Why I’m growing a bakery that isn’t “real” yet… and why it already is.
When I first started dreaming about Fatté — a bakery built around my fat macarons, fat cookies, and fat cinnamon rolls — it felt like something from my distant future. Something for the “one day when I’m ready” version of me. Something bold, exciting, and way bigger than the tiny kitchen I currently work in.
But the more I thought about it, the more vivid it became.
Real enough to picture the menu.
Real enough to design the packaging.
Real enough to draft a full pitch deck.
Real enough to start shaping a brand before I even had a door to put the logo on.
And yes — I fully understand how insane that sounds.
I know how crazy it is to blog about a business that doesn’t technically exist yet.
I know that most people wait until they have a lease, a loan, a space, something tangible before sharing their “new bakery” plans.
But here’s the truth:
Fatté already exists — not physically, but in my mind, my planning, my work, and my direction. And that’s exactly where every successful business begins.
I’m building Fatté before it exists because that’s how I make it exist.
But Wait… Don’t I Already Have a Bakery?
Yes — I already have The Modern Bakery.
It’s very real.
It’s where I bake.
It’s where I produce every product for the farmers market.
It’s where people pick up orders.
It’s the tiny micro-bakery that taught me everything I know about running a business as one woman in a very small workspace.
But here’s the honest truth:
The Modern Bakery was never meant to be my final chapter.
It was my training ground.
The Modern Bakery taught me:
- how to survive as a micro-baker
- how to streamline a menu
- how to stop offering everything
- how to build a product-based business
- how to manage crowds, packaging, and production
- how to actually listen to customers
- how to pivot when something isn’t working
- how to run a bakery inside a space way too small for my dreams
It’s where I became the baker I am today.
I’m not abandoning The Modern Bakery.
I’m evolving beyond what the space can support — and giving the next chapter a name.
That name is Fatté.
Not instead of The Modern Bakery…
but because of The Modern Bakery.
The Modern Way: Build the Brand Before the Building
Traditional bakeries follow a predictable pattern:
- Get a loan
- Find a space
- Build the store
- Then build the brand
But that’s not my path.
Not with the way I work.
Not with the vision I have now.
Instead, I decided to reverse the entire process.
Before the building, I’m building:
- the brand
- the menu
- the identity
- the social presence
- the shipping structure
- the packaging
- the story
- the customer base
- the excitement
- the foundation
That way, when the storefront becomes real, I’m not starting from zero — I’m stepping into something already alive.
This isn’t delusion.
This is strategy.
Why I’m Talking About Fatté Publicly Before It Exists
A lot of people would hide this idea until it’s completely ready.
I’m doing the opposite.
Here’s why:
1. Saying it out loud holds me accountable
Once I share it, I can’t run from it.
Talking about Fatté forces me to show up for the dream — even on the days it feels huge or far away.
Accountability turns ideas into action.
2. It makes the dream feel closer instead of impossible
When the vision stays in my head, it feels imaginary.
But when I:
- write about it
- design it
- map it
- plan it
- talk about it
- document it
…it becomes something I’m walking toward, not fantasizing about.
3. Clarity grows through sharing
Every time I talk about Fatté, something becomes clearer:
- the menu
- the mission
- the products
- the brand voice
- the customer experience
- the marketing strategy
Speaking it out loud shapes it.
4. Because documenting the process is part of the modern growth model
I’m choosing to grow the modern way — through:
- content
- storytelling
- transparency
- community
- behind-the-scenes
- experimentation
So I can’t hide the biggest dream behind the curtain.
Blogging about Fatté isn’t premature — it’s part of building it.
5. Because it’s exactly like the farmers market
This is my favorite part.
Just like I test products at the farmers market to see what people react to…
…I test the idea of Fatté online to see what resonates.
Putting my products in front of people shaped my menu.
Putting my vision in front of people is shaping the brand.
Both are forms of product-market fit.
I Know It’s Unconventional — That’s the Point
I know that building a bakery before it exists is not the “normal” entrepreneurial route.
But nothing about my journey has been traditional:
- I started under cottage food law
- I built a micro-bakery in a tiny downtown space
- I pivoted away from custom orders
- I relied on the farmers market instead of walk-in traffic
- I grew using a product-based model
- I started a blog to create passive income
- I leaned into content creation before scaling
So why would I suddenly act traditional now?
Fatté needs to be built differently — because I’m building a different kind of bakery.
What “Building Fatté Before It Exists” Looks Like in Real Life
Here’s everything happening behind the scenes right now:
✔ A fully developed menu for the future storefront
Built around:
- macarons
- fatcarons
- 6oz cookies
- giant cinnamon rolls
- specialty drinks & matcha
- affogatos
- seasonal flavors
All of it tested in real time via the farmers market.
✔ A brand identity that already exists
- logo
- color palette
- typography
- packaging ideas
- “Too good to be small” tagline
- voice + personality
✔ A pitch deck for future opportunities
If a space becomes available tomorrow — I’m ready.
✔ A shipping plan & drop model
So Fatté can scale beyond walk-ins.
✔ A social media presence growing before the storefront exists
Awareness now = success later.
✔ Using Hey Modern Baker as the blueprint binder
Every blog post is another brick.
Every story is another layer.
Every reflection is another piece of the foundation.
This is how modern brands are built.
Why I Believe Fatté Will Work
Because nothing about this dream is random anymore.
I’m not guessing.
I’m not hoping.
I’m not throwing ideas at the wall.
I’m building from:
- data
- demand
- observation
- product testing
- real customer feedback
- strategic planning
- years of trial and error
- intuition
- alignment
The farmers market gave me the product.
The Modern Bakery gave me the experience.
Hey Modern Baker gives me the story.
Fatté gives me the future.
And the storefront?
It’s the physical expression of everything I’ve already started building.
**This is the blueprint.
This is the era.
This is the beginning.**
Fatté may not have a location yet —
but it is already being built every single day.
And one day, when the keys hit my hand and the lights turn on…
It won’t feel like a new bakery.
It’ll feel like a bakery I’ve known all along.
Because I built it before it existed.
