From Pop Star to Pastry Chef: April Harris’ Journey from Seduction to Sweet Success

April Harris, best known as a member of the 90s pop dance group Seduction, has transitioned to a new stage of success as the owner of a vegan, gluten-free bakery in New Jersey. Harris founded her baking business, Keeping You Sweet, in 2017 and opened her first retail location at the Willowbrook Mall in Wayne in 2022.

As an original Seduction member, Harris made multiple Billboard hit songs with her partners, Idalis DeLeón and Michelle Visage. Such popular singles by the group include “Two to Make It Right,” “Heartbeat,” and “You’re My One and Only True Love.” 

Though the group disbanded in 1991, Harris trademarked the Seduction name and retained ownership. Years later, she revived the group, adding newcomers Maria Flora and Eunice Foster, and released the album Feel Brand New in 2005. 

While Harris spent several years touring the world, her mother, Georgia, found success as a food caterer. After her mother’s passing in 2011, Harris put on the apron herself.

Through her mother’s recipes, Harris coped with her loss by baking the way her mother did, feeling like they were both back in the kitchen together. 

Eventually, Harris crafted her own style of healthy baking, transforming her mother’s recipe for sweet potato pie into one for a cheesecake made of vegan, gluten-free ingredients and no refined sugar. Thus, a new chef was born.

Harris quickly became a culinary star, spending years baking delicious goods for local fundraising events and farmers’ markets. Soon, through the power of an unforgettable sweet potato cheesecake, she caught the eye of another local star: Carey Hamilton from WBGO Jazz Radio. 

When a new Whole Foods opened in Newark, it was Hamilton who helped Harris connect with their recruiting team. After they sampled some of her desserts, Harris was made one of the store’s local food suppliers. She has since expanded her business to provide dozens of Whole Foods Markets with baked goods. So much success led to the decision to open a retail space in Willowbrook Mall, where Harris has been serving customers for the last two years.

Owning a bakery was indeed a first for Harris. But having been a member of Seduction, she was no stranger to headlining a successful brand. Harris also had years of experience managing celebrities as a talent agent. She had even served as the Senior Vice President of the Eagles Talent Speakers Bureau. 

Harris took this new challenge head-on, learning what she could about managing and raising money for her business and finding support from fellow female entrepreneurs. While the COVID-19 pandemic hit many companies, including supermarkets, Harris fortunately kept her business afloat by selling her sweets online. 

“Now that I know I’m solving the problem with making vegan and gluten-free desserts with clean ingredients and the option to choose a sweetener, it’s really exciting to me to see customers come in and be so excited that they have options now,” said Harris. 

“To see customers traveling from 20 to 30 miles away, from Philly and [New York City], just to see us, because we have more options than most bakeries for folks like them with special dietary needs.”

There’s no doubt that Keeping You Sweet has thrived with its healthy assortment of baked treats. Some of its most popular options include the Vegan Brownie Cheesecake, the Vegan Piña Colada Cheesecake, and the Key Lime Pie Cheesecake. The store also offers brownies and a wide variety of cupcakes, with flavors ranging from Chocolate Crumb to Strawberry Shortcake to Sweet Potato.

And it’s unlikely the success will slow down. Whole Foods plans to offer Keeping You Sweet goods at all their locations throughout the Northeastern U.S. However, Harris remains most excited about opening more retail locations.

“I wasn’t expecting that we would be making so many custom, special occasion cakes, so we’re gonna definitely expand that,” she added. “We’re going to certify kosher. And I’m looking forward to building out our app that will allow our customers to make their own cake online based on their allergies.”

Though baking has become a large part of Harris’s life, the acclaimed pop star hasn’t lost touch with her musical roots. Thirty-five years after the group’s inception, Harris continues to perform under the Seduction name with her current partners, Eunice Foster and Bianca Gonzalez. They currently have four new shows booked for next month. But through all her surprising success, April still keeps her mother close to her heart, selling each of her cheesecakes with a label reading, “Made by Georgia’s daughter.”