How Alexa Ryan Built Bakr Into the Midwest’s #1 Dough Brand

Fred Schonenberg
Today we’re joined by Alexa Ryan, founder of Bakr, who left a decade at P&G to reinvent frozen cookie dough with real butter, clean ingredients, and bakery-quality flavor. From scooping dough by hand in a shared kitchen to scaling into thousands of stores nationwide, Alexa’s journey is one of grit, growth, and vision. Let’s dive in.

After more than a decade in supply chain leadership at P&G, Alexa launched Bakr in 2023 to reinvent frozen cookie dough with real butter, clean ingredients, and bakery quality flavor. Since winning the Midwest Dairy Pitch Contest last year, she's scaled into more than 400 retail locations, produced over 600,000 cookies, and become the Midwest's top-selling frozen cookie dough brand. 

Your story is a perfect example of the power of programs like this, and we're so excited to have you come share your story.

Alexa Ryan
Yeah, well, thank you so much for having me. I love being a part of this and being connected with the Midwest Dairy.

Fred Schonenberg
So can you talk a little bit about your inspiration to start Baker and how it all began? I mean, you're at P&G. Where does this begin?

Alexa Ryan
Yeah, I would say, actually, it started way before that. I've always had a passion for baking. I also grew up around the food industry. My dad owned a food brokerage, so really seeing what he would bring home from work and his entrepreneurial spirit and his passion that he had for the food industry, I mean, growing up, I always knew that one day I, like, too, wanted to start my own company. And really, from there, I went into business. 

Like you mentioned, I went to P&G to learn supply chain. And it's really a point at which you kind of bring all your passions together of I still love to bake. Really, as I looked at the ready-to-make desserts in the grocery store, I thought there was just a huge opportunity to provide a better product made with real ingredients, something that you would be proud to serve your family or for you to have that indulgent sweet treat any time. And that really is how Bakr came about and why I decided to start Bakr.

And so it's been two years now since I launched Bakr. I started as a direct-to-consumer brand. I actually started here at the hatchery after seriously Googling how to start a food company. And my husband and I would spend weekends in that very kitchen scooping cookie dough for 14 hours a day to get Bakr launched. As you mentioned, Midwest Dairy, after a month of starting Bakr, had the pitch competition here. And I was lucky enough to be one of the contestants and actually end up winning the pitch competition, which was just a huge win for Bakr as it allotted us at that time.

What the award was was a year of a private kitchen here at the hatchery. And so that was really fundamental for us growing our production and allowing us to scale. Within our first year, we used DTC to prove the concept and then moved into 400 retail locations in the Midwest. And I'm excited to say that after we just turned two years old and this fall, we are launching into over, now we'll be in over 6,000 points of distribution by the end of the year, so continuing to grow. And yeah, that's kind of how Bakr came about.

Fred Schonenberg
That's very cool. So talk to me about that moment, though. So you have such an interesting background with your dad. You're at P&G. Did you see the white space in the market or that gap first? Or were you always like, I want to make cookies? Like, which drove the first step?

Alexa Ryan
That's funny. I mean, I've always loved dessert overall. I am definitely a dessert everyday kind of person. So I've always loved baking. And again, I think as I even, on my own health journey, was more focused on ingredients and really started looking at ingredients in my favorite products, with ready-to-bake cookies being so nostalgic and looking at the brands that were on shelf that are a lot of legacy brands and really not much innovation on ingredients and using real, like real butter, real eggs, ingredients that you know, and to provide that bakery quality product. I thought that there was just a huge opportunity.

And then professionally, I was at a point where I was leading a supply chain division. I was in a role that was retailer facing. And that role really operated like a small business. I led the supply chain team. I was very close with the head of marketing and our finance leader. And really all of those, I felt like this was a point that I could do this and really go after it.

Fred Schonenberg
Very cool. Can you talk a little bit about the role dairy plays in your product and why that is important to how you make it?

Alexa Ryan
Yeah, if it tells you anything, real butter is like plastered on the front of my package. So it's definitely an important factor of our product. And if you, your fun fact of the day is all the other ready-to-bake cookie doughs, like nearly 98% use palm oil and they use bleach flour and other really low quality ingredients and preservatives. So for Bakr, to me, it's always been important to have real butter and beyond even real butter. Its real simple ingredients are the core of Bakr.

What that does really is also provide an amazing flavor. And for me, flavor has always been number one. I mean, people have to love the product. And so butter not only signals how simple and less processed our product is, but also the high quality of flavor that it delivers in that amazing moment for the customer. 

Fred Schonenberg
As a founder, I think someone mentioned it before that once you solve one problem, like all of a sudden you see three more that you didn't know were there. I was shaking my head vigorously on that as a founder. That's part of this. What was the biggest challenge to date that you've overcome?

Alexa Ryan
Ooh, challenge to date. I mean, I think that's 100% right. Like I was saying, like every day, right, you have your new challenge and new what you're always gonna solve. I really think that is more of an opportunity, right? For me, it's always been having a growth mindset and having the spirit of continuous improvement. So taking customer feedback and taking each opportunity to really make sure that the product and our brand is continuing to evolve and get better and better.

I think in terms of challenges, I think there's always challenges with growing. I think really finding great partners has been, right, that's something that can be either a headwind or a tailwind. And so forming strong partnerships, not only with our suppliers and manufacturing and operations partners, but also with our retailers and a strong foundation with our customers has really allowed us to get over a lot of those challenges to really harness those relationships.

Fred Schonenberg
Yeah, it's interesting. Chef Mike didn't know, I was gonna quote him like 12 times on stage today from our three minute conversation. But we were talking about perseverance and that mindset, right, that the obstacle is the opportunity is like one of the things we look for when we're looking at founders, no matter the industry, that's sort of the special sauce, that if you see that in them, that they can go that one extra step is really powerful. I'm curious, thinking about you being in this kitchen, scooping 16 hours a day, what's the biggest transition from that sort of handmade product to the scale that you're talking about today?

Alexa Ryan
Yeah, that's funny. As I was thinking back, like one of the pivotal moments is actually after winning the Midwest Dairy Pitch Competition, we got reached out to by Alinea, which is a three Michelin star restaurant in Chicago. They're one of the top 20 restaurants in the world. And they do these awesome Thanksgiving day boxes. And so from seeing us win this pitch competition, they reached out asking us to make cookies for their Thanksgiving day boxes, which was a huge opportunity for us and really validated the quality of our product. 

And we spent, like my husband and I would scoop, but we had to recruit family members and we had to do like 18 hours of scooping to get to make enough cookies, which was like 4,500 cookies for Alinea. We knew that getting to the next stage of really my vision of becoming the household name for ready to bake desserts. Like we were not gonna be able to scoop enough cookie doughs as we started talking with Marianos and Meijer, the sheer PO of that would take us months to manufacture at that point.

And so we knew that we needed to continue to grow and to get more automation to enable that to scale. So that was kind of like an inflection point as well as always knowing our North star and where eventually we wanted to go. And then to your point, the processes of, again, the growing pains, but you continue to learn and develop, changing processes that help get to the next level. But for me, the most important is making sure that the product is still the best and that that never changes, even if my manufacturing process or how we do it or anything, if it's not hand scooped and now it's cut, I still want it to be the best cookie ever and it better meet those expectations. 

Fred Schonenberg
I love it, I love it. You talked a little bit about Midwest Dairy and some of the advantages this program had for you from the kitchen time to even the exposure. Is there anything else that you would call out that Midwest Dairy did or this program did to help you all scale?

Alexa Ryan
Yeah, definitely. Like I said, having the kitchen was just a huge start for us that allowed us to have a year to really use those funds elsewhere in the companies for us to rebrand and have our bright, vibrant packaging that we now have and invest in inventory and other things and allow us the time to get to that scale. So not only the award from the program, but then, I mentioned, I think a lot of these are just such great opportunities to continue to develop your network.

I still keep in touch with a lot of the people I met who were either judges or again, like some of the connections that I made coming out of the event. I think the food space is just such a welcoming community and really meeting individuals and continuing to use them as resources and to provide that also back has just been even connecting with the Midwest Dairy team, they've always been so supportive. 

Fred Schonenberg
Yeah, it's crazy. One program we did 10 years ago when we first launched held an alumni event without us knowing because they had all become friends and stayed in touch for 10 years and their companies had all grown in different ways. And so I think one of the things that's cool about this is that cohorts feel where you get to know the other founders, the judges, and then the mentors, right? Be open up doors in different ways. So super interesting. What is your, you mentioned your vision, that you want it to be the best cooking no matter what to achieve your long-term vision. What is your long-term vision?

Alexa Ryan
Yeah, my long-term vision is to be the household name for Ready to Bake Desserts and really to provide a product, again, that you're proud to serve and proud to have in your home so that really you can indulge anytime, whether that's for yourself every night or making that for your kids or making it for a party or whatever that may be, but something that you can feel great about. 

Fred Schonenberg
Do you have any advice for me? I have a six-year-old son who argues with me that you have two hands for a reason, so you should get two cookies every time you get one. What's your stance? Is it a one cookie or a two cookie at a time vibe?

Alexa Ryan
As many cookies as you want. 

Fred Schonenberg
As many as you want, it's all good. What advice would you have for the founders that are here? This is always an awkward moment because they're waiting to hear if they win. They're also listening to you very intently, so we'll see if it sinks in, but from being in their shoes, do you have advice for them on growing from this point?

Alexa Ryan
Yeah, definitely. I usually have three pieces of advice. So my first is just to keep going. I think at the beginning, I was so stuck on perfection and wanting everything to be perfect, and I think, again, kind of going back to the growth mindset, you gotta get it in the market. You gotta just keep trying, and it will continue to get better, and you will continue to iterate and learn as long as you just keep that forefront that it's gonna keep getting better and better. 

With that, number two would always get a lot of feedback. I think that's really, for me, the consumer is the most important, and to get valuable, honest feedback that continues to help you push the brand forward has been so important to me, and to continuing to make sure that the product is the best that it can be. So get that feedback from people that don't know you, that don't know anything about your product. It will just continue to help you evolve and make sure that, again, that it's meeting that consumer's need.

And lastly, kind of going back to your point, I think there's so many ups and downs with entrepreneurship, and I think really keeping a focus on why you started and that, we call that our North Star, but really what we're pursuing after. The road's always gonna be windy depending on how we're gonna get there, but I think maintaining that focus helps you get through all those peaks and valleys in the way. 

Fred Schonenberg
I read something that Mark Zuckerberg from Meta or Facebook said being a founder is like waking up each morning and getting punched in the stomach, and then just doing it the next day anyway. And that is part of this, and I think staying kind of even keel is very hard to do, but is a great secret. 

On the feedback side, one of the things that's interesting is you mentioned getting outside of people that know you, right? My mom is a big fan of VentureFuel. She couldn't tell you what we do, but she really loves it, which is wonderful. How do you get outside of friends and family to get feedback that you can trust?

Alexa Ryan
Yeah, for us, in our early days, we did a lot of farmer's markets and a lot of in-store demoing. Even at the retailers that we're in today, we still spend time demoing in-store to get customers; they'll be very honest with you about what they think. So that's traditionally where we get a lot of feedback, again, from people who have never seen the product and what their initial thought is. But then I think continuing to engage your community has been great.

We've had people who were big baker believers at the beginning and continue to support us. As we continue to evolve, getting their feedback and keeping them involved in the process as we grow, change, and iterate has been really helpful as well. But yeah, we definitely have to get outside the family because I agree, my mom's like, "I love it." I guess it would be bad if the other thing were true, right? If your mom was not supportive.

Fred Schonenberg
I'm curious, where did the name Bakr come from? Obviously, I know where it came from, but why choose Bakr?

Alexa Ryan
Yeah, this is funny. My husband and I were actually talking about this this weekend by saying, do you remember how we got to the name Bakr? And this is a true story. We spent six months trying to come up with a name, really couldn't. It was originally called Better Bake or something. Some lawyer was like, you'll never be able to trademark that. 

So I went to Google, and there's name generators. And one of them, it was like, they can misspell words. And so they came up with Bakr, B-A-K-R, which we liked. And we're like, I really wanted a name that Frozen Cookie Dough is the beginning. But I see this going beyond cookie dough. And so something that allowed us to be able to do that. So we thought Bakr is perfect. And really, it's actually the initials of me and my husband also. So it was kind of like it was meant to be.

Fred Schonenberg
Oh, that's very cool.
I was about to look at my socks, but they are cow socks today, in case anyone wants to know my allegiance to the dairy industry. But normally, I have VentureFuel socks on. My wife is Vanessa, and I'm Fred. So we always joke that we have. So there we go. The initials work. You mentioned going beyond cookie dough. Where do you want to go?

Alexa Ryan
It's a great question. Actually, I mean, we still have a lot to do with cookie dough. I just wanted to leave that opportunity. Refrigerated cookie dough is the number one seller. So that's really why we started in cookie dough. It's something that people are very familiar with. But that, again, really hasn't been innovated on since its conception. And I mean, I grew up. It's super nostalgic. And I think there's just a huge opportunity even for us to keep going with that. Bakr's only two years old. But definitely always leaving the door open for other frozen desserts.

Fred Schonenberg
So we have a moment or two, because the judges are having a hard time making a decision. Are there any questions from the audience? Just scream it out.

- Audience Question -

Alexa Ryan
Yeah, that's a great question. So to date, actually, everything has been organic. We have not run any sort of marketing. We are looking to turn that on now that we're becoming nationwide, and that we're really getting to a point where customers can go to their local grocery store and be able to purchase the product. And so really, what we found, we started as a direct-to-consumer brand, which is a great way to, again, get feedback and try the product out. 

But really, customers are used to buying cookie dough in their grocery store. So retail is a focus for us, as well as being a frozen product that makes it a lower point of entry in terms of a cost perspective for them to be able to try the product. So really, I think there's a huge runway in retail. 

We also would be looking to expand into food service more. As I mentioned, we did our one time with Alinea. But really, there is just a huge opportunity, as a lot of restaurants, clubs, and other places don't have pastry chefs on hand and are looking for more of a bakery-quality dessert that they can serve. So definitely a lot to do in marketing. And that's an area that we're investing in upcoming with our new expansion.

Fred Schonenberg
600,000 cookies. No marketing. That's pretty good. Mike?

- Audience Question -

Alexa Ryan
Yeah. Yeah, so I knew from the beginning that I did want to move into retail again as a customer. You typically buy your Pillsbury, your Tollhouse, and Sweet Lorenz in the grocery store. A lot of those initial conversations of getting into retail actually happened here at the Hatchery or through connections like this, where really, we had some retailers who reached out who were super interested from the beginning. And that's really how we got connected with Mariano's and Meijer. 

And from there, our performance has allowed us to have other retailers be interested in Baker and continue to provide those opportunities for us to grow and expand. I mean, definitely having a supply chain background is helpful in the sourcing, the manufacturing, and the distribution. But I feel like being a founder, as you know, you wear all hats. 

And so it's definitely also learning all those other aspects of the business that I didn't have as much knowledge in and really get used to being uncomfortable and having to learn how I master those areas since we kind of had the supply chain aspect understood. But it's still a different level of going from P&G and their scale to running your own supply chain, too. 

Fred Schonenberg
I think it's really interesting. When we run these programs, each founder has a different skill set that they brought to it. Their expertise they brought to it. So you brought supply chain, but now you're gonna have to learn marketing.

Alexa Ryan
Right, exactly.

Fred Schonenberg
That's the cool thing about being an entrepreneur is you end up wearing all those hats until you hit the scale where you can hire people and then you have to learn how to hire people, which is, then you get into HR. That's real fun. Do you have a question? Go for it.

Audience Question:
So you said that you had some grocery chains that you're interested in using. And as your product is kind of a critical mass of demand generation, are you able to mitigate or navigate around any of the traditional trade spending through that channel? Because you're gonna buy it. The pre-bills, the slotting costs, how do you deal with it in that marketing market?

Alexa Ryan
I would say overall, I think, it kind of goes back to building partnerships. I've found along the way a lot of these programs, whether it's local programs or women-owned programs or local brands, a lot of them have opportunities that they provide. They waive free fill or they provide different opportunities which has been really helpful for a brand starting out. 

As we continue to grow, I think that they definitely have programs, but some of that, to your point, it definitely gets more expensive. But I've found that really building those relationships and finding partners who believe in the brand, it creates just this synergy partnership of we're growing together.Not only is Bakr going into this retailer, but this retailer is also trying to drive an experience for their customer and a new fun brand and a new experience. And so I think that's really been a breakthrough for me.

I know that there's a lot of costs, but how can we partner together? How can, if there's something that you need, how can we do something different? I was talking to another founder about if it's free fill, but can we put us on an end cap for a couple months and that way we can drive trial and awareness for both of us, things like that, I think retailers have become more flexible on. And again, if they're a true believer in the brand, I think that they're willing to do those things to help you and to help, at the end of the day, themselves to drive more product through their doors too.

Fred Schonenberg
Yeah, I think it's interesting. So many retailers and other locations and non-traditional places you can sell are looking for ways to sell more. So if you can be the one that brings those ideas that are unique, they'll try it with you first a lot of times, so I'd love that creativity. Any other questions? Yes, sir.

- Audience Question -

Alexa Ryan
Yeah, definitely. Yes, you met me right when I was first starting out. Anand was a judge at the first Midwest Dairy Competition where yes, I was buying, I remember like one pound sticks of butter and now we buy like truckloads of butter, which is exciting. 

And really, I think, I mean, sourcing for us, the ingredients are like a key for Bakr and we really in depth go through what's in each of our ingredients. I'm really excited to say that we just got non-GMO certified which was a huge undertaking. And so really vetting the ingredients and the suppliers that we worked with, we've reached out to a lot, again, trying to establish those partnerships, but really looking for clean label ingredients which don't always exist. 

And so we've also been able to create partnerships with some of our ingredient suppliers where they're willing to custom make us some of our inclusions because what we wanted to be in our product didn't exist. So really it's been a lot of reaching out and a lot of connecting with them and helping them understand our goal for Baker and our vision for Baker. We found that suppliers are willing to like to lean in because they do believe in the vision of the brand. And so for that, that's allowed us to create and to have some ingredients that I'm so proud to put on my pack and really provide the cleanest label cookie dough that's still ultimately super indulgent and delicious.

Fred Schonenberg
I can sort of follow up on that. You mentioned the non-GMO label. That probably took a lot of time. 

Alexa Ryan
It did. 

Fred Schonenberg
Probably expensive to some degree, right? Even just from going through that process. As a founder, how do you make that choice to say this is important to be on our label versus, hey, we're doing pretty well. We're selling a lot of cookie dough. Maybe this isn't as important.

Alexa Ryan
Yeah, definitely. I think again, one of the reasons I started Bakr was based on ingredients. And I wanted a way for consumers to also understand the care and how particular we are about the ingredients that went into it. And I felt like we were already focused on doing non-GMO or really getting the certification to make sure that that shined through.

On the back of our pack, we actually display our ingredients in a really large font, like not the traditional small font because we are so proud of it. And so I just wanted a way that on the front of the pack to be on our claims that consumers could see it and that they could understand, again, the thoughtfulness behind sourcing of our ingredients. 

To your point, it's definitely, it was a much larger undertaking, honestly, than I thought it would be from the beginning of. I know a lot about what my cows eat of the butter that we source because it's needed and that's great. And those certifications, I think, are becoming important to consumers as they continue to understand what's on the ingredient panel. 

Fred Schonenberg
Absolutely. I can say as somebody that has a gluten intolerance, so I have to really read the labels, like I can't read any of them. So I'm always in the grocery store like that, like trying to see the small font. It's very appreciated to go big. I think we have time for one or two more questions. Anyone else in the audience? Yes, ma'am.

- Audience Question -

Alexa Ryan
Yeah, definitely. So the cookie dough that started it all is our brown butter chocolate chunk. And then from there, we've expanded, right now we have a core of three. So our s'mores flavor is what we've won a lot of awards for, actually. So that's been an exciting one. Then fudge brownie. So those are our three main flavors. And then more fun to come.

Fred Schonenberg
Mike.

- Audience Question -

Alexa Ryan
Right now we're in Meijer’s, Mariano's. You can also DoorDash it to your house. So Midwest-centric, and then we'll be nationwide by the end of the year.

- Audience Question -

Alexa Ryan
Yeah. I think actually the core of Ready to Bake is convenience. So I think that has always been for us, a lot of people buy Ready to Bake so that you can have this wonderful baking moment that is very easy. But again, I thought that there wasn't one that had great ingredients. So again, something that you can make at any time and really feel good about indulging in having that nightly cookie or two or whatever. So for us, I think it is convenient, as well as for us, we have different packaging. 

So we actually are in a resealable pouch so that consumers can bake one if they want. They can bake two, however many. You can also bake or air fry it from frozen, which is exciting. So it allows it to span generations. Because I do think the core, like for us, it's always been like flavors, number one, you have to have a great experience with the product. Then the ingredients that support that and the convenience that allows you to have that fun occasion and every day if you want.

Fred Schonenberg
The resealable pouch is a big deal. I just had a family vacation and my brother-in-law had some ready to bake cookies and he went and put them in the oven and everyone's like, oh, that's so thoughtful. He's making cookies, kind of random. Nobody talked about it. And he only cooked four of them and he just put the rest back in the fridge. And the degree to which my family was upset about that move, like who makes four cookies when there's eight people, was the first problem. And then he ruined the rest of the batch.

Alexa Ryan
Right, and I think there's such a joy about, like I have so many memories, right, of like baking with your family or whatever that moment was and how fun that treat is. And I think now I have a one-year-old son, like I can't wait to bake with him and have him enjoy that moment too.

Fred Schonenberg
Right, any other questions? I hear the judges laughing, which means it's stressful.

- Audience Question -

Alexa Ryan
Yeah, good question. I think why I originally started with one, as I mentioned, and direct-to-consumer, which meant that people like would buy multiple bags of just one flavor, but we intentionally started with, chocolate chip always has been the number one seller in the U.S., it's like 80% of the ready-to-bake cookie dough market.

And so really after, we wanted to prove the concept and make sure that we had the right offering before we went too wide on expanding flavors. And then from there, we really used kind of as, you know, Rosebud was saying, the data to help us guide where to go to next, sugar is the next big cookie flavor. Really after that, then a lot are smaller. And so from there, it was more getting customer feedback of what additional flavors. 

I would say we continue to refine even from there, but harnessing the nostalgia of s'mores and of other flavors like brownie is kind of chocolate, of course, is a big one too. So, but then from there where to expand is really again, more consumer-based and creating fun moments.

Fred Schonenberg
So I see the judges are back. So I have one last question for you. How fun is it to do R&D when it's cookie dough?

Alexa Ryan
Oh, I am making cookies like, I mean, I do actually, that's a fun fact, all of the recipes are my own. So I actually R&D all of it in my home kitchen as it starts and then we'll scale up from there. So we were saying that I don't even know how many thousands of batches I've made, but it's so fun, I eat a lot of cookies.

Fred Schonenberg
It’s like the luckiest one-year-old ever. He doesn’t know what he’s getting into. He’s going to get to sample all of those cookies.

Alexa Ryan
I have a freezer in my living room if that tells you anything.

Fred Schonenberg
I love it. Well, Alexa, thank you so much for sharing your story. 

Alexa Ryan
Thank you so much.