SMALL BITES N°4 Patience

December News, Updates, And Insights On Building LEXINGTON BAKES

Author

Lex Evan®
December 05, 2023

Small Bites with Lex Evan

Patience is the single greatest skill a founder can nurture. I found my patience after breaking my spine in 2019 and spending years in physical therapy just to be able to tie my shoes again. Now, I’m back to lifting weights at the gym, building my LXB empire, and defying the laws of physics. Okay, that last one is exaggerated, but have you met me? Making the impossible happen is my thing.

Some big news from the last few months is the relaunch of our Hazelnut Gianduja Brownie, now 100% organic, gluten AND grain-free! — previously 29% organic and only gluten-free.

This is part of our initiative to become a 100% organic brand, which began with the relaunch of our two hero SKUs in March. Since the Hazelnut relaunch, we have finalized the reformulations for Walnut Chip N°7 Cookie and Raspberry Velvet Brownie, which will relaunch as 100% organic in early 2024.

We hosted an epic launch party at Vuori and partnered with fantastic brands like Gorgie and Ophora to celebrate our Hazelnut launch at Erewhon. In just 3 short months, this third SKU helped us become a top 5 brand in category out of 30+ brands. It’s following the same trajectory as our other SKUs, and we aim to break 200 total units a week at Erewhon by March. At which time, I plan to bring our first vegan product to market.

The even bigger news is that LEXINGTON BAKES earned a spot in the NOSH Live 2023 Pitch Slam finals! Being among the remarkable and noteworthy brands presenting this year was an honor and privilege. Congrats to Ben Bacon and Lentiful on their well-deserved victory. As a Greek who grew up eating lentils, I’m excited to cheer on Ben in his journey to make this super legume a staple of the modern American diet.

Between running LXB alongside my full-time job and self-manufacturing our products for two years now—I've single handedly produced and sold 34,000 units—I feel like I have been building with both hands tied behind my back.

That’s all about to change.

Shortly after my last update, I went full-time on LEXINGTON BAKES. 🥳 As of August 20, LXB has been my sole focus, and my stress levels have significantly dropped along with some of the extra weight I have been carrying around from building under severe stress.

Despite delays in moving to our co-manufacturer, we increased our production and accepted 20 more retail doors. We did, however, have to turn down an opportunity to bring on 50 more doors, but if this newsletter teaches you anything, it’s to focus on small bites and never bite off more than you chew.

Speaking of co-manufacturing, we’re SO close to making that transition and unlocking our potential. But gosh, this process has proven just how much patience a founder must wield to endure building the next great American bakery brand.

Happy Holidays and Bon Appétit! 🍽️

🔥 Spicy Appetizers 🔥

Taste Analysis 👨‍🔬

Updates from Last Time

  • Hazelnut Gianduja Brownie relaunch was a HUGE success!

  • MOTHER’S MARKET launch was cancelled - distributor dropped.

  • New product photography stuns! Huge difference on retailer sites.

  • Retail tray packaging updates hit shelves and already working on 3.0.

  • Couldn’t find organic fair trade caramel, so I made it! And it’s delish!

  • Still no luck on sourcing Piedmont hazelnuts - why is this so hard.

  • CoMan delays like crazy - why is this is so hard.

  • I’m nerding out over my custom sales dashboards – I love data viz.

  • Haven’t posted my Erewhon performance review, but we made Top 5!

  • TikTok programming is set, just need to fund production. 😭

December Tasting 👨🏻‍🍳

🍫 Top Priorities

  • Top priority is getting production started with our CoMan! 🔥

  • Walnut Chip N°7 Cookie set to relaunch as 100% organic! - Jan ‘24

  • Raspberry Velvet Brownie set to relaunch as 100% organic! - Feb ‘24

  • Need to source organic, fair trade white chocolate for B’day Blondie.

🍪 In the Oven

  • LXB Press Site under development - going hard on PR in ‘24

  • Parent company formation in ‘24 - can’t wait to share the name lolz

  • Prepping our first fundraise 🥳

🍭 Sprinkles (dropping soon)

  • Second brand from parent company potentially launching in ‘24 🤫

  • Our first vegan flavor is in the works for a Spring ‘24 launch!

  • Black Forrest Cookie development has officially begun 🍒

🧊 On Ice

  • TikTok programming 😭

À La Carte 🛒

🍿 Savory Insights, Research & Reports

🍭 Sweet Content Shares

😋 Tasty New Treats Worth Trying

Simmering Thoughts ☕️

  • Is Non GMO Project necessary if we’re going 100% organic?

  • People love to poke holes in your plans before listening to them.

  • Too many people give in to using natural flavors.

  • On that note, too many people accept “not possible.”

  • It’s scary how much the gen pop doesn’t know about Agriculture.

  • The question that plagues me weekly, “What am I doing here?” 😅

Thanks for reading! I'm happy to have you along my journey to build LEXINGTON BAKES into the next great American bakery brand. 🍪

Feel free to strike a chat about anything you've read here—that's kind of the point. 😉 Esp if you can help with any of my agenda items.

Until next time,
💛 Lex