Adapting to the changes & keeping customers happy is just one of the many reasons why Sunflour Baking Company continues to thrive during the current pandemic.
Sunflour Baking Company’s mission is to “make people happy” and they do this by providing great customer service in a welcoming environment. To continue that welcoming environment with social distancing in place, they’ve added Postmates, Uber Eats, and GrubHub delivery services including Curbside/No-contact pick-up when at first was only using DoorDash.
Q. What makes Sunflour stand out among other bakery’s?
A. Quality and variety. We have a wide range of items which we produce with an intense focus on quality. Breads, muffins, cakes, croissants, pastries, English muffins, sandwiches, soups, gourmet coffees and teas. It’s a lot to keep track of!
Sunflour was founded in 2009, however in 2014, Jack Parrish, with a former background as a derivatives broker, bought out the business, improving operations and began to expand.
Q. What were some early challenges (or continuing) that is faced in running a bakery & how do you work to resolve them?
A. Sunflour grew quickly from one location in 2015 to four by 2017. Consistency across locations and products has always been a challenge, but we found by stepping back and developing systems, training, and routines for everything we could keep it under control.
Q. “Made from Scratch” what does that mean exactly to those who may confuse the terminology with “fresh’.
A. At Sunflour, made from scratch means that everything is made by hand, from basic, pure ingredients. There are no mixes, preservatives, or processed ingredients in any of our baked goods.
Q. How is Sunflour handling the Covid-19 crisis?
A.Regarding the current pandemic, we have adopted stringent hygiene protocols in addition to our already strict cleanliness regime. We were already a mostly carryout business so the impact has not been as severe as it has been for some sit-down restaurants, but we are still struggling to find ways to safely reach out to our customers.
Q. What are Sunflour’s plans two to three years from now?
A. We would like to further develop our online business. Currently we sell Cake Jars online, which are a big hit, as well as cookies, brownies and make-at-home mixes. I would like to add our English muffins and some other items to the mix and have our online business eventually rival, if not overtake, the current turnover at our local shops here in Charlotte.