"Every dish we serve at Sweet Rice Flour is more than just food; it’s my family memoir. Each dish is an opportunity for me to showcase Laotian people, culture, cuisines and desserts."

A proud Lao woman who has overcome life-altering challenges, Nancy Souksavath is the heart behind Sweet Rice Flour. She is the founder, owner, and chef of Sweet Rice Flour (SRF).

As a daughter, sister, wife, woman, leader, and Asian American entrepreneur, she is known simply as the “caretaker” — a role she carries with pride. An immigrant from Laos, Nancy shares, “I was born in a refugee camp in Thailand after my parents and older brother were forced to flee Laos during the communist Vietnamese invasions. My family emigrated to the United States when I was about three years old.”

Nancy’s journey is anything but ordinary. Her path to entrepreneurship has been shaped by resilience, sacrifice, and deeply rooted cultural values. Growing up, she listened closely to her parents’ wisdom. “My mom would always say she had to teach me everything she knew before she passed, so that when I got married, my mother-in-law would be pleased with my knowledge,” Nancy recalls.



Those early lessons in responsibility would later become the foundation of both her life and her business.

Like many Asian parents, Nancy’s mother and father wanted stability and security for their children. But as the only daughter with two brothers, Jimmy and Lucky, Nancy felt the weight of stricter expectations.

“I was limited to housework and cooking. I couldn’t wear makeup or have a boyfriend,” she recalls. “So I focused on my studies and became the ‘honorary Asian daughter.’” When she questioned why her brothers had more freedom, the answer was simple: “Because they’re boys.” Her parents feared that a young woman’s mistakes would be judged more harshly.

Growing up in Aurora, it was her grandfather, who sponsored their family’s journey to America. In Lao culture, extended family is honored as immediate family — and Nancy’s parents often reminded her that their future would not have been possible without him.

At the local flea market, Nancy helped her grandparents sell toys, setting up tables and learning the basics of business. In return, her grandmother would treat her to a turkey leg or ice cream. Today, as she sets up SRF at vendor markets across Colorado, those early lessons in entrepreneurship and community continue to guide her.

Nancy’s passion is rooted not only in skill, but in service. She watched her mother volunteer as a tax preparer, translator, homebuyer advisor, and disability claims helper for the Laotian and Lao Lue community — modeling a life centered on care and giving back. 

Starting SRF was no small feat, but Nancy had endured far greater challenges. Teaching herself to master her signature pâte à choux required persistence. “I threw away batch after batch,” she recalls. “I didn’t go to culinary school — I was teaching myself. Two weeks later, I tried again. It worked. At least it rose gracefully that time.”

Nancy and her husband, Tho, built their business through consistency. “We participated in every event in Colorado — small or large, worthwhile or not.”

But this eventually took a toll on her. After October 2025, Nancy chose to step back intentionally — to sit in silence, meditate, forgive, refocus, and set clear intentions for the year ahead. With a strong support system behind her, Nancy was able to pause and create clearer intentions for her time.

Today, SRF remains one of the few Lao food vendors in Colorado, and Nancy serves her culture proudly. “Mom used to tell me it’s not the ingredients or technique that make a dish authentic — you make it authentic,” she says. Every dish is a reflection of her family story and an opportunity to showcase Laotian culture, cuisine, and desserts.

SRF offers what Nancy calls the true flavors of Laos — bold, spicy, unapologetically funky, and deeply rooted in tradition.

Laos is a small landlocked country in Southeast Asia. During the Vietnam War era, it became the most heavily bombed country per capita in the world.

Today, the Laotian American population in the United States remains relatively small, numbering roughly 245,000 people. That is why representation matters.

Leaders like Nancy Souksavath embody the resilience, creativity, and cultural pride of the Lao community. People are more than the wars and displacement that shape their history — they are daughters, visionaries, caretakers, and entrepreneurs.

For second-generation Laotian Americans still learning how to embrace their identity, Nancy offers this advice: “Don’t be afraid of your Lao identity. Give yourself permission to stay curious. To keep moving. To adventure. To be free. Most importantly, your voice matters — whether people like what you say or not. Your creativity has value, whether it’s celebrated or not. Your identity isn’t the applause. It’s the authentic act of expressing what’s yours to express.”

For Nancy, opening her bakery is how she chooses to be proud of her Laotian culture and heritage: “For me this was why I chose to open a bakery because I chose the challenge. Not to silence myself, but to teach myself that my voice and love for my Lao culture, my family, our family recipes – my voice and authenticity can’t be taken from me unless I give it away.”

“Sweet Rice Flour transforms me into someone who expresses authentically no matter what. Someone who creates from truth instead of fear.”

In every pastry she serves, Nancy shares the resilience and beauty of her Lao heritage.

Sweet Rice Flour

sweetriceflour.com

Instagram: @sweetriceflourllc