For Goodness Bake is a bakery that has a fully vegan storefront highlighting over 20 local vendors from Central Alberta. We spoke with co-owners Josh Bachynski and Sam Van Osch to find out more about them.
What is your business called and what does it do?
Our business is called For Goodness Bake and we have a fully vegan storefront that highlights over 20 local small businesses from Central Alberta.
We also have Calgary’s first (and so far only) fully plant-based commercial ghost kitchen available for rent.
What made you want to do this work?
We found it difficult to support all of our favourite small businesses as much as we wanted to. There were consistently pop up’s we were missing, farmers’ markets we couldn’t get to in time for or we would spend our entire weekend driving around the city visiting different stores trying to get all of our favourite products.
What problem did you want to solve with the business?
We wanted to make supporting locals and eating with a dietary restriction more accessible!
It is never fun when you have one person in a group who can not enjoy a treat with everyone else, our business focuses on allowing everyone to enjoy delicious items together regardless of different dietary restrictions.
Additionally, we also wanted to have a space where small businesses felt like they could achieve their plant-based business goals while growing in an affordable way.
Who are your clientele/demographics?
Anyone who loves supporting locals and eating delicious food! We specialize in dietary restrictions, everything in our store is vegan and about 60% of the products are gluten-free.
How does your business make money? How does it work?
Our storefront is open to the public 8 am-8 pm 7 days a week where we sell products from our 26 (and counting) local vendors.
In addition to our storefront, we also rent our fully plant-based commercial kitchen to local small businesses
Where in Calgary can we find your profession?
We currently just have the one location right off Macleod Trail a few blocks south of Chinook Mall.
This location was chosen because of its easy access from all corners of the city thanks to its proximity to major thoroughfares like Macleod Trail, Glenmore Trail, Crowchild, and Deerfoot.
Our website ForGoodnessBake.ca is also available 24 hours per day with same-day delivery available across Calgary.
What is the best question a prospective customer could ask a member of your profession when comparing services? Give the answer as well.
Q: Do you have any products that are free of (X)? Finding items like that at other stores is often not convenient and the product quality is hit or miss.
A: Absolutely! We list the top allergens directly on our place cards but I can point out a couple of items that fit your needs to get you started.
Q: Do I need to pay a monthly fee or run the risk of cross-contamination to use your kitchen as I do in my current kitchen?
A: We want you to want to work out of our kitchen, we are not going to lock you into a prohibitive contract. Additionally, the risk of cross-contaminating with dairy or egg products is virtually impossible as those items are forbidden within our kitchen.
What is the best part about what you do? What is the worst part?
The best part is the sense of community we are creating with all of the businesses that we are working with. We also love how excited people get when they discover how many options we have from local companies and/or within their dietary restrictions.
The worst part is when newcomers have a particularly negative preconceived notion towards different foods. Our vendors are incredibly passionate about making their food delicious, the fact they fit different dietary restrictions is just a bonus, so there is no reason to (literally) turn and run out of the store.
What is your favourite joke about your own profession?
What is the hardest part of being a vegan?
Having to wake up early to milk all those almonds!
What are your social media channels?
PAY IT FORWARD: What is another Calgary business that you love?
We could literally name any of the 26 vendors we work with and they would all have a great story, but… Bear Clan Patrol is a fantastic local organization that does a lot of great work around the city without enough acknowledgement.
