Not Just About the Money: It’s Harder to Run A Bakery Now Than Ever

Chris Farraj’s Story: Allergy Free Bakery
BUSINESS | Allison Wei | Detroit News | July 9, 2024

“We work around the clock,” said Chris Farraj, who owns Allergy Free Bakery in Shelby Township with his wife, Jessica. Both Farrajs still work full-time jobs while running Allergy Free Bakery, a gluten-free, kosher, and vegan bakery that is free from the top nine allergens — one of the few bakeries in the country to do so. The Farrajs started Allergy Free Bakery after seeing how two of their children with food allergies were unable to enjoy traditional sweet treats during birthday parties and holidays.

Such allergy-friendly bakeries are poised for growth. The global gluten-free bakery market size was valued at $1.64 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow 10.8% annually from 2022 to 2030, according to Grand View Research. During the pandemic, there was also a surge in demand for gluten-free baked goods. However, operating an allergy-friendly bakery is uniquely challenging.

Many startup bakeries buy secondhand equipment, but when Allergy Free Bakery opened last year, they could only buy brand-new equipment out of safety concerns. Making allergy-friendly baked goods is also more time-intensive because of the different baking methods and specialized health knowledge needed. Training can take up to three months, Farraj said. Rising ingredient costs hit such specialty bakeries particularly hard. Because of the niche ingredients used, the bakery can only source from very few vendors and doesn’t have much wiggle room to refuse higher prices. “Oftentimes, we felt like we were held hostage,” Farraj said.

However, Farraj doesn’t want to raise prices to keep his baked goods accessible to customers — many of whom come from out of state to get the allergy-free pastries. All these costs add up, Farraj said: “We have very tight margins … they’re lower than typical bakeries because the cost of their products is significantly less than ours.” Stuck in this bind, Farraj believes the only option is to grow. The bakery is exploring working with school districts or expanding to multiple locations to increase volume and drive down costs.

“We’re one of the only top nine allergy-free bakeries in the world,” he said. “I have a strong obligation on my shoulders to the community to grow the bakery.”

When Farraj started planning to open the bakery during COVID, he said he was daunted at times by the challenging operating environment. But looking ahead, he doesn’t waver: “I never got into it for the profit … when I look at my children, who still suffer and deal with food allergies, it gives me all the energy I need to keep fighting and pushing.”