For many years, Wisconsin home bakers struggled to get a law overturned that restricted their ability to sell home-baked goods to the public. That all changed in 2017 when a court decision struck down Wisconsin’s ban.
With that decision, home bakers gained the freedom they sought to sell home baked goods. There are restrictions that protect consumers, such as allowing only the sale of not-potentially hazardous baked goods. But goods that are deemed non hazardous may be baked in home kitchens.
The result has meant the inception of hundreds of products offered by home bakers. In the Green Bay area, a glance at Nextdoor, a neighborhood app that connects neighbors, shows an increasing number of porch bakeries and made-to-order offerings.
Sourdough breads and other items tend to be a big draw, but there are other specialties, as well.
One of those, On the Sweet Side, has its home on the porch at 1418 Emilie St. in Green Bay. The owners, Kristi VandenBoomen and Tresa Gilbert, say they spent years thinking of starting a porch bakery before opening about a month ago.
VandenBoomen said, “I’ve always wanted to do something like this. When Tresa and I would go for car rides, we saw other people’s stands and enjoyed getting homemade products from them. We thought, ‘We could do that, too.’”
With a degree in business, VandenBoomen said she had dreamed of putting the degree to use and starting a business. The porch bakery allows her to start slow and test the market before opening a brick-and-mortar location, something she’d like to do someday. She feels like the smaller business is a step in the right direction.
“We thought about doing this for four or five years and kept waiting until we thought the time was right,” VandenBoomen said. “We were waiting for life to settle down or something, but we realized that there would never be a perfect time.”
Finally, they decided to take the plunge. They found a free entertainment center online that could be repurposed. Within a few weeks, they sanded, painted, and decorated it for the porch. A name was chosen (it was their second choice after finding that the first name selected was already in use), a logo and graphics designed, a Facebook page made, a menu crafted, and numerous trips taken to the grocery store for supplies.
In late September, the stand opened.
“Quite a few people came. The stand looked good — it was full of everything. We were nervous and overbaked because we were afraid of running out,” VandenBoomen said.
While the fear of not having enough remains, she said that they are also getting more attuned to expenses so that the business will be profitable. Prices are set based on cost of goods and the time it takes to produce items. They focus on making a unique variety of items with things like skull-decorated brownies, cake pops, and peanut butter balls. There is an assortment of breads with regular white and flavors like cinnamon, pumpkin, and zucchini.
She said, “We aren’t making a living off of it yet, but we have reasonable expectations and are looking at different avenues to market the business.”
Purchases are on the honor system and there are cash and charge options available. A camera is in place for security.
There is no camera currently at Marissa Berman’s Sweet Spot Sourdough Bakery on Cora Street. She is still trying to find the right balance between porch sales and special orders.
As she works on obtaining a nursing degree, her journey as a home baker begin after becoming intrigued with online videos.
She said, “I started seeing videos everywhere of home bakers setting up their businesses on porches and selling sourdough breads and other items. In December, I decided to make my own sourdough starter and decided to give it a try a few months later.”
Sweet Spot Sourdough Bakery was the result. Berman said she always loved baking and had a knack for it. Initially, she sold bread, cookies, brownies, and cinnamon rolls and had weekly bake sales on the porch. Despite the planning, it didn’t go as anticipated.
“It took about six months to get the business going,” she said. “It seemed like everyone was making sourdough, but not everyone likes it so I moved to a more comprehensive menu. I have had to change my marketing to say that Sweet Spot Sourdough is more than sourdough.”
Most of the marketing is on Nextdoor, but she also added a Facebook page and has been doing more posting. She is trying to develop an email list to encourage special orders and promote specials. The porch is intermittent as she finds the right balance between featuring items like an apple pie that she says is “perfect,” and selling other products.
“I initially envisioned a big kick off, but that was day dreaming. When I watched the videos, I thought I was going to start this business and really rake in the dough and help out people who couldn’t afford it. That was my initial vision. Then I got the reality check of how it would be. As I’m coming up on a year, I can say the business is growing and views on social media are going through the roof,” Berman said.
She tries to set the business apart by throwing in extra items with purchases and giving discounts to military members and disadvantaged people. Her goal is to find the right formula and have a steady clientele so that the business will thrive as a side business once she starts her nursing career.
Her advice to others starting a similar business is, “Be patient and give it time. You won’t get customers right off the bat just because you set up a stand on your porch. A few businesses might boom right away, but that doesn’t happen for most people.”
But the influx of businesses throughout the area is evidence that many are taking the time to build successful businesses. Just a few of those listed on Nextdoor include: Green Bay Bread Shed, 1137 Dousman St., specializing in sourdough breads and an assortment of other baked goods; Leaven & Leaf, 1473 Silver Cliff Court, Howard, with unique flavored breads, cinnamon rolls, muffins, and more; and Sisterly Sourdough, 2689 Dutchman Road, Ledgeview.
While most of the bakers are focusing on developing a successful hobby business, Sisterly Sourdough has a mission that goes beyond that.
On their Facebook page, they write, “We are sisters, Carli and Alli, who found our passion for sourdough baking when COVID hit back in 2020. We started paying attention to ingredient labels and quickly learned we wanted better options for our kids. We use all organic ingredients; if we wouldn’t feed it to our kids, we wouldn’t sell it to you.”
Their story continues, “In July, Alli was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. With that, we found there was no better time to start sharing our baked good, then the present.”
The money earned through their business will be used to “help her little family stay afloat” while her husband cuts back on work to help with their three kids at home.
In talking to several of the bakers, although motivations may vary, they hold in common a love for baking and a mission to provide top-quality breads and other goods. They are learning the basics of business as expenses and income are monitored, bookkeeping systems set up, and marketing finetuned. They are also determined.
“This might be my first business, but I am sticking with it,” Berman said.
Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt is co-owner of DB Commercial Real Estate in Green Bay and past district director for SCORE, Wisconsin.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Home bakeries in Green Bay area give entrepreneurs chance to test waters before diving in
Reporting by Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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