Queer-owned Austin bakery Wunderkeks teams up with LOVELOUD Foundation to deliver sweet Pride treats

Imagine receiving a colorful box filled with little rainbow pom-poms and delicious cookies, unicorn stickers and lots of love. That's exactly what Austin-based bakery Wunderkeks has set out to do this June to celebrate Pride month. Married couple and Wunderkeks founders Hans Schrei and Luis Gramajo have teamed up with Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds to release a special celebration of love and sweet sweet joy this Pride season, the Wunderkeks x LOVELOUD Pride box. Reynolds, a huge ally to the LGBTQ+ community, has been raising awareness and funds through the LOVELOUD Foundation, which has been putting on the LoveLoud Festival since 2017. I wanted to get the scoop on how this collaboration came to be, and Hans and Luis were kind enough to share a little more about Wunderkeks and this special collaboration.

Hans and Luis

How did the collaboration with LOVELOUD come about?

Hans and Luis: Somehow the unicorns and rainbows aligned so Dan Reynolds and his wife, Aja Volkman, ordered a box of our cookies and they fell in love with our brand, Wunderkeks. We knew that he was a great ally to the LGBTQ community, and when we realized that he had ordered cookies, we reached out and we both felt like a collaboration made a lot of sense! We talked about how we, as LGBTQ+ business owners, we have always wanted to create something with our brand and our cookies to help the LGBTQ+ community, and when we found out that Dan founded LOVELOUD, we knew it was a match made in Pride heaven. We wanted to help ignite the conversation about what it means to support LGBTQ youth and also donate to LOVELOUD's charities in the best form ever... Cookie sales!!! How did Wunderkeks come to be?

Hans and Luis: Hans started Wunderkeks in Guatemala 10 years ago, he has been baking cookies since he’s 4.5 years later Luis came along and he was like the piece of the puzzle that was missing. We always say that we truly feel like Wunderkeks was born and raised in Austin because back in Guatemala all the “queerness” of the brand was in subtext and when we moved here Wunderkeks “came out of the closet” and started shinning as the company we meant to create. We started feeling comfortable with ourselves, and started seeing that here we could be ourselves and be proud about who we are (in Guatemala, same sex marriage is not even legal, so this was a huge step for us! ). In conclusion, today, we consider the Wunderkeks that exists now as more of a Wunderkeks 2.0, since we can really be our fun, colorful, and fearless selves! Why is it so important to support queer businesses during Pride and beyond?

Hans and Luis: We feel it is super important to support queer businesses during Pride and beyond because acceptance is an ongoing conversation that doesn't start and stop when Pride is over. It is important to continually educate and spread the message of love and acceptance for the LGBTQ community. Hopefully, one day, we can make long-lasting changes for future generations to come. As a minority, we need to support each other and show the world that we can be as successful as we wish to be!

I was the lucky recipient of a LOVELOUD box, and let me say, it's the most wonderfully packaged press piece I've ever received. From the box art to the adorable stickers and delicious cookies, it will leave a smile on your face. It's the perfect Pride present! Plus Wunderkeks will be working to raise $30K for the foundation through sales this June. You can pre-order for a special someone (or yourself!) now and choose from their Greatest Hits variety pack, Chocolate Chip, or gluten-free Chocolate Chip.