Experimenting to Perfection
A story about Ann, the owner and baker of Koo-Weh Nana
I’m fascinated by the determination and creativity of small business entrepreneurs, especially home bakery owners. Often starting a business based on passion, they need to learn how to run the store and create brand awareness. They are willing to give up their career and devote themselves to their interests.
To understand what drives them and keeps them going, I start to interview those entrepreneurs. I want to find out what encourages them to overcome the uncertainty of developing their business.
“I always like to make the delivery myself in the local area and meet the customer.” That was the first time I met Ann. Later in the party that evening, my friends kept asking me where I got the baklava. Ann earned a Master’s Degree in Biochemistry and a Doctoral Degree in Food Science. She has been experimenting with baklava even since. In 2017, she decided to open her home bakery, Koo-Weh Nana.
How did you get started with Koo-Weh Nana?
Baking is a lot more fun than doing research in the lab. When I was a graduate student, I spent most of the time in the lab doing repetitive tasks. Making baklava is never repetitive. It is an experimental process. I create different flavors and styles and gradually identify ways of making the perfect bake.
My husband comes from Gaziantep, Turkey, the home of baklava. But traditional baklava is too sweet for me. As someone from Asia, I want to create baklava that is less sweet and richer in taste. And my son is allergic to nuts. I really want to make baklava accessible and enjoyable for everyone.
Then I started to do research and tried different styles of baklava. My family and friends were the guinea pigs for the taste and feedback. With their encouragement and support, I finally started my home bakery Koo-Weh Nana in 2017.
What does the name Koo-Weh Nana mean?
The first part Koo-Weh means dessert. Koo-Weh has a similar pronunciation as kue, an Indonesian word for dessert. As I am from Indonesia, I wanted to have a name that represents my origin. Nana is my sister’s name, who is living with a disability. I dedicated the bakery to honor my sister.
What challenges have you encountered for running your own business?
The most important thing is to get the baklava right. I want them to be something I like and something my customers also enjoy. At the beginning, I spent a lot of time researching the right combinations and the right amount of sweetness with unconventional ingredients like chocolate, almonds, cashews, and hazelnuts. For example, I tried different cups of sugar to evaluate the levels of sweetness of different bakes. Gradually, I developed the right formulas for baklava.
But I never stop researching new bakes. I get inspired by a traditional pandan dessert in Southeast Asia. I recently started to make macarons with pandan extract and explored the right balance of pandan in macarons.
Another important aspect is packaging. I constantly think about the impact of the packaging on the freshness and the quality of the baked sweets. As I ship baklava and desserts nationwide, I need to make sure the products are intact when arriving at the customers’. If the products were damaged during shipping, it could be a deal-breaker.
I still remember that when I first started the business, I relied on a single packaging supplier. I got all the materials from that supplier, which put me in trouble. One time, they ran out of the materials when I was in need of them. Then I learned that I should not rely on one but multiple suppliers for packaging materials.
The biggest challenge is that I did not know anything about running a business. I started Koo-Weh Nana purely based on my passion for making baklava. I consulted the Small Business Development Centre at Pennsylvania State University on starting a business and creating brand awareness. Even though I am still in the process of figuring out how to market the brand, I have a Facebook page, Instagram, and Etsy to promote the bakery. And I use MailChimp too.
What motivates you to keep going?
I always like baking. It is very motivating when I hear someone say, “Oh, you made the baklava. They were very good.” I love to see the impact of my baked goods on my customers. Their compliments and smiles are the biggest reward for me.
What is it like to have your own business?
I develop a structure to make sure my baked goods have the same quality. For example, I need 24 hours in advance to prepare baklava. Sometimes, the first bake does not come out as expected and I need to redo them all. Having the 24-hour buffer helps me perfect the bake and maintain the quality of my baked goods.
Even though I have a flexible schedule when running my own business, it could be hectic sometimes especially around the holiday seasons. In the past three years, I worked almost 16 hours per day during every Christmas season. I made baklava from the day to the night. I usually finished packaging late in the evening and went to sleep around three in the morning. The next morning, I woke up early to the Post Office to mail the baked goods or to deliver them locally.
When I do not get any online order, I have more free time. I usually spend the time learning and experimenting with new baked goods.
What is the business like during the pandemic?
During the pandemic, there are a lot of local events cancelled, like those pop-up events. The business is slightly affected. But I still receive a number of online orders. Now I spend most of my time at home, creating new baked goods. I recently started vegan baklava, in which I replace butter with olive oil to brush the filo dough (the crust of baklava).
I am happy that the business keeps running. As I make desserts at home, there is no additional cost to rent a space or to pay employees. The expense for running the business stays the same as before.
I know that it is quite a challenging time for many family-run and local businesses. I am supporting the effort on promoting awareness of local food to support small businesses. I donate my baked goods to help with the initiative.
What is the most rewarding experience from having your own bakery?
When I receive customers’ compliments, I feel rewarded. I received a heart-warming note from my first Etsy customer,
“Delicious vegan baklava! I added fresh fruit but delicious by itself. Vegan baking is difficult. I’m Greek, excellent cook but I’m a terrible baker so we have to buy it. Highly RECOMMENDED vegan baklava, very yummy!!”
Besides Turkey, Greece is another well-known place for baklava. Being able to receive a compliment from someone who grew up with baklava, I feel honored.
