Hidden Gems: Meet Rachel Santini of Loafed Up Baked Goods

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Santini

Hi Rachel, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Loafed Up Baked Goods was born out of my love of baking and my desire to make fresh baked goods more affordable for people who are struggling to make ends meet. I have many fond memories of baking with my mom growing, who truly started my love of baking for others. I started small with just making items at home for my family, friends and coworkers. As I became more confident with my baking, I began to share pictures on Facebook which brought on the encouragement to start selling my items. After enough time had passed I finally decided to give it a shot and things have just grown from there. I currently still sell out of my home and the local farmers market during the season, but my dream is to one day have a storefront!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My current obstacles and challenges are due to currently baking out of my home. While I love baking at home, it comes with its own set of problems. Due to using residential ovens and not a commercial bread oven, I can only bake 9 loaves of bread at a time. This leads to long baking day and nights to prepare for the demands of the market or for my events. Another challenge is that everybody knows someone that bakes sourdough, so it takes some effort to differentiate yourself from the other bakers.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Loafed Up Baked Goods?
I run a small micro-bakery out of my home in New Baltimore Michigan. I started this business after I decided to leave my career in the medical field, to start sharing my passion with people. I specialize in sourdough breads and baked goods, but I am best known for my breads and bagels. I try to keep my breads and baked goods as simple as possible and try to use local ingredients as often as I can. I love using items I source from my local farmers markets! I am so proud of the support from my community and how much my business has grown in such a short period. I started Loafed Up in July of 2023 and this year it has truly blossomed. My goal for my business is to just make great bread and baked goods accessible to as many people as I can.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I I have not found a mentor, but I look up to a lot of other bakers and businesses locally. I try to do as many events as I can in different areas, so I can spread my name further than my own community. This helps me a lot because I have the chance to meet so many people and other business owners when I go out of my comfort zone. Another key to networking is to never be afraid to bring up your business, no matter where you are. I was taking a baking class and had brought up my business; the next thing I knew, I was in contact with a farm in Detroit to start doing events there! My number one tip is to always have business cards on you. People love to ask what I am doing with all the flour I have on my cart at Costco, and it’s the best way to hand out business cards to potential customers.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loafedupbakedgoods/profilecard/?igsh=eHpsaXhibGV0YXJj
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/ogGM2PKv5PME1B9v/?mibextid=LQQJ4d