‘Whyte’s Wholesome Bites’

Jan 29, 2023 News

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“Young entrepreneurs are the preparers of our future; their roles are to inspire their peers while harnessing sustainability. They are those risk takers who demonstrate results against all odds, and add value to our society.”

By Allyiah Allicock

Kaieteur News – While the global pandemic brought on hardship for many, for others, it came as a blessing in disguise. When the pandemic hit the country back in 2020, it left Robert Whyte and his wife, Carmelita out of a job. But that surely was not the end of the road for the lovely couple. Little did they know that something greater was in store for them.

In a recent exclusive interview with this magazine, the couple said that after they stopped working, there was a lot of free time on their hands, and with the time, they decided to pursue a desire they always wanted to do, but did not get the chance in the past.

“We have always desired to have healthier bread, but we never ventured into baking our own because of limited time. Hence, since, we were home most of the time during the pandemic, we decided to try baking our own bread,” they explained.

They recalled that with the desire to make healthier breads, at first, they started adding different ingredients to the bread, where they developed the garlic/herb bread made with fresh garlic, the raisin/oats bread, the multi grain bread made with honey and olive oil and the regular white and whole wheat bread with added wheat germ and aniseed.

“After many trials, we developed the desired consistency, of which we shared with family and friends. The responses were extremely positive to an extent of which, some persons started to place orders. Eventually, we added cheese to the garlic and herb bread and was further inspired to make it as ‘pull apart’ bread, this became the most demanded bread,” they shared.

After they saw that their breads were in demand, they related that they took a risk and invested their savings into acquiring some bakery equipment and rented a small shop as an outlet in Diamond Housing Scheme, where they resided at that time. This move would see them launching their very own bakery business called ‘Whyte’s Wholesome Bites’ which was launched in June 2020. The business was later registered in November that same year.

When the business was officially launched, Robert said that the main aim really was to supply the community with healthier bread that does not contain preservatives and additives which they believe is a big contributor to stomach and digestive diseases. “We use authentic ingredients and no substitutes and we aim to supply our customers with affordable prices. Our slogan is ‘Prepared with love for all’, he said.

Having been in business for a while, he shared that they have received an outpouring of support from friends and family. “Mr. Ramnaresh Sarwan and his brother Ravi Sarwan who both are owners of restaurants were major supporters. Sabrina Algoo from N&S Algoo was kind enough to order our breads to include in her annual Christmas hampers; from this, we had persons countrywide contacting us for more of the bread. After the closure of our shop, we approached Mr. Mattai who fully supported, encouraged and advised us. We supply him with the breads, biscuits and breadcrumbs. It was at Mattai Supermarket that we experienced the potential and publicity of the breads,” they expressed.

Robert and his wife are so far grateful for the overwhelming support they received.

Just like any other small business, they too faced some challenges along the way. One major challenge, he related was the death of his beloved mother-in-law, who he said was a major contributor to their vision and venture, “she willingly supported us and pushed us to reach our highest potential. When she passed away in February 2021, our business had already transitioned from infancy. Her passing left us down trodden and we were unable to bake for a while. This caused us to lose customers and we started to see a decline in sales,” he recounted.

But eventually, he noted they were able to revive the business, of which, supply to the restaurants played a major role. However, after a while, he said their progress was short-lived when his wife fell gravely ill while on vacation in the USA. This he mentioned affected the business greatly. Another challenge he noted too was the lack of skilled and committed staff.

With a lot at the time to take in, when asked how they manage to overcome these hurdles, he said that “Our belief in God and the working out of our faith, living by nothing is impossible to those who believe and having that confidence that when our will aligns with making the world a better place, it will all work out; not always in our favour, but with perseverance, determination and hard work, it will be done,” has given them the motivation to keep on going.

With regard to the pandemic, and the fact that the business was launched during that period, there was an onset of price increases on their major raw materials which caused a decline in sales after which they were forced to increase their prices, he related.

As for the future for ‘Whyte’s Wholesome Bites’, Robert said that the long-term goal is to make their products available countrywide while being consistent in their quality and to introduce a larger variety of breads.

Meanwhile, he is of the belief that the role of emerging entrepreneurs is that they will take our society to greater heights. “Young entrepreneurs are the preparers of our future; their roles are to inspire their peers while harnessing sustainability. They are those risk takers who demonstrate results against all odds, and add value to our society,” he said.

He noted that to support small businesses is for more support to come from government entities and the private sectors. Robert is of the view that small businesses are not often given a fair share of the supply chain.  And with this he mentioned that, “We are left to compete with major companies who are able to remain competitive with prices.  Special discounts, better tax concessions for materials and equipment would certainly aid in boosting small businesses.”

Persons desirous in indulging in some different flavoured breads, biscuits, and pastries can contact the couple on telephone numbers (592) 674-2295/ 617-0171 or check out their Facebook page at Whyte’s Wholesome Bites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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• Carmelita, Mr. Ramnaresh, pandemic, products, Robert Whyte, whytes, working

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