Vegan Business Talk episode 173

In this episode I interview Natasha and Ed Tatton, co-founders of BReD, a vegan, organic, sourdough bakery in the ski resort town of Whistler in Canada.

Both originally from the UK, Natasha is a former English teacher, and Ed is a professional fine-dining chef.

The couple moved to Canada, became vegan and passionate environmentalists and opened BReD three years ago.

Earlier this year, the husband and wife team recently won the Best Youth Entrepreneur Award at the Small Business British Colombia Awards.

In this interview Natasha and Ed discuss:

• Why they decided to sell their house in the UK and open a vegan bakery in a ski resort in Canada

• How they tested the market with little financial outlay before opening their store

• The impact of Covid on their fledgling business that was in two sectors hit the most hard and how a fast pivot and adding extra streams of income saved the day

• How they’ve grown BReD into a thriving business, despite locals telling them it wouldn’t work

• How they landed local and national media coverage, including in Forbes, by doing their own PR – and the positive impact on the business

• Why they started out using the term ‘plant-based’ but are now using ‘vegan’ a lot more

• How Natasha has used the challenges of growing up in foster care to help her become a more resilient entrepreneur

• And more