors Chef Dale Hamilton of Trinidad and Tobago and Chef J-Rob of Atlanta. She credits her resilience to her parents, whose quiet determination through hardship, her father working three jobs before becoming a manager and her mother launching a daycare, shaped the endurance she now brings to her own business. Today, Marcelle is focused on distinguishing her company in a competitive field dominated by businesses with decades of history, positioning Marcelle Foods around genuine partnership rather than pure profit. Her achievements as a woman and immigrant business owner, including being named among Georgia's Best Cupcakes Bakeries in 2025, reflect the perseverance she champions. Looking ahead, she intends to grow Marcelle Foods beyond U.S. borders over the next two years, building on the international traction the company has already begun to gain.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Suerence
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to the example my parents set for me growing up. My father worked three jobs before eventually becoming a manager, and my mother built her own daycare business from nothing. Watching them push forward without complaint, no matter how difficult things got, taught me the endurance I rely on in my own life and career today.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received came from Food Network chef Scott Conant, who told me that money is expensive, that I should trust others but still arm myself with knowledge, and that I should always get a second opinion before signing any contract.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would tell young women that they are often told starting a business is difficult because of obstacles like unequal pay or working in male-dominated fields. Once they set that discouragement aside, they'll realize they bring just as much value as any man, or anyone with twenty years of experience, and that nothing can take that away from them.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
As a smaller business in food distribution, one of my biggest challenges is competing with companies that have been established for fifty to a hundred years. My focus is on building strong relationships and helping other companies reduce their costs rather than simply maximizing my own profit, and that approach is what allows me to carve out my niche in the industry.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Relationships, trust, morals, and keeping my word are the values that matter most to me, both personally and professionally. My industry is built on relationships, so maintaining those standards isn't optional for me, it's essential to how I do business.
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