Bakery for allergic people

Bubulina

Hi there,
I would like to start my own business in Cork city, but before I would like to do some market research and I thought I'd start here.
I want to open up a bakery in Cork city directed to allergic people (gluten, wheat, lactose, diary, sugar), diabetic people and people that are on a specific diet. I would be baking bread and different cakes. It would be possible to eat on spot and to take away the food. Do you think there is a demand for that kind of bakery in Cork. I asked around and until now I only know about gluten free bakeries.

aidan.connolly

Hi,

If you can also add "no nuts" to your list of Allergns, I would see a viable business not only in Cork but in other parts of Ireland.

It is very difficlut to get Birthday cakes , buns etc that are 100% nut free.

I hope it works out for you.

Good luck.

Bubulina

no nuts is part of the plan

lion_bar

First, figure out (if you haven't already) why other bakers aren't doing this.

Is it simple too awkward to keep the ingredients separate if you are producing other products which may contaminate your allergn free products?

Is it because they get a better return from existing products?

Or is it because there is no market there?

You should speak to the small artisan bakers selling at farmers markets and the bigger ones too (Arbutus/Hassetts/Brackens). Don't be afraid to ask why they don't do it or tell them what you plan. You are not giving away a great plan they haven't thought of.

If it succeeds it will because of your passion for the product.

Speak to the Allergy suffers organisations find out what they really want/need.

If you know you can produce these products to a consistent standard maybe you should try and see if an existing seller would be interested in stocking your products, that way you could judge the market before investing too heavily in premises,staff etc. localmarkets.ie or a similar site might be a good site to try to tie in with.

Good luck, it seems that allergies are on the increase, the time/ability to bake cakes and bread may be decreasing so there could be an increasing market to capture here.

aidan.connolly

Hi

You have the main organisation that deals with Anaphylaxis in Cork.

http://www.irishanaphylaxis.org/


They may be able to give you some pointers.

The main problem with most bakeries is the risk of cross contamination with products that do contain the allergen with products that should not.
The risk is high unless you have very strict procedures.

As I said in my earlier post, good luck with it.

nervous_twitch

Babycakes is a hugely successful sugar/gluten/wheat/soy/casein/egg free, vegan/kosher bakery in NYC - we've a few of their books at home and their stuff really is delicious. Not too sure if Cork has the same potential as NYC though :P

Zonua

I think the Gluten Free Foodie does only gluten free food, not the 'full range' you're talking about, but might be worth looking at. Dr. Denise who runs the company might have some advice for thoughts for you.
http://www.theglutenfreefoodie.com/
G'luck!

Btw to the point that lion_bar brought up, why bakeries aren't already doing this. I think that the reason your sort of business isn't already in existence, is because all this sort of stuff like allergy free foods etc. is a 'new thing'. These companies and businesses are starting to crop up only in the last while.

RUDOLF289

Bubulina wrote: »

Hi there,
I would like to start my own business in Cork city, but before I would like to do some market research and I thought I'd start here.
I want to open up a bakery in Cork city directed to allergic people (gluten, wheat, lactose, diary, sugar), diabetic people and people that are on a specific diet. I would be baking bread and different cakes. It would be possible to eat on spot and to take away the food. Do you think there is a demand for that kind of bakery in Cork. I asked around and until now I only know about gluten free bakeries.

Hi Bulbulina,

I am diabetic myself and anything that would help to keep my condition in check is welcome. My partner is wheat, dairy, gluten, soy intollerant so there are very few things on the market that she can eat, especially when it comes to treats (cakes etc).

I would suggest to reach out to the following people on Twitter ; @umnumnum_cork and @foodforlivingie. These people are in the food business and may be able to give you some advice. Especially umnumnum would be able to put you in touch with a women in business support group. Maybe of interest when starting out.

The very, very best of luck !

Cheers,
Rudolf289