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!
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!
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)!
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.
In the Office!
This was such a fun experience, and I am so grateful for the customers who took a chance on scanning a random coffee shop flyer!
