Before the Bites
Our journey as allergy parents has been a little different than most. It actually started with a speech therapist who suspected our son Gabriel’s speech delays could be due to a food allergy. Soon after, a neurologist diagnosed Gabe with anaphylactic allergies to dairy and egg and an opiate effect with gluten (gluten made him so tired, it contributed to his speech delays). We left that appointment with strict instructions to remove dairy, egg and wheat from his diet and within 72 hours, Gabe was truly a different kid.
Baking it Happen
Having a young child with food allergies, we quickly realized that not only did birthday parties and holidays have food front and center, but they revolved around everything we needed to eliminate: dairy, egg, and gluten. Avoiding those foods meant more than not being able to eat that cupcake—we knew Gabe could also be left out of social situations. Safety is always first for parents that have to protect their children against allergies, especially anaphylaxis, but second to that, I wanted to make sure Gabe was included in building positive memories around food. I told myself, “He’s not going to be the kid that’s left out,” and then I started baking. My first success was our Lil’ Mo cupcake, inspired by the Hostess cupcakes I loved growing up.
Surprise Party
I had friends in the restaurant business who were very supportive and shared that even award-winning pastry chefs struggled to make allergy-friendly desserts. My neighbor suggested that I open my own business, but I was just focused on baking for my son. However, when she asked me to bake a cake for guests with allergies at her restaurant, I was happy to help. Little did I know that she had tricked me and the cake was served to Whole Foods executives. They called to say they loved it and the rest is truly history.
Everyone’s Invited
A year after that meeting, we opened Better Bites Bakery to create a safe place to bake our products. We loved having the bakery but running a local bakery and baking products for Whole Foods at the same time was not sustainable. I asked myself if I wanted to stay local or if it was better for people to have Better Bites in their own homes throughout the whole United States. Eventually I made the difficult decision to close the bakery but I believe that for allergy families, that was one of the best decisions we made.
Top 9 Free
All of our products are top 9 allergen-free. Our products are made in two facilities. Lil’ Mo and Big Mo Cupcakes are made in a facility dedicated free of the top 9 and gluten; the Dō and Cake Bites are made in a facility dedicated free of milk, egg, soy, fish, shellfish, wheat, gluten, and sesame on lines dedicated free of all nuts. While my family didn’t need to personally avoid all of the top 9, I was committed to having Better Bites be the safe brand for the allergy community and made a point of eliminating ingredients we used that contained any of the top 9, like sprinkles made with soy, very early on. For more allergen details, see our Spokin Verified Brand page.
Love at First Bite
Our best selling product is Dō Bites, our chocolate-covered cookie dough bites. In the early days of our bakery, a team member suggested using the cookie cakes we made to create a safe version of movie theater cookie dough bites. We brought it to Whole Foods and they said it was so good that we could build our entire business off of that one product.
Something For Everyone
While we love our original Chocolate Chip Dō Bites, we didn’t stop there—we now offer 10 products, including 4 flavors of Dō Bites (Chocolate Chip, Birthday, Snickerdoodle, and Sweet + Salty), 3 flavors of cake bites (Double Chocolate, Simply Vanilla, and Very Strawberry), Lil’ Mo and Big Mo Cupcakes, and Amore Cakes.
Any new products coming out?
Yes! We have 2 count packages of Dō Bites coming out in October, which will be perfect for on-the-go treats. You’ll be able to find them in the refrigerated dairy section. We also have BIG NEWS coming and I’ll give you a hint: it doesn’t involve chocolate! For all of you folks that are fans of vanilla, you’re going to be happy! Starting in October, you’ll see our updated top 9 packaging. We have always been sesame free but wanted to updated our packaging once the sesame legislation passed.
Love Your Mother
In addition to being top 9 free, our products are also Certified Vegan and Non-GMO. Making a difference through sustainability is important to us and we’re proud to share that we also recently introduced plant-based, biodegradable packaging.
Easier than picking your favorite child?
The Sweet and Salty Dō Bites are my personal favorite Better Bites product! They’re made with a sunflower seed butter cookie dough. I was a big fan of peanut butter cups but I wanted a safe way to enjoy that balance of sweet and salty flavors.
Gabe’s favorite?
Gabe absolutely loves the Lil Mo Cupcakes.
500 FREE Bites!
We are thrilled to be a Spokin Verified Brand and to celebrate, we’re giving 500 winners FREE Better Bites! Enter to win here.
Where to find Better Bites
You can typically find our products in the bakery section of your grocery store or food retailer, either refrigerated or ambient, or sometimes in the frozen section. You can also get our products on Amazon and GoPuff and Costco recently started carrying our cupcakes. See the store locator on our website or the Spokin app to find Better Bites near you.
Join Leah’s Insta Live!
Join our Insta Live with Leah to hear how more about how she went from a home baker to Whole Foods shelves! Tune in @spokininc Wednesday 9/1 at 12 PM CT/1 PM ET.
You can follow Better Bites Bakery on Instagram @betterbites_bakery, on Facebook @betterbitesbakery, and on Twitter @betterbitesbake.
For more information, see their reviews on the Spokin App and visit betterbitesbakery.com.
