We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lauren Ruddell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lauren, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

The name of my small business, R & O Bread Co., originated from my two dogs Ralph and Olive. They are black and tan miniature long haired dachshunds & the lights of my life. When coming up with a name for my small business, I wanted something that was personal to me but also was memorable & different from other microbakeries out there. R & O is simple, but it has such deep meaning to me. My dogs are everything to me & what better way to honor them by naming my passion project after them.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Lauren Ruddell. I am originally from Sacramento, CA and moved to Orange County during the pandemic. I have built a beautiful life in Southern California, an amazing partner, two larger-than-life dogs, a cute little apartment, a great career. But even with all those things, I often have found myself wondering, “what is my purpose in life?”. One day, I decided I was going to try my luck at sourdough and purchase a dehydrated sourdough starter online. After baking my first loaf, I was HOOKED. The time, labor, and love that are involved in making a loaf of bread is unmatched. It’s a delicate dance of flour, water, salt, and most importantly, patience. You have to listen, feel, and learn what your dough needs in order for you to bake a beautiful loaf of bread. When I’m mixing my dough and going through the baking process, I feel a sense of purpose that I haven’t felt before. It’s so rewarding knowing that the time, knowledge, and patience you put into 3 ingredients turns into something that is nourishing, delicious, and home made by ME. Being that my love language is gift giving, giving people bread is the most fulfilling thing I have experienced in life. There is nothing like handing over a loaf of homemade bread to someone & them gushing over how good it is. It’s an incredible feeling. I felt like I had finally found my purpose. Friends, family, and coworkers started asking how they can get their hands on some bread, and that’s how R & O was birthed. I decided to start selling my bread using an online portal and the rest is history. I love baking bread & can’t wait for more people to try my products so I can spread the joy of homemade bread to my community.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

I feel what has been most effective in growing clientele for my brand and business has been word of mouth. Getting my product into the hands of friends, coworkers, and neighbors and those people telling others about my microbakery has helped me obtain new, loyal customers. Word of mouth has been so helpful in growing my customer base.
Social media has also been a great resource of getting my brand out to the community. It allows potential customers to see what R & O offers and personally, I feel people connect to visuals. When they can see what goods we offer, it helps draw in clientele. While sometimes they only follow on social media and don’t purchase from my storefront, the exposure is key to getting my brand to the people who are interested in supporting my small business.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Building an audience on social media is all about connecting with other brands within your niche. Find your community and connect with those people. Most communities online (I can only speak to the sourdough community) are VERY welcoming to newcomers. Chat with other business owners, ask for advice, and most importantly support the people within the community. A like, comment, and repost of someone’s story or post goes a long way.
Also, I feel it’s important to not only post content of your product, but showing even the most mundane of tasks and posting that content is appealing to followers. Some of my most viewed content is a video I wouldn’t normally post. People want to see the inside workings of the business. They WANT to connect with you personally, not just your brand. Post (what you think is) boring and/or not entertaining. The people following you want to see that stuff.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @r.and.obreadco
• Other: Hotplate: https://www.hotplate.com/randobreadco