From as far back as he can remember Ralph Rolle has always marched to the beat of a different drum. It is therefore no surprise that with more than three and a half decades of professional experience within the music industry Ralph Rolle enjoys an illustrious career as a much sought-after drummer. He has made music with the likes of Nile Rodgers and Chic, Sting, Bono, Aretha Franklin, The Notorious B.I.G., Queen Latifah, Chris Botti Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, India Arie, and the resident band for NBC’S ‘It’s Showtime at The Apollo’ for over 15 seasons.
No stranger to dishing out a solid groove Ralph is a custom to serving up heaping portions of soul, that leaves appetites wet with anticipation and desire – salivating and begging for more. Rolle founded Soul Snacks Cookies in 1996 but the Soul Snacks recipe has a long and interesting history that dates to the early 1900s with recipes from his maternal grandmother Leola who was born in Ocilla, Georgia, moved to Miami, started a family, and later migrated to Harlem in the Renaissance years.
“My plans for expansion are rooted in the promise and the potential of the community,” states Ralph emphatically. Dreams do come true. Ralph’s 1250 square foot baking facility in the South Bronx is the new home for The Soul Snacks Cookie Company where he continues to grow and employ individuals from his old stomping ground, the Bronx River Projects.
Now those plans for expansion include a roll-out campaign that will bring the Soul Snacks Cookies to over seven-hundred Wal-Mart stores across the country, starting in early April of this year.
The company offers a variety of delicious cookies such as Georgia
Oatmeal Raisin, Peanut-Peanut Butter, Down Home Double Chocolate Chip, Ebony and Ivory Almond Cookie, Grampy’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie, French Cocoa Chocolate Chip, Miami Raisin Walnut, Chunked Up Chocolate Walnut, Cranberry Oatmeal Raisin, Joyful Gingerbread and the recently added novel and now the number one seller that is the rant and rave of all those who taste it – Sweet Potato Cookies. “Inside of every cookie is years of heart, soul and lots of pride that has been the main ingredient of Souls Snacks Cookies for decades”, states Rolle.
Soul Snacks Cookies have attracted satisfied customers in Japan, Europe, Africa, The West Indies, Canada, and throughout the United States. The cookies are available for online purchase – www.eatsoulsnacks.com
While the company seeks to expand its outreach into mainstream distribution channels and national retail outlets such as Wal-Mart, plans also include the opening of the Soul Snacks Café in Manhattan – a food and dessert cafe offering mouthwatering Southern foods, desserts, drinks, and music are served in an atmosphere cozy and authentic enough to invoke the classic elegance of the Harlem Renaissance.
“There is no expiration date on passion and there is no Plan B,” Rolle offers, realizing that it takes a lot to maintain the Soul Snacks business while still loving music. “Passion is not predicated on how much money you make. Passion is about whether you finish the thought. The completion of the task and making it happen is the truth of passion. Making it happen. You’ve got to learn from where you failed and get up and keep going from here.”
© 2022, Seth "Digital Crates" Barmash. All rights reserved.
