The day of Regina and Bianca Lopez usually starts at five in the morning.
Running a popular online bakery and retail store like their brainchild Miss B Infused Honey and Specialty Bread makes you an early bird like that. Even more so in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the demand for delicious, freshly-baked bread that can be delivered right at one’s doorstep is high.
“We do all the preparations needed—from weighing the ingredients and setting them to the right temperature, to double-checking the order list,” Regina says, describing how mornings go for her and her sister.
They then bake until noon and make sure that the entire batch of bread is complete before sending out the orders by 2 o’clock.
A Sweet Start
Regina and Bianca opened Miss B last year, but before they became the talk of the town for their baked goods, they initially built their business around the idea of selling infused honey.
Their two signature flavors are Spicy Honey and Spicy Truffle Honey—both of which go especially well with fried or roasted dishes and pizza for that fiery kick.
In October, fueled by Bianca’s cravings, they ventured into baking pandesal.
“I first tried making pandesal because my sister was reading up on it and requested if I can make some for her. Miss B’s special pandesal solely started because of the cravings of my sister,” Regina shares.
Timely enough, flavored pandesal was emerging as one of the most-sought after pantry staples, so they innovated with an array of ingredients to come up with the flavors they can offer—ube cheese, caramel, fudge, matcha, cheesy egg, and their best-selling milky pandesal.
Miss B grew increasingly popular following the shift in their product line-up, and today, they don’t just sell infused honey and pandesal, but also a wide variety of pastries, cakes, and even soy-based beverages!
Ever in tune with food trends, the sisters have also given their own spin to popular bites, including the Basque burnt cheesecake and boba buns.
Quarantine Hurdles
“It was really when the ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) started that sales began to go up. Maybe, it’s because most people can’t go out so they opt to order in instead,” Regina revealed.
The increase in sales wasn’t all rosy for the sisters, though, as quarantine measures became stricter, they found it tougher to procure the right ingredients for their products.
“A major challenge that we encountered is getting supplies for our products. Since deliveries during the ECQ was limited, even our suppliers were having a hard time getting the ingredients that we need. So sometimes, we buy from online sellers that sell ingredients at a higher price,” explains Regina. “As deliveries were limited, we also had a hard time getting delivery services to dispatch our products,” she adds.
Recipe For Success
Determined to succeed, Regina and Bianca learned to adapt to the current climate to keep their business running. Their three main ingredients for success? Faith in their products, patience, and resilience.
“We have to believe in our product. When we first started selling pandesal, not a lot of people were selling it then. But when ECQ started, there was a sudden boom of sellers that offered ube cheese pandesal, which we consider our “main product.” We had to believe that our pandesal has its own edge compared to others,” Regina reveals.
She and Bianca also knew that their business won’t grow overnight, so they had to be patient and accept that some days would be better than others.
And running their shop in the middle of a pandemic taught them to adapt to the current climate.
“We had to be resilient. Don’t give up right away if a certain challenge comes your way,” Regina says firmly. “During the ECQ, there were times when our supplies were limited, so instead of closing orders, we thought of new products that we could offer with ingredients that are easily and readily accessible.”
Helpful Takeaway
As more people are taking interest in starting a business at home, here are a few pieces of advice Regina would like to share:
“Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid of starting a business during the pandemic because even if there are competition’s tight, always think that your product is unique and is something new that you could offer. And also, be patient, all businesses did not get successful in a snap, you have to take care of it and believe that it will thrive.”
Have a taste of Miss B Infused Honey and Specialty Bread by placing your order on KKday now! As an extra treat, Miss B will be adding three (3) free pieces of milky buns in every purchase!
*Images from Miss B on Facebook
