Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Georgina Shipp. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Georgina, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.
As a dedicated gluten-free bakery most of our customers are following a gluten-free diet for medical reasons. Living a gluten-free life inherently means that your choices are much more limited than the average person when it comes to buying food. When you are purchasing commercially made gluten-free food it unfortunately means that a lot of that food has some pretty unhealthy stuff in it. Now I’m not saying that brownies and cookies should be healthy, but in our business we try to make sure that we don’t use preservatives and some of the extra fillers and artificial ingredients used in some foods. As a small batch Bakery we try to use the best ingredients without a lot of artificial stuff. We avoid high fructose corn syrup for example. Our products are made fresh to order each week.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My journey into the world of gluten-free began in 2019 when my daughter was diagnosed as gluten intolerant. Shortly thereafter I realized I was also gluten intolerant and began to eat all gluten-free. It didn’t take long to realize that food choice was limited, especially when it came to delicious baked goods. In 2020 I started baking gluten-free baked goods and selling to my neighbors. The business grew from there, with our products being carried at Jungle Jim’s and other local retailers. In 2023 we moved out of my tiny condo kitchen and into a commercial kitchen.
We are a small batch bakery which means all of our products are made in small batches and made fresh to order. The kitchen is a dedicated gluten-free space which means that you can feel safe consuming our products whether you are gluten-intolerant, gluten-free by choice or celiac. There is no risk of cross-contamination. That means our customers can be sure that they are not going to get sick from eating a cinnamon roll or brownie.
The thing I am most proud of is the service we are providing to the gluten-free community. I love to hear about how this is the first cinnamon roll they have had in 20 years, or how their child needs a gluten-free cookie to have at school because all the other kids will have a “decorated cookie”. We truly have the best customers who are loyal and recommend us all the time.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
This is really a unique story. In 2020 my full time job was as a medical office manager. When COVID hit and everything shut down, I was working at home and not working as many hours. At the time if you remember, it was hard to find masks and a lot of people were making fabric masks and giving them away or selling them. Since I could sew I decided I would make some masks out of fabric I already had. I started out giving some to my neighbors. Then I started getting orders for them. I made masks for about 3 months (hundreds of masks). When the shortage of masks was winding down that’s when I started baking. And the money I made from selling masks is what I used to start my baking business.
Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.
As I stated earlier my former career was in the medical field. I started the bakery in 2020 while continuing to work full-time at my day job. After about a year I went part time and then in 2022 I quit my day job altogether. The key milestones that enabled me to grow the business was obtaining wholesale accounts such as Jungle Jim’s, Country Fresh Market and other smaller locally owned coffee shops and bakeries. I also built a website and do custom orders as well as doing farmer’s markets and vendor shows during that time.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gfcbygeorgina.com
- Instagram: @gfcreationsbygeorgina
- Facebook: @gfcbygeorgina