Ed and Natasha Tatton, the husband-and-wife team behind the plant-based bakery, BReD, learned of their Small Business BC Award win in the most 2021 way possible.
“We were on the call with the Small Business BC people and the Zoom feed cut out right when they were announcing it and we weren’t sure if we had heard it correctly,” said Natasha. “So we were trying to have a reaction like ‘Yay, we won!’ but weren’t sure if they had actually said that, so it took a bit of time to figure out.”
Winners of the Best Young Entrepreneur Award, the Tattons opened BReD in 2018 with a distinct vision for their organic sourdough bread shop. The menu is entirely vegan, featuring Ed’s traditional, naturally leavened bread that uses no preservatives and only locally sourced ancient grains. Their packaging is 100-per-cent compostable, their interior features reclaimed maple wood, and they have partnered with an organization that plants a tree for every coffee sold.
“They have an authentic approach to their business and I can see how they genuinely connect to their community and are thought leaders in their area,” said the Small Business BC judges in announcing the award.
“Their values are tied to everything they do and their story is incredible. I love how passionate and dedicated they are to being local and doing good in the world. Since the beginning, they’ve been focused on giving back, which is rare and hard to do. They are sacrificing profit in order to help people, the planet, and animals.”
After a pandemic year that has put undue pressure on food and beverage operators across the country, Natasha said the win is a much-needed boost to keep them going and has already led to some new business opportunities.
“It’s great because it has been such a rollercoaster over the last two years,” she said. “There have been so many highs and lows, highs and lows, but this has already opened up some doors for us.”
At a time when the pandemic has pushed businesses to reconsider their impact on the world around them, the Tattons hope their award can be held up as an example to other entrepreneurs.
“The reason why we apply for these awards is not to boost our ego, but actually to inspire people to go in a more plant-forward direction,” Natasha said. “We hope that other business owners, especially in food and beverage, will commit and realize that we need to transition to plant-forward menus and they can make that successful. We believe that our community supports us and we’re a vegan bakery, so I don’t see why anyone should be put off by that. I think people are ready for change.”
BReD is currently open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and the bakery will close from May 24 to June 17.
For more information, visit edsbred.com.
