There isn’t 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 slicing it.
Not like 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 usually got here with a laundry checklist of unfamiliar substances, together with fillers and shelf stabilizers. “That is not proper,” Hartzheim says. “Bread needs to be flour, water and salt. That is it.”
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Hartzheim had all the time beloved baking, however she’d been “a bit afraid” of bread, which comes with a novel set of challenges. Nonetheless, motivated by the dearth of decisions and desirous to eat in addition to potential whereas pregnant with she and Salhi’s first youngster, she turned to a good friend’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 may produce greater than she and her household may get pleasure from.
“For sourdough, in the event 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 following day, it’s a must to combine the dough, let it sit, after which, each hour, fold the dough. So in the event you simply dimension up the general quantity, it does not change the period of time it takes.”
Hartzheim shared her loaves with mates and neighbors after which began experimenting with parbaking, wherein the bread is baked partially and frozen earlier than being baked the remainder of the best way via.
“Individuals nonetheless need to eat higher [and are] extra 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 one among its largest acquisition channels. However Hartzheim noticed a possibility: There was a niche out there — the identical one which had initially impressed her to make her personal bread.
“It is so exhausting [when] the closest factor you’ve got is a Walmart or one thing comparable the place you get Marvel Bread and under no circumstances good artisanal bread,” Hartzheim says, “and I believe Individuals are getting extra aware about maintaining a healthy diet. It has been stylish, however folks nonetheless need to eat higher [and are] extra aware about what they feed their our bodies and provides to their youngsters. Now that I am a mom, it is vital to me what I give to my youngsters.”
The answer? Hartzheim envisioned transport artisanal, slow-fermented bread and different baked items straight to folks’s doorways.
So, in 2020, Wildgrain got here collectively. The corporate acquired a $750,000 seed spherical examine 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 sort of insanity.”
Picture Credit score: Courtesy of Wildgrain
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Regardless of the chaos, Hartzheim was well-equipped to sort out the brand new enterprise. She’d been baking bread for greater than a yr at that time, and her mates at ButcherBox, a Boston-based meat supply subscription firm, provided useful recommendation in regards to the subscription mannequin. 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.”
Nonetheless, like most new companies, Wildgrain confronted some challenges alongside the best way.
At first, the concept was to ship uncooked dough to prospects. That approach, folks may bake their bread from scratch and revel in most freshness, Hartzheim explains. Sadly, many individuals struggled to efficiently bake the uncooked product, usually missing the required gear, equivalent to a Dutch oven, which mimics knowledgeable 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 so much 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 so much. That is how we attain our viewers. So if it seems to be dangerous and simply an unsightly piece of dough, nobody will probably be like, ‘Oh, that is scrumptious. Let me purchase this.'”
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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 objective, however the pandemic offered one other impediment: Solely two folks may work within the kitchen directly.
Picture Credit score: Courtesy of Wildgrain
As luck would have it, Hartzheim’s authentic bread-baking endeavor — the parbaking technique — provided a twofold answer to the tough product providing and restricted manufacturing capability. The method would be certain that prospects baked the proper loaf each time, and native bakeries may use it to extend Wildgrain’s output.
The pure subsequent step was to search out bakeries that may be open to freezing their bread earlier than it completed baking — as it will prove, not a simple feat. “Most bakers weren’t keen on the concept of parbaking, of freezing bread,” Hartzheim remembers. “It kind of goes towards the best way 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 through the years. The corporate presently ships in all places within the contiguous U.S., providing a no-commitment membership and customizable packing containers stuffed 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 out there in plant-based choices as effectively.
Though the price-per-item value is considerably greater than would usually be discovered on grocery store cabinets, Hartzheim says prospects are keen to pay a premium for the better-for-you baked items — partially as a result of the pandemic’s residence bread-baking fad taught folks simply how troublesome the method may be. The model, solely in its fourth yr, is incomes eight figures.
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To aspiring entrepreneurs hoping to interrupt into the meals trade and past, Hartzheim says the bottom line is to don’t have any concern — and to do what it takes to place your self ready to succeed.
“Simply go for it as a result of it is one thing you be taught whereas doing,” Hartzheim says. “It sounds sort 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, however it’s not rocket science. You possibly can be taught something or discover the correct individuals who do know these items.”
This Ladies Entrepreneur® article is a part of our ongoing collection highlighting the tales, challenges and triumphs of operating a enterprise as a lady.
