Innovation

While there are many locally owned bakeries, Field and Fire sets a higher standard by focusing on not just the business’s bottom line, but also the social and environmental impacts of their business. They achieve this by incorporating their values into every aspect of their daily operations.

Because of their emphasis on health, Field and Fire strives to use only sustainable, organic ingredients. So far they have been able to make 62.4% of the ingredients used in their café and 90.1% of the ingredients used in their bakery to be certified organic. They have been able to obtain this by developing good long-term relationships with their suppliers and visiting their locations to ensure that their production processes are healthy and sustainable. Says Julie, “A lot of times we will go visit the farm to get a better picture of the operation. This allows us to make a better decision when choosing them as a supplier.”

They set themselves apart from other bakeries by emphasizing quality over quantity. This can be seen in their baking processes, where they use a long fermentation process. While this means that it will take longer to produce the goods, it breaks down the glutens and grains better than other processes. This in turn improves the digestibility of their foods. Any packaging they use for their food is also compostable, thereby reducing their landfill waste.

The community is especially important to them. During the interview, Julie states that they would not be here without the support of the community. Field and Fire gives back to the community by providing its employees with fair wages and maintaining diversity within the workplace. They also help reduce hunger within the community by giving leftover food to the poor. When asked why they do so many of these actions, Julie said, “Because doing good feels good.” She hopes that many other small businesses will follow their steps.

Inspiration

Before Field and Fire, Shelby was a baking instructor at a baking school. One day he decided that instead of teaching, he wanted to focus more on the health aspect of baking. He wanted to provide customers with good quality and healthy baked goods. The two then agreed to open a bakery, and went through plenty of research to ensure that their bakery would be sustainable and still turn a profit.

Overall impact

Unsurprisingly, Field and Fire’s sustainability practices do affect their bottom line. Julie admits that they could be making a lot more money had they decided to lower their supplier standards; however, she also states that doing so would cause a lot of external costs to the environment and community. She states that those external costs far outweigh the costs to their business.

Business benefit

There are many long-term tangible benefits of their sustainability practices to their business. One of them is the goodwill that they generate through such practices, which not only attracts more customers, but also increases customer loyalty. As a result, they were capable of selling 62,425 croissants in 2017. This also improves employee happiness, as employees are more incentivized to work for a good cause. In a report provided by them, 96% of the staff said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs. The relationships they develop with their suppliers also ensure that their supply chain will remain much smoother.

Social and environmental benefit

There is no denying that Field and Fire generates an overall positive impact on the environment and community through their practices. Their decision to donate leftover goods to the poor not only reduces environmental waste but supports the community by combating hunger. Using compostable packaging also reduces waste that would otherwise be delivered to a landfill. Perhaps their biggest contribution to the community, however, is the standard they set for other small businesses. Field and Fire’s practices show that small businesses can turn a profit while providing a positive benefit to the environment.

Interview

Julie Kibler, Owner