Innovation

Jess and Dave Hewitt created Bliss Dough in January of 2019. They each were working full time jobs while trying to address the needs of their business. In the beginning, the deliveries were made in Dave Hewitt's personal vehicle. The kitchen fridge in the Hewitt's home was filled to the brim with cookie dough. With a large demand for edible raw cookie dough, the Hewitt's were able to upgrade Bliss Dough's infrastructure by moving the business to a storefront property located on 3 Watson Road South, Guelph, Ontario, Unit 6. With a larger space and more equipment, the objective of sustainable production became realistic.

Utilizing glass jars and double sealed labels, the amount of waste produced was minimized. Sampling of the product in house is an option for customers, and wooden spoons are provided for anyone interested. Ideas of how to better equip their business for the long term began to surface in the minds of Jess and Dave. Ideas such as the creation of a website to better assist customers, and starting a social media platform to reach the target demographic. These steps helped expand their customer base and introduce the idea of responsible and sustainable production into the dessert industry.

Now that the company has had increased revenue, Jess and Dave have discussed a few incentive proposals. One such proposal we refer to as the "Return incentive", which would incentivize the return of glass jars for future use. The incentive would award a credit for a future purchase per each returned glass container. As the business grows, the opportunity to implement change also grows.

Inspiration

The inspiration for the innovation came from self need. Jess is a lover of cookie dough and wanted a safe way to consume it. The Hewitts realized they could not be the only ones who enjoyed cookie dough, and saw the need for an edible raw brand which was safe for consumption.

"I was constantly making cookie dough to eat...there must be a market for it." says Jess. Jess received feedback from friends that the cookie dough was amazing and that she should continue with the idea for a business. Support and commitment from her husband Dave got the ball rolling.

Th Hewitt's would "...come home from full time jobs and make cookie dough for hours.." says Jess. In the early stages, delivery was dealt with by Dave in his personal vehicle, while Jess kept making dough on her off hours. Dave was instrumental in the creation and maintenance of the businesses website. Updating the site, fixing bugs, and making it a user friendly experience.

Overall impact

In the short term, Bliss Dough has gained revenue and increased its customer base. The utilization of social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have allowed them to keep their customers informed and up to date. Bliss dough was able to upgrade out of the Hewitt's home to a storefront location, thereby streamlining the production and packaging process.

Business benefit

This innovation has given life to the business. An innovative approach to a dessert dish filled a niche of demand in the market, and the Hewitt's decided to collect the benefits from it. Although the business is still small, it has already began taking steps to ensure social benefits. Utilizing its social media platforms to inform followers about local issues. Jess's motivation in terms of social benefits centers around animals, dogs to be specific. The Instagram platform of Bliss Dough has informed their customer base about local GoFund me pages in support of shelters and individual dogs. A recent outreach prompted The Delta hotels to donate towels to a canine shelter in need.

As the business has grown, the proprietors have used revenue to upgrade the production process, minimize waste, purchase sustainable inventory, and shed light on local canine support efforts. The innovation has benefited not only the business, but the local community around it. It has also given Jess and Dave an outlet for their passion, which is to make the community a better place in whatever way feasible. Whether that is helping local canine shelters or inspiring other businesses to reach out a helping hand, the innovation has benefited the business as well as the community.

Social and environmental benefit

The innovation allows for people to purchase glass containers of raw edible cookie dough with a small environmental footprint and an opportunity to change how traditional single use purchase containers are exchanged. Bliss Dough is planning to change their frequent purchase punch card credit system to a paperless tracking app, using up less rigid paper which is made by combining paper pulp with plastic. They are also planning to incentivize returns of the cookie dough containers. The plan is to provide a small discount on their next purchase to anyone who returns their glass container, allowing Bliss Dough to sterilize it and use it all over again.

This simple action not only is good for the environment and the customer, it reflects a consciousness within the business. A business culture can influence the surrounding business cultures. Once a strategy like this has been implemented it will rub off onto the community, showing that a business can and should benefit all stakeholders involved.

Interview

Jess Hewitt, Owner - General manager