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Dani Ortega & Vanessa Miquilena, co-founders of Vida Bakery, were used to a traditional bakery business model before the pandemic hit. They’d bake up beloved vegan and allergy-friendly sweet treats and then sell them to loyal customers in-store. But then COVID-19 hit, and they knew in-store selling needed to turn to online selling quickly.
Within days, they pivoted their in-store business to an online order and delivery model, amassing hundreds of orders in their first day and expanding their footprint beyond London. Below they share how they were able to maintain success—and grow their business—during this unforeseeable challenge.
Converting your business model online can seem daunting, especially if you don’t have experience. But Ortega and Miquilena didn’t let those fears hold Vida Bakery back. Instead, they trusted they could learn how to set up their website with a lot of determination, a little less sleep, and basic search skills.
“We decided that we have to close all the shops and needed to move online. It was a little bit frightening, but it happened overnight. At that point, our website was mostly informative; we didn't do any commercial activity. And to be honest with you, we didn't have a clue how to do it. But we Googled it…‘How to create a website. How do I take payments?’ For two days—just barely sleeping—we worked it out and started asking people to place their orders.”
Ortega and Miquilena knew setting up an online store was just the first step of their digital journey; their next step was to make sure their customers could seamlessly order online.
“One customer said on Instagram, 'Hey guys, I'm very happy you're doing this, but, I would love if I can pay through PayPal.' And then it took us no time to set up a PayPal account, to connect the PayPal account with our bank account, and put it out there for orders. Right now, 70% of sales are paid through PayPal, so it's really helpful.”
“We realised we can actually do so many other things with our business (now). We can expand to so many other things that we never even thought about doing and enrich people. It would have taken us so long to have a shop in Manchester, in Edinburgh, in Brighton. But now we can send boxes everywhere in the UK and hopefully still to Europe as well.”
This pandemic has allowed Vida Bakery to go beyond the transaction and develop deeper relationships with their consumers—from obtaining feedback and inspiration for flavour types through social media and online ordering data, to creating connection points that they can share with their customers who then share them with their friends and families.
“I think from a business perspective, it's really hard to create a close relationship with your customers; they might feel that you are only approaching them just to make them buy more. But in our case, we believe it's better if they feel we are here for them, especially during these times.”
“We’re all about sharing happiness and sharing happy moments. Even though we might not be together this holiday season, customers can still enjoy something together so they can send cookies to each other, to their families, to their loved ones. We're planning to do some decoration competitions as well.”
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