We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tasala Rufai. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tasala below.
Tasala, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
I am a fervent lover of nature and plants (I have nearly 80 house plants of my own!), and I love to bake and share my sweet treats with friends and family. So, it was only natural that I merged those loves into one to create something rooted in nature hence the birth of Sweetly Rooted by Tasala in 2023. Sweetly Rooted by Tasala is a vegan bakery created as an ode to nature and its power to make you pause to admire its beauty, its ability to support the body’s health and wellness, and to provide everyone with something simple yet sweet.
Sweetly Rooted by Tasala’s mission is to produce delicious, sweet treats with the use of whole, organic ingredients without the use of refined flours or refined sugars, free from preservatives, without compromising quality or taste, to show the world that there is different, more mindful way to indulge. The ingredient and recipe selections for Sweetly Rooted by Tasala are one of great intention using whole, plant-based, organic ingredients which include raw nuts and seeds and seasonal flavors and fruits. The goal is to maximize the nutritional profile of each baked good by using whole, minimally processed ingredients. Additionally, eco-friendly, compostable packaging and labels are used to maintain the quality of each baked good with the intention of further respecting the environment. Nature has given us so much and I want that to permeate through every aspect of the bakery.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I consider myself a late bloomer in my baking journey. I’m a self-taught baker who didn’t start baking until well after my childhood days. It was during my time in Los Angeles, CA, after graduate school, that my love for baking began to take root. While serving on my church’s social & fellowship ministry team, I was tasked with baking cookies by the dozen for the Sunday congregation – an experience that would ultimately lead me to discover my passion for baking and baking on a large scale.
Years later, after moving back to Durham, NC, I went on to host dessert baking dates with friends, making granolas, banana muffins, date scones, and more. I continued to bake at home and regularly found that offering up my desserts was an easy way to bring people together whether family, friends, or coworkers. I would often set out a batch of cookies or scones in the common kitchen at work and slowly people would gather around to have a look, then a taste, and then a conversation – a mini fellowship. Occasionally I was asked if I sold my treats while some suggested that I look into selling cookies or granolas, but at that time it was not something I ever imagined as a possibility.
As the years passed by, my diet evolved to include more plant-based and alkaline foods and less and less animal products in my attempt to experience more energy and less fatigue throughout the day and to eat in a cleaner more intentional way, so I began experimenting with and modifying familiar and new recipes. This led me to create entirely new recipes, and much to my delight, I discovered that plant-based desserts could be just as flavorful and delicious as their non-plant-based counterparts. Both vegans and non-vegans alike could enjoy them with equal enthusiasm! The desserts that I began to share at work were the products of the new vegan recipes to the surprise of many of my coworkers. Eventually I found ways to replace the highly processed sugars and flours with ingredients with more nutritional substance and that’s when I discovered the power packed in the small yet mighty date fruit which is a staple ingredient in many of my recipes. With these changes and discoveries, my vision of a starting my own bakery began to take form.
Baking became and is still a means for me to express my appreciation and gratitude for nature and plants. I’m amazed by the power of plants to support a healthy lifestyle, to heal, and to bring joy to people from all walks of life, no matter the season, whether for a moment in time or for a lifetime. Using whole, natural ingredients in the least processed form allows me to highlight those qualities in my baking and offer customers something simple, something sweet. It’s truly fulfilling to share my creations with others and to witness how a simple treat can brighten their day.
My unwavering standard and commitment are to produce delicious, sweet treats with the use of organic ingredients that contain a comprehensive nutritional profile and in a way that yields a great taste and quality. All Sweetly Rooted by Tasala baked goods are made in small batches and mixed by hand allowing me to transfer love and care directly into each batch. Offerings include organic, gluten-free granolas, cookies, scones, sweet breads, and dessert bars. The final touch is the use of eco-friendly packaging and labeling to maintain product quality. I take great pride in maintaining practices that reflect my love, respect, and appreciation for nature and the environment which continue to bless me with its beauty and sustaining power in all seasons of the year and seasons in my life.
Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?
I am the sole baker and producer of Sweetly Rooted by Tasala products. For nearly a decade, I have been baking granola at home and of course eating a lot of it myself, but also sharing it with family, friends, and co-workers alike. So, while I was very familiar with baking granola, producing granola on a large scale in a commercial kitchen was unchartered territory. The additional requirements of packaging and labeling for retail purposes were also foreign to me; I was used to baking a sheet of granola and storing it in a mason jar or zip lock bag. And while I had previously baked dozens of cookies on a semi-regular basis for my church, that was at my own pace and in my home kitchen. Needless to say, the skills required to execute baking on a large scale in a commercial kitchen, following food safety and handling protocol, then packaging the products for marketing and distribution were all way above my head! In trying to figure out how to execute this process, many days I was overwhelmed and at times wasn’t sure I could pull it, but through prayer, encouragement from loved ones, rest, and planning I was able to put a plan into place and execute it. That plan continues to evolve even today.
Beating in tandem to the actual production of the granolas and other baked goods was my heart for sustainable environmental practices through the reduction of food and material waste and composting. I have been composting at home for years in my personal home and so finding a commercial kitchen that had composting practices was important. I found that. Next up was finding a supplier for eco-friendly, food-safe packaging and labels. There was a bit of research required to find companies and manufacturers whose missions aligned with that of my own, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a growing number of companies with the commitment to eco-friendly practices and products that could work for my granolas first and foremost. Of course, those products had higher costs compared to the cheaper materials, whether paper, plastic, or a blend, and so the next challenge was, to figure out the affordability of it. I had to ask myself, if I could really afford to have a bakery especially one with such a definitive mission grounded in the respect for nature. The art is finding the “sweet spot” in balancing the costs of materials, ingredients, products, and ultimately the pricing of the final products. This continues to be an evolving process for me as a small business owner and business of one.
One of the biggest lessons I have learned along the way in manufacturing consumer packaged goods such as organic, gluten-free granolas is that if I am committed to my mission, to nature, and to the environment, there are going to be additional obstacles I have to overcome including a financial one. It’s unfortunate that there are higher costs associated with the use of higher quality ingredients like organic and raw nuts and seeds, fresh produce, seasonal ingredients, and environmentally friendly materials. Despite that, I cannot and will not waiver from the mission and commitment of Sweetly Rooted by Tasala simply to save money. Ultimately, I understand that my granolas and other baked goods will be more expensive than a similar product with a different ingredient profile and standard, but the appeal of Sweetly Rooted by Tasala products is that of quality and the use of organic, whole, and minimally processed ingredients which is not going to be a priority of other bakeries, vendors, or customers and that’s okay. My customers will be rewarded with baked goods with a taste that reflects the quality of the ingredients in them, which are intentionally and mindfully selected.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
The most effective strategy I’ve found for growing my clientele is diversifying the type of markets, pop-ups, and events that I partner with. That has allowed me to connect with a wider variety of people who make up very diverse communities and with varying food preferences. What I’ve found is that different markets have a different rhythm and energy about them and have different demographics of customers, but all of whom are committed to supporting small businesses and local producers. But every market doesn’t yield the same interest towards all categories of Sweetly Rooted by Tasala products. For example, there is one farmers’ market where 90% of my inventory is always granola because that is what the customers enjoy and thus buy without hesitation and without fail whereas only a few customers show any interest in the cookies or scones. At another venue where I have recurrent pop-ups, my granolas do well, but customers there also like a variety of baked goods to include cookies, scones, and dessert bars and so my inventory there is only 50% granola with the other portion including a variety of other offerings. It’s quite fascinating and fun to see the differences! Without diversifying my events and locations, I would’ve assumed based on my first farmers’ market that only my granolas were what customers wanted, but that was not the full story, only a small part of it.
Customer interactions have proven to be very informative. When I first started Sweetly Rooted by Tasala, I had no idea how much I would enjoy interacting with and getting to know customers and all that I could learn from those encounters. I’ve had countless conversations with people about my commitment to producing baked goods that are free from refined sugars, refined flours, and without the use of preservatives and how that aligns with the evolution of their diets and dietary preferences. I’ve created more gluten-free offerings and even nut-free granola options to meet the needs and preferences of more customers who have food allergies or sensitivities. I’ve discovered that there are a lot of people who have been searching for products with the same ingredient profile as my baked goods, which allow them to indulge in something sweet whereas in the past they may have had very limited options outside of the home. The varied customer needs and preferences touch neighborhoods and communities all over and it’s been a beautiful sight to see and learn about that. And while all of my products are plant-based, not all of my customers are that strict in the foods they consume, and some have never eaten a plant-based or vegan baked good. Even when I’ve encountered customers at an event who are skeptical of the taste of my baked goods because they don’t contain the familiar ingredients of eggs, butter, or white sugar, ingredients that they are accustomed to having in traditional baked goods, I kindly offer them a sample to allow them to judge for themselves. Far more often than not, one taste is enough to erase their skepticism especially with the organic, gluten-free granolas which remain my best sellers! And I tell them, a lot of granolas on the market naturally use plant-based ingredients already.
What has also been effective in retaining customers is letting my customers know directly or through social media how to find me and where to buy more Sweetly Rooted by Tasala treats. This year specifically, I will return to 2 farmers markets, the North Durham Farmers Market on Saturday afternoons (12:00 – 4:00 pm) and the Downtown Mebane Farmers Market on Saturday mornings (8:30 am – 12:00 pm) as a more regular vendor which will allow me to reconnect with previous customers and to hopefully snag a few new customers. The hope is to expand the reach of Sweetly Rooted by Tasala into more communities and into more homes around NC and beyond.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sweetlyrootedbytasala.com
- Instagram: @SweetlyRootedbyTasala
Image Credits
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