The Power of a Product

Even though I work for The Women’s Bakery, leveraging bread and business as means to create opportunity for women in Rwanda (and one day, around the world), don’t be fooled: I’m not an expert baker. When I was incollege, if there was a celebration, I could absolutely bake – from a box. Dry cake or bread mixes were close friends of mine and I would often curate masterful creations of funfetti cakes.

A lot has changed since then. I have baked more breads in the last three years than I previously did my entire life. Using TWB specialty recipes as a launch pad, I have been unafraid in trying new things and getting better at being unafraid in the kitchen. I may not be a bread master, but I am good baker these days, and I am proud of that.

Yet, we – The Women’s Bakery – consistently return to the question – for those not in Rwanda, how can we connect others to our work? What kind of product could we introduce to new communities, particularly in the United States?

Dry Bread Mix. Boom.

Developing and scaling a dry bread mix – based on our TWB recipes – was Markey’s brain child from the beginning. And excitingly, we are now taking the steps to fully research, develop, and test this market opportunity.

For the last three months, we have tested the product within our TWB family, sending free mixes to interested individuals to bake, test, and provide their opinion with surveys. For those that participated, thank you. Your feedback and insights are informing our next iteration of the product, which will bring us closer to launch, and inherently, the ability to build a revenue stream for our work in East Africa and fully launch programs in the United States.

TWB's Program Manager, Hilary Hilsabeck, had her mother, Stacy, test and try the mix. It was a success!

We’re learning a lot.

We learned that roasting sweet potatoes for 40 minutes is a lot of prep work when you are considering buying a mix that is marketed as quick or instant. We learned that we should double the recipe. We learned that 88% of our testers would pay more for a product like ours that supports a social mission. We learned how to adjust the label. We learned that the uniqueness of using sweet potatoes is enticing for our customers. The earthiness, color, and simplicity of our packaging is appealing.

Now, we are taking this information and iterating – again.

TWB friend, Zach Verwey, tested the bread and used microwavable sweet potatoes. This kind of innovation is exactly what we hoped to see in the market testing phase.

This is not unlike what we are doing in Rwanda – constantly designing, delivering, learning, adapting, changing, and trying again. This is business. This, in our case is social business, always changing and adapting so that we not only meet our bottom line of profitability, but also, empowering the women we work with.

We have a vision for where we are going.

Our dry bread mix is not just a mix in a box. It’s a powerful product, one that will not only support the women we work with in East Africa, but also support women that we will, in the future, work with in the United States.

Seriously, that’s bread power.

Testing, Testing

Everyone’s palate craves something different. Our breads are no exception. Heather has been working to refine our sweet potato bread recipe in the U.S. and we are almost there!

We have been getting valuable feedback from our sweet potato dry bread mix packaging, process, and price point.

Dozens of friends and family members have prepared our dry bread mix at home and filled out a survey to help us understand where we can improve.

We ask our potential customers questions such as:

-       Were the directions easy to follow?

-       What did you like best about the label?

-       How much would you pay for this product?

-       How often would you purchase this product?

Simultaneously, we have been encouraging willing participants to try samples of our beet, carrot, and banana breads.

We’ve worked on adapting our Rwanda recipes for the American market. And, now, we are trying to collect at least 100 survey responses on what the consumers like and don’t like about the taste and appearance. These responses will help us make yet another recipe overhaul!

While we aren’t ready to build a bakery in the U.S., we are paving the runway for a kick ass variety of dry bread mixes for healthful snack. Choosing our product will help to support our work in the U.S. and Rwanda.

Keep an eye out for the upcoming launch of our online store, where you can purchase the first iteration of our sweet potato dry bread mix!

TWB's Next Big Ad(venture)

by: McKenna Pullen, U.S. Programs Intern

I was full of emotions on the first day of my internship with The Women’s Bakery. I felt so fortunate to have gotten the opportunity to work with TWB, but, admittedly I knew little about how the team operated. Like most organizations, TWB looked amazing on paper, but what would it be like to work there?

Within a few minutes of beginning orientation, I knew that this place was even better than I could have imagined. Not only are these women doing incredible work, they are also extremely supportive, encouraging, and the one of the most hard-working groups I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside.

As the U.S. Programs Intern, my position exists to help adapt TWB’s East Africa model for refugee and immigrant women in Denver, Colorado. Through this position I’ve gotten to know how TWB functions on multiple levels. I haven’t had the opportunity to visit any of the bakeries (yet!), but it’s easy to see why this program is so successful, merely from reading reports about outcomes. I love being a part of an organization that fundamentally believes in the power of women, community, and of course, baking. Working to develop programs in Denver has also enabled me to see my own community in a new light, and begin focusing on the strengths and assets of individuals.

TWB inspires hope wherever they go. I am excited to be a part of that energy and positive momentum in Denver. Our program will provide opportunities for women to thrive in the United States, learning tangible, marketable skills, while building and strengthening essential social networks.

TWB will foster a nurturing and supportive environment, creating space for women to live healthy, successful lives. I know it will have a profound impact on the lives of all women who enter future training programs. I am sincerely grateful for the opportunity to work with TWB, and so proud of the work they already do.