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There is not any scarcity of boulangeries in Paris, Johanna Hartzheim, co-founder of bakery supply subscription firm Wildgrain, tells Entrepreneur. “It is such a cultural factor to have a contemporary baguette. You purchase a baguette daily, contemporary croissants on each nook. It is all the time heat as a result of they churn bread a lot that [every time] you go in, [it] simply got here out of the oven.”
Picture Credit score: Courtesy of Wildgrain. Johanna Hartzheim.
So, when Hartzheim and her husband and co-founder Ismail Salhi moved from France’s capital to Boston in 2015 to work on their music {hardware} firm Qleek, the native carb choices weren’t reducing it.
In contrast to Europe, the U.S. did not supply fresh-baked bread and pastries block by block. Items sat on bakery cabinets longer, and people in supermarkets typically got here with a laundry listing of unfamiliar elements, together with fillers and shelf stabilizers. “That is not proper,” Hartzheim says. “Bread must be flour, water and salt. That is it.”
Hartzheim had all the time cherished baking, however she’d been “somewhat afraid” of bread, which comes with a singular set of challenges. Nevertheless, motivated by the dearth of selections and eager to eat in addition to attainable whereas pregnant with she and Salhi’s first little one, she turned to a pal’s father, who’d been making sourdough for years, for mentorship.
Quickly, she was spending each weekend studying the ins and outs of bread-baking, and it wasn’t lengthy earlier than she might produce greater than she and her household might get pleasure from.
“For sourdough, should you make one loaf or 20 or 50, it is the identical quantity of labor as a result of it is the time that goes into it,” Hartzheim explains. “The evening earlier than, it’s a must to refresh the beginning, after which the subsequent day, it’s a must to combine the dough, let it sit, after which, each hour, fold the dough. So should you simply dimension up the general quantity, it does not change the period of time it takes.”
Hartzheim shared her loaves with buddies and neighbors after which began experimenting with parbaking, by which the bread is baked partially and frozen earlier than being baked the remainder of the way in which by.
“Individuals nonetheless wish to eat higher [and are] extra acutely aware about what they feed their physique.”
In 2020, the pandemic was hitting Hartzheim and Salhi’s first enterprise exhausting, as in-person occasions had been considered one of its largest acquisition channels. However Hartzheim noticed a possibility: There was a gap in the market — the identical one which had initially impressed her to make her personal bread.
“It is so exhausting [when] the closest factor you’ve is a Walmart or one thing comparable the place you get Surprise Bread and by no means good artisanal bread,” Hartzheim says, “and I believe People are getting extra acutely aware about maintaining a healthy diet. It has been fashionable, however folks nonetheless wish to eat higher [and are] extra acutely aware about what they feed their our bodies and provides to their children. Now that I am a mom, it is necessary to me what I give to my children.”
The answer? Hartzheim envisioned delivery artisanal, slow-fermented bread and different baked items straight to folks’s doorways.
So, in 2020, Wildgrain got here collectively. The corporate obtained a $750,000 seed spherical test from the enterprise agency Bolt, which had additionally invested in Hartzheim and Salhi’s earlier startup, Qleek, earlier than launch. “It took off shortly, which was surprising however nice,” Hartzheim says. “We integrated the corporate the identical week my son was born, so it was form of insanity.”
Picture Credit score: Courtesy of Wildgrain
Regardless of the chaos, Hartzheim was well-equipped to deal with the brand new enterprise. She’d been baking bread for greater than a yr at that time, and her buddies at ButcherBox, a Boston-based meat supply subscription firm, supplied useful recommendation in regards to the subscription model. The sourdough scalability she’d found would additionally show a serious benefit.
“Most bakers weren’t keen on the concept of parbaking, of freezing bread.”
Nevertheless, like most new businesses, Wildgrain confronted some challenges alongside the way in which.
At first, the concept was to ship uncooked dough to clients. That method, folks might bake their bread from scratch and revel in most freshness, Hartzheim explains. Sadly, many individuals struggled to efficiently bake the uncooked product, typically missing the required gear, corresponding to a Dutch oven, which mimics an expert bakery oven, trapping moisture and creating the correct puff.
“If you do not have that [equipment] and simply throw the dough on a sheet, it’s going to rise weirdly and look terrible. It is rather a lot in regards to the look since we promote our bread on-line,” Hartzheim says. “Individuals prefer to submit it on Instagram, and [we] work with influencers rather a lot. That is how we attain our viewers. So if it appears to be like unhealthy and simply an unsightly piece of dough, nobody can be like, ‘Oh, that is scrumptious. Let me purchase this.'”
Moreover, Hartzheim wanted extra arms within the kitchen if the enterprise was going to be successful. She and Salhi discovered a shared kitchen to serve that goal, however the pandemic offered one other impediment: Solely two folks might work within the kitchen without delay.
Picture Credit score: Courtesy of Wildgrain
As luck would have it, Hartzheim’s unique bread-baking endeavor — the parbaking technique — supplied a twofold resolution to the difficult product providing and restricted manufacturing capability. The method would be sure that clients baked the proper loaf each time, and native bakeries might use it to extend Wildgrain’s output.
The pure subsequent step was to seek out bakeries that will be open to freezing their bread earlier than it completed baking — as it might prove, not a straightforward feat. “Most bakers weren’t keen on the concept of parbaking, of freezing bread,” Hartzheim recollects. “It kind of goes in opposition to the way in which of artisanally making bread.” However with enterprise down amid the pandemic, Hartzheim satisfied them. It was “a giant pivot level,” she says.
“So long as you are motivated and passionate, I really feel like you are able to do something.”
Wilgrain’s dynamic method and willingness to pivot have helped it proceed to develop over time. The corporate presently ships all over the place within the contiguous U.S., providing a no-commitment membership and customizable packing containers filled with frozen gadgets that bake in 25 minutes or much less, with no thawing required. The six-item field is priced at $99, and the 12-item field is priced at $159, each accessible in plant-based choices as effectively.
Though the price-per-item price is considerably greater than would sometimes be discovered on grocery store cabinets, Hartzheim says clients are prepared to pay a premium for the better-for-you baked items — partly as a result of the pandemic’s residence bread-baking fad taught folks simply how troublesome the method will be. The model, solely in its fourth yr, is incomes eight figures.
To aspiring entrepreneurs hoping to break into the food industry and past, Hartzheim says the bottom line is to don’t have any concern — and to do what it takes to place your self able to succeed.
“Simply go for it as a result of it is one thing you be taught whereas doing,” Hartzheim says. “It sounds form of cliche, however so long as you are motivated and passionate, you are able to do something. I knew nothing about monitoring, importing, all these items, but it surely’s not rocket science. You’ll be able to be taught something or discover the fitting individuals who do know these items.”
This Girls Entrepreneur® article is a part of our ongoing sequence highlighting the tales, challenges and triumphs of working a enterprise as a lady.
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