SOMERVILLE, MA — In today’s world, practically all it takes to connect customers with a business or brand is an engaging online presence. Social media campaigns, digital marketing and e-blasts bypass traditional distribution middlemen, bringing brand messaging right to consumers’ fingertips.
Similarly, in the age of direct-to-consumer (DTC) e-commerce, businesses can operate without a physical storefront while maintaining control of the entire customer experience, from order to delivery.
Wildgrain was built on this concept. It all started when co-founder Johanna Hartzheim took it upon herself to bake the sourdough bread she was seeking from retailers. After living in Paris and becoming accustomed to its elevated bakery culture, she felt a pang of nostalgia for that fresh-bread experience when she moved to Boston.
The seed’s planted
Once she perfected her sourdough recipe, Johanna found that the power of par-baking and freezing bread — combined with the burgeoning online sales climate — was the key to entering a new business venture.
Wildgrain officially began in 2020 and operates as a monthly subscription service that delivers customizable boxes of clean-label, bake-from-frozen artisanal bread, pasta and pastries directly to customers’ doors. Wildgrain relies on a network of independent, small-batch bakeries across the US to produce a wide variety of baked goods made with traditional European baking techniques. The boxes can include everything from pizza cheese buns and classic sourdough loaves to New York-style bagels and chocolate lava cakes.
Wildgrain has redefined what par-baking means in the retail baking sphere, giving consumers the authority to decide when and where their pre-selected items will go from freezer to oven … and all in 25 minutes or less with no prior thawing needed.
The quality of each product solidifies its reputation, while the DTC channel allows the business to increase sales through round-the-clock ordering and expanded geographical reach. Through this business model, Wildgrain has cultivated a subscriber base of more than 180,000 monthly members and ships 1.2 million boxes annually, giving customers the option to choose the delivery frequency that best suits their schedules.
“Consumers want the taste and health benefits of fresh bread, but they don’t have the time to bake it themselves,” Johanna said. “Wildgrain solves this problem. We always say, ‘We do the hard work so you don’t have to.’ With our membership boxes, customers get the nutritional benefits and quality taste of freshly made bread and artisanal pastries as if they made it themselves.”
Online reviews for the business skyrocketed, earning accolades from TIME, Food & Wine, Forbes and more. Once word spread, membership for the DTC business soared.
The growth spurt
At first, Wildgrain shipped only on the East Coast, but quickly expanded to other regions following demand. Thanks to its established digital presence, each time Wildgrain added a new area to its distribution list, online sites got to work, exposing the brand to potential subscribers through curated social media ads.
Expanding distribution isn’t the only avenue Wildgrain utilizes to reach more customers. Its network of bakers has also grown to include those who work with more diet-friendly and on-trend options, like gluten-free and vegan breads and baked goods with pumped-up protein.
While the online model certainly proved a successful concept for the business, Wildgrain expanded beyond the digital world and into the physical plane with its first brick-and-mortar bakehouse in Somerville, MA.
Now open, Wildgrain Bakehouse will function as both a retail cafe and test kitchen, offering freshly baked pastries, breads, croissants and rotating seasonal items. The location will offer a space for existing customers to commune while inviting newcomers to explore Wildgrain’s foundation.
“The bakehouse will bridge the gap,” Johanna said. “Our boxes have a fairly high price point to enter — you have to pay $99 to get your first box — so the idea behind the physical store was that customers can come in and buy one loaf at a time and see our freezer of take-home products. If they bake one at home and like that experience, they can become an online Wildgrain member from there.”
But, above all, Johanna sought to create a space reminiscent of Paris’ boulangerie, where she could interact with customers face-to-face and get to know the people behind the screens.
“We wanted to have a physical place to actually meet our customers after six years of being online,” she said. “It’s also a space to test products live and get real-time feedback.”
With credentials as an online artisan mainstay and an emerging reputation in the retail space, Wildgrain is redefining bakery culture … one tailor-made order at a time.
