Sweet feat

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Unable to stomach cookies, baker goes vegan, sets out on his own Sacramento Business Journal - Friday March 3, 2006 - Wes Sander Print this Article Email this Article Reprints RSS Feeds Photo by: Dennis McCoy/Sacramento Business Journal Discovering a market: He said his product was something people were waiting for. Alternative Baking Co. still exists, and is one of Sun Flour's largest competitors. But in the beginning, Ortega's friends warned him not to invest in such a narrow market. His enthusiasm for his product,

however, had already combined with his market experience to create momentum. People told me it couldn't be done. They said, 'No one's going to buy a cookie for $1.50,' " said Ortega, who declined to reveal revenue and profits. "But I just jumped in with both feet. And it grew so quickly, in just a short time, I knew I was on to something." It was a similar experience for Rebeckah Click, whose Sunflower Natural Foods Drive-In in Fair Oaks has sold Ortega's cookies almost since the beginning. (The similarity in the businesses' names is coincidental.) Click's success is now well-established: She opened the restaurant with her husband in 1978, offering a mostly vegan menu at a time when her targeted market was much less robust than it is today. Key ingredients: The key, Click said, has always been the quality of the product, and the restaurant has always attracted a steady stream of new customers who weren't expecting to be impressed by vegan cuisine. It helps,

she said, that the menu consists largely of familiar items, like burgers, tacos and burritos. "We've coaxed a lot of people into just trying something, and now they're regular customers," Click said. "It's interesting how much (the customer base has) changed -- we get all types of people, from kids to elderly. We had a pretty extensive menu from day one, and the things that people gravitated to are the most familiar items." Ortega took a similar route with his cookies. He offered a product that people know and love -- cookies in familiar flavors like chocolate, oatmeal and peanut butter -- and added the benefit of a healthy recipe. Ortega has always formulated his own recipes. He uses starches and plant-based gums to replace the bonding function of dairy and eggs, and fruit and sugarcane juices as sweeteners. He has experimented successfully with flour derived from pinto beans -- a feat that hadn't been accomplished before, he said. With himself as sole owner, Ortega puts new cookie flavors and packaging ideas into production nearly as fast as he invents them. With the help of general manager Lauren Farnsworth, whom he hired fresh from UC Davis in the spring of 2003, he makes the most of the creative freedom that he didn't have as a partner, he said. "As I come up with new recipes, I want to make a product that's more (certified) organic," he said. "As the business grows, I'd like to come up with some better oils. Basically we're saying, how can we make a better cookie?" Peter H

 

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VERY GOOD AT LAST FAB READ THANK YOU peter hurd <swpgh01 wrote: Unable to stomach cookies, baker goes vegan, sets out on his own Sacramento Business Journal - Friday March 3, 2006 - Wes Sander Print this Article Email this Article Reprints RSS Feeds Photo by: Dennis McCoy/Sacramento Business Journal Discovering a market: He said his product was something people were waiting for. Alternative Baking Co. still exists, and is one of Sun Flour's largest

competitors. But in the beginning, Ortega's friends warned him not to invest in such a narrow market. His enthusiasm for his product, however, had already combined with his market experience to create momentum. People told me it couldn't be done. They said, 'No one's going to buy a cookie for $1.50,' " said Ortega, who declined to reveal revenue and profits. "But I just jumped in with both feet. And it grew so quickly, in just a short time, I knew I was on to something." It was a similar experience for Rebeckah Click, whose Sunflower Natural Foods Drive-In in Fair Oaks has sold Ortega's cookies almost since the beginning. (The similarity in the businesses' names is coincidental.) Click's success is now well-established: She opened the restaurant with her husband in 1978, offering a mostly vegan menu at a time when her targeted market was much less robust than it is today. Key ingredients: The key, Click said, has always been the quality of the

product, and the restaurant has always attracted a steady stream of new customers who weren't expecting to be impressed by vegan cuisine. It helps, she said, that the menu consists largely of familiar items, like burgers, tacos and burritos. "We've coaxed a lot of people into just trying something, and now they're regular customers," Click said. "It's interesting how much (the customer base has) changed -- we get all types of people, from kids to elderly. We had a pretty extensive menu from day one, and the things that people gravitated to are the most familiar items." Ortega took a similar route with his cookies. He offered a product that people know and love -- cookies in familiar flavors like chocolate, oatmeal and peanut butter -- and added the benefit of a healthy recipe. Ortega has always formulated his own recipes. He uses starches and plant-based gums to replace the bonding function of dairy and eggs, and fruit and sugarcane juices as

sweeteners. He has experimented successfully with flour derived from pinto beans -- a feat that hadn't been accomplished before, he said. With himself as sole owner, Ortega puts new cookie flavors and packaging ideas into production nearly as fast as he invents them. With the help of general manager Lauren Farnsworth, whom he hired fresh from UC Davis in the spring of 2003, he makes the most of the creative freedom that he didn't have as a partner, he said. "As I come up with new recipes, I want to make a product that's more (certified) organic," he said. "As the business grows, I'd like to come up with some better oils. Basically we're saying, how can we make a better cookie?" Peter H To help you stay safe and secure online, we've developed the all new Security Centre.

To help you stay safe and secure online, we've developed the all new Security Centre.