From four donuts a day to 5000 on a Saturday morning, Jenna Sanders has transformed a small country bakery into a weekend destination for visitors from far and wide.
Her recipe for success is simple: hard work, social media and great customer service.
Jenna said her vision when she bought the bakery in the small hinterland town of Kenilworth four years ago, was to create a place for families to visit on the weekend.
“My family has been in the bakery business for three generations. I was looking to relocate to the Sunshine Coast, and we’d come across the 97-year-old Kenilworth Country Bakery,” Jenna said.
“I drove out to have a look and I could see right away that Kenilworth was a destination, and the bakery had so much character and even more potential.
“Kenilworth is a scenic 45-minute drive from anywhere on the Sunshine Coast. There are beautiful playgrounds, the Cheese Factory, amazing water holes and hiking trails but there was a lack of good quality wholesome food on offer. It was a great opportunity and I knew if I could just get it out into the world people would want to come and visit.”
“When we started, we were making just a few donuts a day and it’s not actually my forte. My family are pie makers and that has been my background for the past 15 years, so we’ve had to learn how to make donuts really quickly,” Jenna said.
The road to success for the Kenilworth Country Bakery hasn’t been smooth but Jenna’s resilience and quick-thinking during the COVID-19 pandemic is the reason why Jenna is a Sunshine Coast Local Business Champion.
“During COVID-19 we were forced to think on our feet and change our business model fast to offer home deliveries,” Jenna said.
“Kenilworth is just over 50km from most places so during the lockdown, no one could drive out here. It absolutely ruined the town and ruined the bakery. We were getting 10 customers each day as opposed to 300.
“We delivered from Kenilworth to the south side of Brisbane. It was really tiring, and money was tight. We had to work hard to keep our staff, including two Nepalese bakers who we sponsor.
“It was a very big panic to keep things going and a lot of 18-hour days making orders then delivering them into the night. Surviving that, not knowing how long it was going to last, was really challenging.”
A few months later, Queensland’s lockdown was lifted, and the small-town bakery got flooded with day-trippers from across south-east Queensland and beyond.
Jenna soon doubled her staff and leased the shop next door to keep up with the demand for her food. She borrowed a stop-go sign from the local SES and hired someone to manage the lines of people that ran from her bakery to the end of the main street in Kenilworth.
Sunshine Coast Council Economic Development Portfolio Councillor Terry Landsberg said the Kenilworth Bakery was a great example of small businesses doing big things for our region.
“Council recognises how important small businesses are to our local economy which is why we developed the Local Business Champions series,” Cr Landsberg said.
“I commend the Kenilworth Bakery for its success and for showcasing the very best of our Sunshine Coast hinterland and attracting visitors to the region.“
