When professional fundraiser Teresa Weber was looking for a career change three years ago, the enthusiasm of friends and colleagues for her seasonal cookies persuaded her to turn her home baking into a business, the Mount Vernon-based All Heart Baking Co. In a frank interview, she told the Westfair Business Journal about what the switch involved and her aspirations for her new business. Edited highlights are below.
Teresa, when you first got started, what were the costs you didn’t expect and what were the “must-haves” versus the “nice-to-haves”?
“I had a pretty good handle on the initial costs when I jumped in. I knew I would need to pay for a website and packaging, etc. As a home-baker, there weren’t any upfront equipment costs, although that has shifted now that I’m in a commercial space.”
Is that a shared kitchen, or a dedicated commercial space?
“I started the business at home so that I could maintain a lower overhead and develop the proof of concept. As the business has grown, however, the need for a commercial kitchen became more apparent. I now bake full-time from my own dedicated commercial kitchen, which I lovingly call the ‘studio.’”
And how did you work out pricing?
“From the start, I chose to use premium, all-natural ingredients, so ingredient cost was a big factor in determining pricing. I (also) considered a number of factors – the time it takes to make my cookies; the artisanal nature; the way we package them; the cost of selling in-person, etc.”
Where do most of your sales come from right now?
“Markets/pop-ups with online and custom orders growing rapidly. Moving into our own commercial kitchen has allowed us to start selling cookies outside of New York, so that now we are focused on growing our online business. For example, online sales for Valentine’s Day grew by over 230%.”
And what limits you most right now – time, kitchen capacity, delivery/logistics or demand?
“Oof. This is a hard one. I think it’s a toss-up between time and kitchen capacity. Our move to a commercial kitchen has been such a boon to the business, but there aren’t enough hours in the day to make all the cookies we need to make to meet demand and/or expand.”
What food-safety or local regulations did you need to follow to sell confidently – certifications, inspections, allergen labeling, etc.?
“We’re considered a small food processor by New York and, as such, we’re governed and licensed by the New York State Department of Agriculture. We follow all of the guidelines issued by the state for small food processors, including the Good Manufacturing Principles. We have certifications for safe food-handling and have various permits for local municipalities where we sell our cookies. All our cookies include allergen information.”
When you think about the business today, would you say you track success more by number of orders per week/month, average order value or revenue ranges?
“We track success by average sale and overall growth in gross receipts. We have seen average sale steadily increasing, and we’d like to see it over $25/sale by the end of 2026. Gross receipts have showed steady growth with a year-over-year increase of 137% in year one and 157% in year two. Our goal is to double gross sales for year three. Since most of our business has been at in-person markets, fairs or pop-ups, I generally determine if an event has been worthwhile if we sell at least four times the (participation) fee.”
And are there months that are predictably strong or slow? How do you plan ingredients/stock and manage cash flow when demand swings?
“Now that we are heading into our third year, we have a decent idea of high/low points for demand at markets. However, we don’t do the same thing each year so we are still learning. We know that October to December is the busiest time of year and when we make most of our sales, (and) we do a lot of predictive modeling to figure out what we need to bake and when. For example, we were headed to the Philadelphia Flower Show at the end of February, and we used our experience at the Dutchess County Fair to try and predict what we might need.”
Lastly – one great lesson you’ve learned since setting up All Heart Baking Co., something that stands out above all the others?
“I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is that I don’t know what I don’t know so it’s important for me to continually talk to other small business owners, other bakers and, above all, customers. Being curious and learning other folks’ stories has led to new ideas or changes that have improved the business.”
