Today we’d like to introduce you to Fabiola Poulsen.
Hi Fabiola, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m originally from Peru and moved to the U.S. in 2016. Entrepreneurship has always been part of my life. My dad was an entrepreneur, and I heard the stories of him building things from the ground up, and that always had a huge influence on me. He passed away, but so much of the drive I have today comes from him. In a way, everything I’ve built is also a way of honoring him and carrying a little piece of his legacy with me.
I came to the U.S. with a background in marketing and a lot of ambition, but definitely not a perfect roadmap. Over the years, my family and I have successfully opened several food and beverage concepts around the Portland area, but also made plenty of mistakes, changed directions, took risks that worked and some that didn’t, and learned more from actually doing it than I ever could have from a textbook.
Lil’ Funky Donuts came from the fun side of me. I wanted to create something that made people happy the second they saw it. Mini donuts have that nostalgic feeling, but we could also make them funky, colorful and constantly changing. We experimented with flavors, paid attention to what people went crazy for, and let the brand develop its own personality along the way. I think that’s one of my favorite parts of entrepreneurship, taking an idea that only exists in your head and eventually seeing real people experience it and love it.
Today, I own Lil’ Funky Donuts as well as Blends Juice Bar, which has grown to multiple locations throughout the Portland metro area. They’re very different brands, but they both have a lot of my personality in them. I love creating concepts, building brands and finding ways to make an experience memorable.
And through all of it, my family has been a huge part of the journey. Entrepreneurship really has become part of our family life, which makes what we’re building even more meaningful to me. I’m proud of how far we’ve come, but I also genuinely feel like we’re just getting started.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Definitely not! I think one of my biggest challenges has actually come from having an entrepreneurial mind. I’m constantly thinking of the next idea, the next business, or the next thing I want to create. I love that part of myself, but I’ve also had to learn that just because I can do something doesn’t always mean I should do everything at the same time.
At one point, we were running Tita’s Kitchen with three Peruvian food trucks, two Blends Juice Bars, and two Lil’ Funky Donut shops. I was spreading myself way too thin. Everything needed attention, and I realized that if I wanted to build really strong brands, I couldn’t keep dividing my time and energy between so many different businesses.
Making the decision to sell businesses that I had worked so hard to build was honestly difficult. We eventually sold all three Tita’s Kitchen food trucks and one of our donut shops so I could simplify, refocus, and put more energy into the brands I really wanted to grow.
It ended up being one of the best lessons I’ve learned as an entrepreneur: growth isn’t always about adding more. Sometimes growth means knowing what to let go of.
That decision gave me the time and focus to continue expanding Blends. Today we have three Blends Juice Bar locations, in Troutdale, Downtown Portland, and Happy Valley, along with our Lil’ Funky Donuts shop in Downtown Portland. I still have a million ideas all the time, so I can’t say I’m completely cured! But I’ve definitely learned to be much more intentional about which ones I chase.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Lil’ Funky Donuts and Blends Juice Bar are two family-run, woman-owned, Latina-founded brands based in the Portland metro area. My name is Fabiola Poulsen. I’m originally from Lima, Peru, and both businesses grew out of my dad’s dream of building something lasting for our family. My mom and sister have worked alongside me from the start.
My path started in advertising. In 2020 I opened a Peruvian food cart at the Portland Mercado, grew that into three food trucks, and in 2022 opened our first Blends Juice Bar while still running the trucks. Today Blends has three locations, in Portland, Happy Valley, and Troutdale.
Blends is inspired by the three cities that shaped me: Lima, Miami, and Portland. It’s where South American tropical flavors meet Oregon produce. We’re known for our açaí bowls, smoothies, fresh-pressed juices, wellness shots, protein shakes, sweet waffles, and crepes. One thing that sets us apart is our frozen yogurt: it’s made to order with real whole fruit blended through a swirl machine right in front of you, which is why it’s only available in-store. We’d rather keep it fresh than compromise on quality.
Lil’ Funky Donuts is our playful side. We make only mini donuts, with 10 classic flavors always on the rack and 5 rotating specials that change every single week, so there’s always a reason to come back. We also create custom themed donut boxes for birthdays, weddings, baby showers, and corporate events, matched to any color, character, or concept. We’re open daily from 7:30am to 8pm.
Both brands offer pickup, delivery, and catering. What I’m most proud of is that everything we serve carries a piece of our story: our roots, our family, and our love for good food. We want every customer, whether they walk in for a smoothie or order a box of donuts for a party, to feel like they’re part of that story too.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Resilience. In this industry, something is always going wrong: a machine breaks before opening, a key employee calls out, a big catering order changes at the last minute, the weather affects our hours of operation. What matters is how quickly you get back up and find a solution.
I’ve learned not to take setbacks personally. Instead I ask, “What is this teaching me?” Some of my best decisions came out of my hardest moments, because they forced me to rethink how I was doing things. Resilience has also made me a better leader. My team watches how I react when things get tough, so staying calm and focused helps them do the same.
For me, success isn’t about avoiding failure. It’s about refusing to let one bad day, or one bad month, decide the outcome.
Pricing:
- Lil’ Funky Donuts: 3-pack $4, 6-pack $6, dozen $11; custom themed boxes from $13 per dozen
- Lil’ Funky Donuts: Party & event packs: 25 for $22, 36 for $30, 64 for $45, plus bulk orders.
- Blends Juice Bar: Smoothies $9.50–$11, fresh juices $8–$10, protein shakes and matcha smoothies $10.50–$12
- Blends Juice Bar: Açaí bowls $14–$16, real-fruit frozen yogurt $7, wellness shots $4
- Blends Juice Bar: Crepes and waffles $11–$12, Power Wraps $10, kids’ juices $6
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lilfunkydonuts.com / https://www.blendspdx.com/
- Instagram: @lil.funky.donuts @blendspdx
