Bakery quality

When asked what makes something "bakery quality," Alexa shared it is all about flavor. “At the end of the day, cookies need to taste great!” she smiled.

For her, taste and quality go beyond flavor. They reflect decades of experience and deep family roots in baking. “I’ve loved baking and dessert for as long as I can remember."

“My Grandma was teaching me how to make pastries, and my Great Aunt Jo inspired my love of frozen desserts.” At 92, Great Aunt Jo still sells her homemade frozen fruit pies and strudels from her Michigan farm — a tradition spanning more than 60 years.

“That’s where my passion for 'fresh' came from,” Alexa says. “The groundwork for Bakr runs through my family story. It took shape long before my company was even an idea.”

While refrigerated, ready-to-bake products historically rely on preservatives and ultra-processed ingredients, Alexa believes the frozen aisle represents the future. “People are realizing that the freshest food is in the freezer aisle."

With frozen products, Bakr is able to do things differently — without preservatives, GMOs or harsh processing, and freezing products within minutes of being made ensures the freshest possible taste.

After years of perfecting her core recipes (with the help of an extra freezer that sits in her living room), Alexa continues testing and refining flavors, including their newest Mini Birthday Cake Cookie, launched exclusively at Target. “I couldn’t even come close to guessing how many cookies I’ve made in my lifetime. I’m always tinkering with new flavors and ingredients.”

She’s just as intentional about good value as she is about flavor. “Bakery quality doesn’t mean much if the product isn’t affordable." Alexa uses her 10 years of expertise leading consumer packaged goods (CPG) supply chain to optimize logistics and deliver value to the customer.

“Typically, you can walk into a popular bakery and expect to pay six or seven dollars for one cookie. That’s a lot — especially considering you also may be paying for ingredients that wouldn’t meet my standards. You're looking at a hefty markup compared with what you can get with Bakr."

Alexa is a self-taught home baker using real ingredients. Her family and friends always gushed, and then gobbled, her baking, but the Bakr brand quickly gained attention in the food world. “In our first couple months in business, we were contacted by Alinea, a Chicago restaurant with 3 Michelin Stars, for our cookie dough. That partnership was a huge testament to the quality and care we put into our products.”

Catching the eye of the food industry's most notable names is no small feat, but Bakr's momentum was undeniable. Requests for dough flooded in from top restaurants and bakeries to grocery stores, and industry awards soon followed.

Simple ingredients

In a crowded store full of options, new brands have to earn trust fast. Authenticity is key. “Lots of brands claim they’re 'clean label,'” Alexa notes, “but without a clear intention for how you bring that vision to life, customers will see through it.”

That’s why every Bakr product is Non-GMO Project Verified. The Butterfly mark is a visible, trusted symbol of the brand’s commitment to transparency.

When Alexa began developing her recipes, she had trouble sourcing “clean” versions of key ingredients. So she made them herself. From partnering with leading natural suppliers to developing a fully custom chocolate chunk and graham crackers, every component of Bakr’s dough starts with their commitment to simple ingredients.

“I’ve even gone so far as to ask suppliers about their ethical and sustainability standards,” she says. “Bakr has high standards for our business, I want to be sure I am partnering with suppliers who care just as much. It’s just the right thing to do.”

That sense of responsibility — to people, the environment, and the food system — drives every decision. Whether it’s paying living wages to farmers who grow Bakr’s cocoa, cane sugar and flour, or ensuring the livestock that supply dairy and eggs are treated fairly and ensuring that no genetically modified ingredients are used in her products, Alexa believes in her commitment to do better across the board. “The Butterfly logo isn’t just a seal. It’s a symbol that we’re doing what’s right for the environment, the animals, and our customers.”

What’s next for Bakr

When it came time to grow responsibly, Non-GMO Project verification was an important step.

“There are few ways to truly validate that a brand cares about ingredients,” Alexa explains. “The Non-GMO Project seal tells our customers they can trust what’s inside.”

The certification process was thorough and rewarding for the first-time business owner. “Non-GMO Project certification is incredibly detailed. Whether it’s feedstock or raw ingredients, there’s no ‘good enough’ — it’s either verified or it isn’t. It was so important to me to gain the certification.” A true testament to the hard work that goes into the verification, Bakr is one of the only Non-GMO Project Verified ready-to-bake brands in the market today.

And the Butterfly is just the beginning.

“Non-GMO Project verification is just the start for Bakr. When you start inspecting ingredients and the current state of our food system, you uncover things that need to change.”

With Bakr, Alexa has shown that she's the right person for the job.

“My goal with Bakr is to create the future of baking at home. I have a responsibility to do it right!”

You can follow Bakr’s mission and Alexa’s journey on Instagram, TikTok, or LinkedIn.

As of October, Bakr’s three flavors are available nationwide at Target, or you can find a store near you on their website.

This guest post was submitted by Bakr Cookies.