overview

I love baking and I always give out homemade cookies on holidays and special occasions. My shortbread cookies in particular, are very popular among friends and family. In 2017, I took a leap of faith to start a cookies business called Little Wug Bakery while having a full time job.

There were many late nights and challenging moments, but it was extremely rewarding. From 2017 to the time I wrapped up the business in 2019, I grew my product line from 3 shortbread SKUs to 12 SKUs, including a gluten-free option. My products were placed in 2 local coffee shops, 1 pop-up store and a subscription box. Total sales went up 120% within 2 years.

*The name, Little Wug, was inspired by a linguistic test created by Jean Gleason, a psycholinguist. Her research proved English-speaking children have abilities to extract generalizable rules from the language around them at a very early age. I believe every children have their unique gift. I want to use the proceeds of this project to nurture the gifts of those with earning disabilities, and help them regain confidence and strength.

Competitor analysis & value proposition

Before making any decision on the business, I studied competitors' products. I did taste testing and market research to understand their value proposition, target customers, and distribution channel. With the competitive analysis, I was able to refine the value proposition for Little Wug Bakery to distinguish from them:

• Higher perceived value:

  • Small batch, locally handmade

  • Safe ingredients (eggs, flour, sugar, nature flavour), no additives, unique fusion flavours (e.g. Matcha, Fig and Miso Sesame)

  • Good cause: help children with learning disabilities to regain confidence

• Occasional indulge:

  • Snack-size packaging

  • Pricing Strategy: approximately 0.045/g (price range from $5-$10 per item) a small splurge that does not break the bank

  • Distribute through coffee shops, specialty groceries and farmers’ market

• Brand Identity: young, genuine and earnest

• Customer Persona: all age, shortbread lovers, support local and a good cause

product DESIGN

With the value proposition strategy in mind, I started prototyping some designs, including logo, font, colour scheme, packaging and display presentation. I went through four iterations in total, each involved sketching ideas, prototyping and getting feedback. I spent a great amount of browsing the cookie section in grocery stores, evaluating different packaging solutions by cost, aesthetic and usability. It was very rewarding process to see the Little Wug Bakery evolve through each iteration:

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

At the early stage of Little Wug Bakery, I camped at the Farmers’ Market every weekend to do samplings, getting feedback from customers and building the trust and connection. The network from Farmers’ Market soon led me to participant in local maker markets (e.g. Fall for Local Market, East Side Fleet Market) where I can reach more target customers who appreciate the design, quality and cause of Little Wug Bakery.

In late 2017, I started to explore more options for distributions. After many cold calls and sample runs at local groceries and coffee shops, I started to sell at two local coffee shops at primary locations (RAD Tea Room, and Kings’s Cafe). In late 2018, a Vancouver based subscription box (BLUME) reached out to collaborate, and I was thrilled to have my shortbread included in their September box! Through these collaborations with other small business owners, I gained invaluable support and long-lasting friendships.

TAKE AWAYS

I wrapped up the business due to family commitments in 2019, but this was definitely one of the most life enhancing experiences I had. This is what I learned:

• Listen to your customers and let the market speak

  Throughout the product development phase, I spent weeks asking myself questions like how many cookies should be in one bag and which flavour would sell the best. I was paralyzed by over-analyzing, until a friend said, “why don’t you just make some samples and see what the customers say?” It was an “a-ha” moment for me to realize I need to listen to my customers and pivot fast based on their feedback.

• Environmental Concerns

  After experiencing food production first-hand, I was shocked by the amount of material waste in this process. I started to embrace a low-waste lifestyle, and preferred to buy food without excessive packaging. Looking back, if there is one thing I could change about Little Wug Bakery, it would be minimizing plastic and embracing sustainable packaging alternatives.

Thank you for reading!