Nico Norena

Nico Norena (born June 17, 1993) is an American recipe developer, content creator, and entrepreneur who lives in Miami, Florida. He is the founder and CEO of The Succulent Bite Inc. (2016–present). Norena gained social media traction on Instagram through developing dessert recipes and documenting travel experiences. He launched a blog, The Succulent Bite, where he frequently publishes recipes. Norena's career took off in the content creation space while posting daily food videos. 
He launched his first cookbook on August 23, 2022 named, “The Succulent Bite: 60+ Easy Recipes for Over-the-Top Desserts." Norena was named on the Forbes 30 under 30 list in the Food & Drink category, which estimates his profit in brand deals to be over $1 million as of 2022. The recipe creator also appeared on Despierta América (2022), where he hosted a live morning cooking segment for 12 episodes.
==Life and career==
Nico Norena was born on June 17, 1993, in Chicago, Illinois to Patricia Arboleda and Diego Norena. Nico is a self-taught home cook who speaks fluently in English and Spanish. At the age of 3, Norena’s parents divorced. He then moved to Bogotá, Colombia with Arboleda. When his mother landed a new job, he moved to Madrid, Spain at the age of 6, where he lived for close to ten years. Norena had family in France, so he often spent time traveling in the cities of Paris and Marseille throughout his childhood.
During his adolescent years, he moved to Miami, Florida in 2008 where his father, Diego, resides, and has been there ever since. Norena went to high school in Plantation, Florida at the Broward Campus of the American Heritage Schools (2008–2012), before achieving his bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing at Florida International University (2012–2016). Norena started his online company, The Succulent Bite Inc. in 2016. 
During his schooling and side passion as a content creator, Norena worked as a sales intern at a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company, Eli Lilly and Company (2016). He was then taken on as a full-time sales representative (2016–2020). 
In 2020, Norena quit his job to pursue a career in content creation full-time. In 2021, Norena started a podcast named “The Scoop with Nico Norena” under Succulent Bite Inc. and presented by Eat Drink Dine Podcast Network. The podcast focused on speaking with acclaimed chefs, influencers, and hospitality industry leaders, but subsequently ended that same year (2021).
Due to his heightened social media presence, Norena secured deals with brands like Burger King, Hexclad, Maker’s Mark, Papa John’s, Kellogg’s, Absolut Vodka, Bud Light, Pepsi, Tostitos, Disney, and Chevrolet. Norena has also actively participated in the South Beach Wine & Food Festival since 2018. He was a featured guest at FoodieCon in 2023.
==Media exposure==
Norena has a profile in Forbes, The New York Times, Spoon University, Mashed, Tasting Table, Thrillist, CITI Ventures, and Hispanic Executive. The content creator also relayed Miami food recommendations in a Time Out article. Norena has spoken on several podcasts, including Gent’s Talk (2023) and the Livvin for Food podcast (2023). 
==Personal life==
Norena married Ariana Rueda-Norena on February 18, 2023 at the Marriott Los Sueños in Herradura, Costa Rica. The couple met at Florida International University in 2013, where they both graduated, but did not reconnect until 2018 when they were (separately) visiting Madrid, Spain on vacation. Nico and Ariana moved in together right before the pandemic hit the world in 2020. They now reside in Miami, Florida.
Category:People from Chicago
Category:1993 births
Category:American people
Category:Entrepreneurs