Tell Us Your Story. What motivated you to start your business? Why are you passionate about what you do?

Most people rely on bread sold in grocery stores which has a long shelf life and therefore contains chemicals and additives which are not good for the land, animals nor people’s health. Back in 2014, Ed found himself making his own organic naturally leavened bread at home as it was difficult to find it in the area of Whistler where he and Natasha live. The Tattons are also compassionately vegan, a movement they are passionately excited to be part of and help grow for the benefit of people, animals, and the planet. But on visits to world-class sourdough bakeries such as Tartine in California, the Tattons found that although sourdough bread was generally vegan, there was a distinct lack of interest and options for plant based baked goods anywhere. They decided to start a new type of bakery: a community-focussed vegan sourdough bakery which is better for the environment, the animals and people’s health, and built a reputation in Canada and around the rest of the world to inspire others to eat and bake plant based. Most of the customers do not actually identify as vegan themselves but love the products anyway. The Tattons are not looking for everyone to voluntarily put their hand up and joyfully exclaim that they are vegan. That’s pointless! They just want to make vegan option the easy, normal and most delicious choice so it is accessible, even in a ski town! Being published cookbook authors and having such a presence online through their website and social media has allowed them to share this lifestyle with many others around the world, inspiring them to make ethical lifestyle choices. Being in business has allowed the Tattons to support an array of causes which help the animals and the environment. When they get up early in the morning, they’re not just baking bread and making coffee. They are helping to save the world somehow!

Describe and demonstrate, including metrics, your community support. How do you support and uplift your community, and how do they show that support in return? Minimum 25 words, maximum 2500 characters.

“Enhancing the lives of our community” is embedded in our mission statement displayed in our bakery kitchen and staff area, and made clear during induction and training alongside our core values of sustainability, integrity, respect, communication and accountability, which we remind the team of on a daily basis so it remains at the forefront of everything we do. A big indicator of support is the line out the door. This is backed up by over 500 authentic Google reviews and a score of 4.8. Every review is replied to, good or bad. We have a product guarantee so our customers have faith that if they are not happy with their purchases, we will happily exchange/refund them. Although we have a mailing list of 1000 subscribers to whom we send weekly newsletters to with updates of promotions and menu items, we would never sell this information on as we are so honoured to have this loyalty from our customers that they allow us to drop into their mailboxes week after week to promote our business. The privacy policy on our website validates this too. Our kitchen is open plan so folks can literally see the products being made, keeping us accountable for the highest standards of food safety and hygiene. It provides an educational component too, as do our tutorial videos on Instagram and You Tube. We donate to many charities and causes (around $25K in total to date), including local organisations such as Whistler Animals Galore (WAG) and the Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment (AWARE). With WAG, we posted a poll earlier this year on the Whistler Vegans Facebook page for the 2000+ members to vote on their favourite local animal shelter and gave $1000 to the winner. With AWARE, we made a $500 donation on Earth Day but also promoted their events in our newsletter too. As a certified B Corp and BC registered Benefit Corporation, we have made a legal commitment to give back or be of use in some way. This includes our promise of 1% revenue donated to the animals and environment, but also our local sourcing of organic produce from farms in Lillooet and Pemberton and from other BC based suppliers such as Anita’s Organic Mill in Chilliwack and Jiva Organics in Vancouver. Sourcing raw materials from as locally as we can as well as retailing other artisan products such as fermented foods, canned drinks, jam and so on also supports our food supply chain and other independent businesses: the lifeblood of the economy.

Why do you deserve to win the Business Impact award?

We are a small business, but we have a big impact both environmentally and socially, more than most other organizations of any size. Firstly, we acknowledge that we are baking bread on indigenous lands loud and proud. We do this because we want to recognize the truth, and reclaim what colonial history books and systematic government regulated genocide took away, opening the door for possibility and change. Our commitment to eliminating animal products from our supply chain means our production uses significantly less land and water than our competitors. Putting all our recipes in a cookbook which is available worldwide is generous: we would love to see more people bake with purely plants and are not afraid to share our recipes in this way. Local farmers, local businesses, our customers and of course our team members are the backbone of everything we do. Paying a premium to attract the best talent with medical benefits and retention bonuses, charging what we have to to maintain our commitment to sourcing locally and organically and being transparent about our processes and ingredients is key to our success. Food waste is a social and environmental concern: all our unsold food geos to local workers and families, either directly or through our local food bank. By partnering with the charity Trees for the Future, we have been able to plant over 75,000 trees which is a forest in itself, but we are not only having a positive impact on the planet but also aiding poverty-stricken farmers to get out of food and financial insecurity. We make coffee that not only tastes good, but DOES good. We are not profit-driven in that we put the planet and animals first, as shown in our pledge to donate 1% revenue to the animals and environment and supporting many small organizations that do great work. We have streamlined our cash flow so we have a bank account named “giving back” which is specifically for this purpose. It’s wonderful to make money in this way: the more we make, we more we give! Our B Corp certification is testament to the impact that we have. We deserve to win this award so that other businesses sit up and take note of how they could do better. Highlight our dedication to sustainability and we might just push the needle on how business should be done, and needs to be done if we are to have any planet left for future generations.

Tell Us About Your Culture. How are you creating a sustainable and healthy workplace where everyone feels welcome? Provide examples of leadership you show in interactions with clients, vendors, contractors, staff and others.

Our culture is set through our core values: Integrity: We do the right thing even when no one is looking. Sustainability: Local, seasonal, organic ingredients, reduce waste, compostable packaging, plant trees, give back. Respect: We respect the planet, the animals, our team, our customers and most importantly ourselves. Communication: Be clear, concise and open in our communication with guests and with each other. Accountability: We hold ourselves and each member of the team accountable to our standards. In every job ad that we post we state: We embrace diversity in our company and encourage people of different nationalities, colours, ethnicities, religions, genders and sexual orientation to apply. We interview candidates to determine work ethic and personality. We want to know if job applicants share our core values and be motivated to show up every day. We ask new recruits to sign off on our handbook written with an HR consultant, detailing policies on things such as taking leave, anti-harassment, anti-discrimination, bullying, etc. Training is ongoing and repetitive: a mix of online materials and face-to-face training. Team members have standards to adhere to and notebooks to keep them accountable. Regular coaching is held between team members and managers to ensure communication on every area of their employment. Team members receive questionnaires in advance to reflect and provide opportunity to give feedback. In our training culture, staff are always learning by sharing resources such as podcasts, books and documentaries so that our team can learn and develop in many areas. We host monthly team events where we encourage team members to come together and build rapport while inspiring them or educating them, such as hikes, potlucks, art shows and documentary screenings. We refrain from team events that are centered around alcohol or recreational drugs. As leaders, we show up for work with our best foot forward: on time, looking professional, eat healthy food, and remain sober at all times. Nobody wants to work for a hypocrite, so we try to be the example of the ideal team member. We apologize when we make a mistake. No job is beneath us: we do not ask anyone to do something we would not do, and often do menial tasks in front of team members to assist them such as taking garbage out or washing dishes. This helps to sell the philosophy “One team, one dream!”