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

Alright, Sarah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

I actually came up with the logo before I came up with the name for my business. For some reason, I just had this vision that I could not get out of my head of an herbivorous dinosaur being the cake baker. This was because I only make vegan cakes so I thought the use of an herbivore would be super fun for my branding. A little later, I was having dinner with my good friends and trying to come up with a name. At first, we were trying to incorporate the dinosaur into the name, but weren’t coming up with anything. Then, my friends said maybe we should think of ways that make my business stand out. So that’s when I said that I make plant-based cakes. My friend then suggested Plant Baked. I thought it was perfect, but when I looked it up found that there was already a bakery called Plant Baked, so decided to add my name to the end to separate it. Then Plant Baked by Sarah was born! So really I have my friends to thank for the name.

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.

Hi, I am Sarah Greene, an engineer turned baker. I have always loved to cook and bake (from the time I needed a step stool just to reach the counter). However, I did not initially see it as my career path. I went down an academic path, earning my master’s degree in environmental engineering. Although I had been vegetarian since I was about 15 due to my love for animals, I did not transition to a vegan diet until I learned more about the agricultural industry in my master’s program.

I graduated in 2020 and found myself entering the job market during the beginning of the pandemic. Due to the hiring freezes and moving back to the east coast with limited connections I found myself unemployed for nearly a year. As I was applying to jobs, I decided to make a food blog & develop vegan recipes. I also used this platform to analyze and understand the reduction in land use, water use, and greenhouse gas emissions from removing animal products from recipes.

I was finally able to secure a full time engineering job in the beginning of 2021, but I quickly learned that I was not passionate about my work and was working crazy hours with no creative outlet. I was still trying to work on the blog during my off time, but I was totally burnt out. I had always joked throughout my studies that if engineering didn’t work out I would switch courses and open a bakery…at least I thought it was a joke at the time.

Fast forward to the summer of 2021 when I was also planning my wedding reception. I was having a difficult time finding a vegan bakery to do our wedding cake. After a lot of frustration, I decided to make our own wedding cupcakes. I thought, hey I love to bake, how hard can it be? Let’s just say I was mistaken. I spent most of the day before my wedding in the kitchen baking, frosting (and re-frosting) cupcakes with the help of family and bridesmaids.

I knew I did not want others to experience this added stress for their special occasions and that there was a real need in my community for delicious vegan cakes. I decided it was time to leave my job and pursue my passion. With a lot more practice with decorating and tweaking my recipes, Plant Baked by Sarah was born!

Now, my mission is for everyone to enjoy a delicious slice of cake for their special occasions regardless of their dietary needs. This is why all of my cakes are vegan and I offer nut free and gluten free options as well. I specialize in custom buttercream cakes that are made from scratch with real, natural flavors. For my wedding clients, I create custom digital designs so that the end product is exactly what they envision.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

As I mentioned previously, I had always had an interest in baking & cooking. I first started dipping my toes into the culinary world in 2020 when I started a vegan food blog while I was looking for a job after graduating from my master’s program. I initially thought this could be a career path, but then found a full time job and decided to work on the blog in my spare time. As I became more and more discontent in my job, I starting to think again about how I could apply my passion for vegan food into a career. My first real trial with baking on a larger scale was for my wedding reception, which was then the push that I needed to quit my current job. However, I did pick up another retail job as I built up my business. It took about a year to get to a point where I felt comfortable leaving that job to bake full time. I think the real turning point was when I was turning down cake orders because I had to go to my other job. That is when I knew I needed to really commit and make the leap.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source of new clients for me has been google. By optimizing my website and updating google on a regular basis, I have been able to really increase my traffic and find new customers. I think particularly since I do not have a storefront, I need to rely even more heavily on online traffic.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.plantbakedbysarah.com
• Instagram: @plantbakedbysarah
• Facebook: @plantbakedbysarah
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/plant-baked-by-sarah-baltimore?osq=plant+baked+by+sarah

Image Credits
Jade Nikkole Photography