Launching a Local

GF Sourdough Business

COMPANY

The Sour Dough

MODEL

B2C

ROLE

Founder, Sole-Operator

LOCATION

Boston, MA

TECH STACK

Oven (?), Excel, Instagram, Figma

Introduction

After trying out a gluten-free (GF) diet, I found that most bread options were tiny, flavorless, and freezer-burned (still in their ✨wonder bread era✨). Amazingly, almost every casual conversation I had with GF people would inevitably turn to this neglect in the bread aisle. Homemade GF sourdough was the perfect antidote: normal-sized, naturally flavorful, and fresh.

At the start of 2024, I launched a GF sourdough bake shop called The Sour Dough. Over the next 7 months, I individually baked and sold more than 200 loaves across the Boston area. Let's just say, summer 2024 was hot in the apartment :D. I've officially retired the apron since moving to a new city and stopping GF, but the starter lives on in kitchens across Boston!

At the start of 2024, I launched a GF sourdough bake shop called The Sour Dough. Over the next 7 months, I individually baked and sold more than 200 loaves across the Boston area. Let’s just say, summer 2024 was hot in the apartment :D. I’ve officially retired the apron since moving to a new city and stopping GF, but the starter lives on in kitchens across Boston!

The

Sour Dough

The

Sour Dough

baked with

love

Creating a Brand of Abundance

In my utopian vision, GF bread should be so good that it need-not the disclaimer (or rather, warning sign) of "gluten-free." It's just bread, not bread without X!

In my utopian vision, GF bread should be so good that it need-not the disclaimer (or rather, warning sign) of “gluten-free.” It’s just bread, not bread without X!

Contrasting the rather serious, health-focused brands, turning The Sour Dough into a personification brought a fun and playful vibe while maintaining this position of abundance.

Similarly, most GF brands advertise what they're not made with. Of course this makes sense for people with restrictions, but it also imbues lack. The tagline "Made with _____" brings back a sense of fullness. Each loaf would get a unique, hand-written note—from -10 degree weather, to my favorite cooking playlist, to (always) love.

Running the Business

As a one-woman shop, I was responsible for everything—from marketing, to baking, to packaging, to delivering. There was a lot of coordination required. From the multiple rise periods of sourdough baking, to ensuring incoming orders capped at capacity, to scheduling delivery times in sync with baking.

While this was definitely challenging, I really loved all of the moving pieces. It was so exciting and always something new. Through trial and error, I was able to double my capacity from 4 to 8 loaves a day, and I'm happy to say that I didn't miss an order (shoutout to my overworked and over-colorful Excel sheet)!

While this was definitely challenging, I really loved all of the moving pieces. It was so exciting and always something new. Through trial and error, I was able to double my capacity from 4 to 8 loaves a day, and I’m happy to say that I didn’t miss an order (shoutout to my overworked and over-colorful Excel sheet)!

Branding

Logo, tagline, brand voice, marketing assets

Marketing & Outreach

Flyers, local newspaper, social media

Baking

aka setting a million alarms for the rise times

Managing Inventory

Ordering supplies & ensuring utilization

Coordinating Orders

Ensuring capacity, scheduling deliveries

Tracking Finances

Maintaining margins, tracking rev./expenses

I paid close attention to finances, tracking every ingredient and order to maintain my target margin. With so many moving pieces, detailed record-keeping was essential, and that diligence helped me stay profitable throughout the entire span of the business.