S9 Ep71: Community Baked In: PACHA Bread’s Secret Ingredient with Maddie Hamann
“It’s a really interesting thing to figure out how to communicate the essence of something like [Pacha Bread] and the heart of what the product is. It’s a bread that could heal the planet and could heal our bodies. It’s something really magical.” –Maddie Hamann
Sometimes the best things in life take time to rise, especially when you’re trying to build something people truly crave. If finding your people or turning loyal customers into true believers seems out of reach, you may just need a new approach to building community around what matters.
Maddie Hamann left ocean science behind and got her hands messy by turning a simple, two-ingredient bread into a business that feeds both people and purpose. Her journey from a small kitchen to a nationwide brand proves that embracing transparency, adaptability, and values can transform skeptics into superfans.
Ready to see how the right mix turns business into a movement? Grab a slice of Maddie’s journey: jumping from academia to business, starting with almost nothing, adapting during a pandemic, the secrets behind simple bread done right, community-focused marketing, new product launches, and making business work with your spouse.
Connect with Maddie:
Maddie Hamann is the co-founder and Director of Marketing at PACHA Bread, a company renowned for its organic, gluten-free bread made from sprouted buckwheat and sea salt. With a background in oceanography, Maddie transitioned from academia to entrepreneurship, leveraging her skills in storytelling and communication to build a successful e-commerce business. Under her leadership, PACHA Bread has expanded its reach nationwide, offering innovative products that align with sustainable and regenerative farming practices. Maddie's commitment to high-integrity operations and her ability to connect with consumers have been pivotal in Pacha's growth and impact.
Episode Highlights:
02:23 PACHA Journey: Starting the Business and Navigating COVID
07:19 Building a Loyal Customer Community
13:11 The Power of Story: Real People, Real Brand
16:24 Navigating Career Shift— From Oceanography to Entrepreneurship
19:46 Co-Founders, Value, and Business Growth
22:00 New Products: Tortillas and Retail Expansion
24:30 Working with Your Spouse: Rewards and Challenges
Tweets:
The best recipes use simple ingredients and plenty of guts. Go behind the scenes of family teamwork, growing connection, surviving setbacks, and keeping it real in business as @justine.reichman sits with PACHA Bread co-founder, Maddie Hamann. #entrepreneurship #socialgood #inspiration #impactmatters #NextGenChef #EssentialIngredients #PACHABread #communityfirst #communitygrowth #ecommerce #purpose #startupgrind #values #sustainability
Inspirational Quotes:
06:37 “We actually made a move that doesn't make that much sense for a frozen bread product, but we decided to sell direct-to-consumer online, and we've actually built a very successful e-commerce branch. We can just directly communicate with our community of dedicated fans and buyers.” –Maddie Hamann
07:21 “Building your own community is not easy, and it doesn't happen overnight.” —Justine Reichman
09:46 “A lot of people can do things with integrity, but they don't know how to get the word out or how to build a community. That's a really big obstacle for people.” —Justine Reichman
10:30 “All of our buckwheat comes from several farms in the Midwest, in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota that are certified regenerative by the Soil and Climate Initiative. And all of our buckwheat is pesticide-free, toxin-free, and also does amazing things for the health of the soil. And our packaging is also home compostable.” –Maddie Hamann
15:14 “It's not just about selling something— it's about being vulnerable and sharing and education and information and understanding.” —Justine Reichman
18:00 “It’s a really interesting thing to figure out how to communicate the essence of something like [Pacha Bread] and the heart of what the product is. It’s a bread that could heal the planet and could heal our bodies. It’s something really magical.”
–Maddie Hamann
26:40 “All startup entrepreneurs probably struggle with this, but it just sometimes feels like we're working all the time. So, being really intentional to set time and have date nights where we don't talk about work is really important.” –Maddie Hamann
Transcription:
Justine Reichman: Good morning, and welcome to Essential Ingredients. I'm your host, Justine. Today with me is Maddie Hamann. I want to welcome all our loyal listeners, viewers and guests, and welcome you to today's episode. We're excited to talk with you, Maddie. I'm excited to learn more about PACHA, and Maddie is the Co-Founder, along with her husband and some other friends that they share a home with. We're excited to have you on to share your journey today, so if you would just introduce yourself, a little bit about PACHA, and then we'll get cracking and dig into the story just a little bit more.
Maddie Hamann: Great. Awesome. I'm Maddie, and I'm happy to be here today. I started PACHA Bread five and a half years ago with my now husband, and we make organic, gluten free bread from just two ingredients, just buckwheat and sea salt, sprouted buckwheat. And when I met my husband, he had this bread. We met at an event, and he had this bread. I hadn't been eating bread for years for a couple of different reasons. I just didn't feel good in my body. I would get tired and feel kind of just bloated. And I just eventually gave up on bread because even the gluten free stuff had stuff in it that was not feeling great in my body. So this bread that he brought was just made of buckwheat. And when he shared it with me, I couldn't believe it. I was like, wait, I can eat this. I can just eat this whenever I want. I started eating the bread. I started dating him, and then we started making the bread in our little community kitchen.
We lived in a house with a few other roommates, and everybody was making the bread and iterating on flavors, and people started asking us to make it for their events and asking if they could buy it from us. And we were like, okay, all right. If people want the bread, we probably need to figure out how to get it out into the world. My husband, Adam Hiner, is the co-founder of Boochcraft, which is a hard alcohol or high alcohol kombucha, the first one actually to market. His brother invented the process. So he had a background in building and scaling CPG businesses. I was an oceanographer at the time, and I was at the stage of my career where I realized that studying more about the climate, and learning more about it wasn't actually making any difference in the way people behaved. But I saw what Adam was doing with Boochcraft at the time. He was working in impact, and he was directing dollars towards helping farmers transition their farming practices and sequestering carbon by using these farming practices that were better for the planet. And so he started thinking about turning PACHA Bread into a company that is growing into what it is today. And I jumped on board, jumped ship, so to speak.
Justine Reichman: Not only did you start a company, you started a relationship and got married. I'm just painting a whole picture here. So tell me, when did you guys first meet? What year was that?
Maddie Hamann: We met in 2018, before covid.
Justine Reichman: This business in its early days through covid.
Maddie Hamann: Yeah. We actually opened, so all the gears were in motion. We had signed a lease for a very small commissary kitchen, like a 350 square foot kitchen, and we had our partners. We partnered with, as you mentioned, our current housemates and owners of Trilogy Sanctuary. It's a vegan restaurant in San Diego that's beloved, it's amazing. They couldn't find organic, gluten free bread then so they partnered with us to bring PACHA Bread into the market. Everything was all lined up, and then covid hit. So in some ways, it was crazy and terrible. And in other ways, it was actually like a totally fine time to start a business because food production is one of the only things that didn't get shut down completely in those first few weeks, so we were still operating. And the other little silver lining, I guess, was that my brother, who was working at events at the time, completely lost his work, and we hired him as our first employee to bake bread, and he still works for us. He's our logistics.
Justine Reichman: Manager, wow. So it's interesting because you had a little commissary kitchen, but you didn't have a standalone store, right? So that probably was helpful because that would have been challenging in those times. You would have had to completely change the model. So once you came out of covid, how did that change what you guys were doing in the business? Did it change anything? What were the opportunities that came up during covid that maybe you might not have thought of, that you took advantage of? And then what did it look like after?
Maddie Hamann: This is a great question. So the main thing, we always planned to scale into retail and be a food manufacturer that then sold into grocery stores. That was the plan. And in fact, while we were in that 350 square foot kitchen right from day one, we were pitching Whole Foods. We were like, we want Whole Foods national. We're going to do it, which is crazy. We could not have filled Whole Foods national from that 350 square foot kitchen. Ridiculous. But the good thing, the blessing and the curse was that a lot of the retailers, a lot of the buyers at the grocery stores were just kind of not reviewing their doors. They were just trying to keep things under wraps. Sourcing was crazy, and everything was crazy. They weren't changing over products in the way that they normally would. So even though we were pitching our bread to these different stores, no one was taking it in the first couple of years. So we actually made a move that doesn't make that much sense for a frozen bread product, but we decided to sell direct to consumer online. We worked with a friend of ours who had some experience in that space, and we've actually built a very successful e-commerce branch of our business with higher margins, and it's really wonderful. We have now built up a large email list, and we own our customers, so to speak, but we can just directly communicate with our community of dedicated fans and buyers. So yeah, we never would have done that.
“Building your own community is not easy, and it doesn't happen overnight.” —Justine Reichman
Justine Reichman: I can imagine. But building your own community, it's not easy, and it doesn't happen overnight. People are like, if you build it, they will come well. That's not a thing. It takes a lot of hard work, strategy and being scrappy. So can you talk a little bit about what worked for you in that process to build that community, those loyal fans to create a successful business.
Maddie Hamann: For sure. I think there's a couple of components. The first one is just really what we're selling. We make one of the only organic foods. At the time when we started the business, there was not an organic, gluten free option available nationwide. There were some areas where you could get one that was local. Just nothing organic in the gluten free aisle, but we're just making a product that has a lot of integrity. It's allergen free, unless you're allergic to buckwheat, which is like .00001% of the American population, you can eat our bread. We make it from sprouted buckwheat, so we maximize nutritional benefits. It's not actually a grain, it's a pseudo cereal. It's a seed. The buckwheat plant is actually fun fact is not a grass. It's not like wheat at all. It's like a field of white flowers, and then the seeds of those flowers are what you harvest. It's really beautiful.
Justine Reichman: In college, people would go buy pancake mix and everything. I would only buy this buckwheat. I don't know why I was not a bread person, but I like these buckwheat pancakes. I think because they weren't as sweet. It had a different consistency and flavor. So when I learned about PACHA, I was excited because it's another way that I can also eat buckwheat, which I really like. It's a little less sweet. I like that sort of texture, it's a little bit different. And I am gluten free.
Maddie Hamann: It checks the boxes for people. And I'm saying that it's just a really high integrity operation that we're running here, and you can tell.
Justine Reichman: It's high integrity. I know that there's a lot of things that are high integrity, but you've done something that's really amazing. You've taken a high integrity business with your intention, and built it out so that it was successful. Because a lot of people can do things with integrity, but they don't know how to get the word out, or they don't know how to build a community. So I'm curious because I think that's a really big obstacle for people. So to make that happen, what does that look like?
Maddie Hamann: For us, like I said, the e-commerce piece has been actually super crucial. Because in order to acquire customers, we were advertising on meta. We advertise, we put out the word that we're making this bread that's unlike anything else on the market. People get interested. They come to our website, we get their email address, and then we start sharing with them all about our practices. And specifically about our regenerative farming practices. So all of our buckwheat comes from several farms in the Midwest, in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota that are certified regenerative by the soil and climate initiative. And all of our buckwheat is, one, pesticide free, toxin free, and also doing amazing things for the health of the soil. It's sequestering carbon. It is allowing water to go into the ground. It is providing food for pollinators. It's doing incredible things for the planet. And our packaging is also home compostable. So it's kind of a funny thing. We don't lead with that story.
Because unfortunately, it is just what it is. But most people want to buy food that's going to do something good for their bodies, so that's what we lead with. We lead with what's good for your body. And then after we have your attention, we talk about, okay, here's the other things. Here's the other reasons why this is so good for you, good for everyone and our planet. And then also just super tactical, totally strategy. We started doing a program only through e-commerce where we're doing a monthly special release. So every month, we put out a new flavor, like a carrot cake, a chocolate, cherry, or pumpkin spice, or high protein sacha inchi blueberry, and that has done wonders for us in terms of keeping our customers really engaged with our email list. Also just providing a place where people feel like, oh, my gosh, this is so cool. We actually do take the customer feedback, look at it and say, this is what our customers want. Let's make this. This sounds like a fun idea. Let's do this. So there is actually a touch point and feedback with our community. And yeah, that's been really essential, I think, in maintaining health.
Justine Reichman: So hearing you correctly, what you're saying about building that community was basically you did some ads, and you integrated education into this information and engagement by asking people what they want to keep them connected so that they were interested in the newsletter or your updates, and you feel like that's what created the successful and engaged community that you have. Am I hearing you right?
Maddie Hamann: I also do really think that there's an element of our brand that's just me and Adam as founders connecting directly with people, and sharing our story really authentically. We'll do things in our newsletter, talk about, we're building an earthen home right now out of soil from our land, it's called Super Adobe. Not related to the business at all, but it is related to our values, which are like, if we're going to build a home, we want to do it in the most sustainable way that we can,, and have the least impact on our planet. So we just really authentically share our story.
Justine Reichman: And I think people want to get to know the people behind things as well, what are your intentions, and how are you living, and be aspirational for them. Because if you're building this gluten free, regenerative, organic bread that's better for people and better for the planet, what else are you doing within your life to support that lifestyle? And equally, I do the same thing. We just launched a new newsletter, part of it, called Wisdom, Wellness and WTF Moments: My 50+ Journey, because I'm 53. While it's not exactly about Essential Ingredients, the podcast and the intersection of food and sustainability as we've been talking about it, we've expanded that conversation to include health, beauty, fashion, lifestyle and planet. So then it connects, and it gives people a broader sense, which I think is what you're saying that you're doing with yours as well. So to dig a little deeper and get to know who's Maddie, who's your husband, who are these people that they're enamored with, and the business that they're building, what else are they doing?
I think that that's a really good lesson for people, or insight, I should say. Because it's not just about selling something, it's about being vulnerable, sharing, education, information and understanding, which are all the things that you're bringing to the table when you're sharing your newsletter. It's personal, it's educational, it's informational, and it enables people to make more informed choices, and participate in the conversation, and know that you're listening and you hear them. Because then each month, you're coming out with something new, so that's super exciting. I'm curious like, so here you are, you met your boyfriend, now husband, and you guys started this business. And before this, you were an oceanographer. But that being said, it sounds like you were knee deep in research, education and a lot of that. And so how did that translate into being an entrepreneur? I know that you said your husband had scaled businesses, so you had that to lean into, of course. But what were the skills and resources that you tapped into from your experience, that you could bring to the table, that you feel like are really integral to your growth here? Or was it just life experience or an innate entrepreneurial spirit within you?
“It’s a really interesting thing to figure out how to communicate the essence of something like [Pacha Bread] and the heart of what the product is. It’s a bread that could heal the planet and could heal our bodies. It’s something really magical.” –Maddie Hamann
Maddie Hamann: All of the above, I think so. I was an observational oceanographer, which means that I was actually going out to sea, and the groups that I worked with would win grants and organize a lab, and then organize people out at sea, analyze the data, and then write papers. So there was a lot of administration. I actually won my own grant, collected my own data, and wrote my thesis off of that. I did a lot that was not just crunching data as a PhD student. So all of that is definitely directly transferred. But also, I think that there's something kind of intangible. And actually, my PhD advisor used to always say this. He was like, you can write. I can't teach students how to write. This is how to communicate ideas in a way that can't be taught. And what I realized, I went into oceanography thinking like, oh, I need to put my math and science. I have such a strong background in these hard skills. I need to put those to good use for humanity. And I realized in the second half of my PhD that my gift to the world actually is that I know how to connect with people. So a lot of what I bring to PACHA is the storytelling. I'm the director of marketing. Now, I never thought I was going to be in the world of marketing. I can tell you that much for sure. But yeah, it's a really interesting thing to figure out how to communicate the essence of something like, what we were talking about is the heart of what this product is like. It's a bread that could heal the planet, and could heal our bodies. It's something really magical. But to then translate that and communicate it in a way that grabs people's attention, and allows the story to unfold for people. There's a creative aspect there that I don't think is necessarily from my PhD training, but it's more for a life experience.
Justine Reichman: Just being an entrepreneur is very different from being a researcher or doing something like that. So what was that transition like for you?
Maddie Hamann: It's been slowly unfolding. I would say at first, I came into PACHA when I joined the team. My role was an administrative assistant. I was still a post doctoral scholar, and I was on the side. I was doing administrative work for PACHA. It was kind of like, as I continued to learn and grow the skills in marketing, essentially, I was able to release my safety net of the job that I was working, and I have learned and continue to lean on my husband so much. Having his experience has given me this sense of trust that even when I don't know what needs to be done together, we can figure it out.
Justine Reichman: And then, of course, you have the other co-founders too, right? And they own a vegan restaurant. So what role do they play? How do you guys all integrate?
Maddie Hamann: That's a great and interesting question. So in the beginning, we were very involved. They were very, very involved in the day to day. Their knowledge of running a business, at the level that they were running it, and like a local eatery was very, very tangible. They also have a lot of connections through being a well known, beloved vegan restaurant. They have a lot of connections to people who are just doing great things, and putting their energy into quality products and services. And so we've gotten a lot of fundraising with our founding team. They continue to bring in a lot of the friends and family money that continues to fuel our business. And their role is less about the day to day strategy of how to run the business, and more in the realm of like, how can PACHA execute the mission? What are we really here to do? How can we continue impact? And holding the values, and aligning the values with a strategy that will allow us to grow.
Justine Reichman: Yeah. I think that's important, especially as you continue to raise money. And if you were to ever go institutional, I don't know that you would or wouldn't, to be able to integrate that into your board and make sure that that's part of it so that it doesn't get lost, I think, is really so important.
Maddie Hamann: For me, it's critical. I'm doing this because of the potential for the impact. And if that gets lost, I'm just not going to do it anymore, honestly.
Justine Reichman: So you guys have been doing this for a few years now, and it seems like it's grown organically, and you guys have done a lot whether it be scrappy, hard work at the beginning, to then transitioning to be more strategic with how you built things out. What can we expect to see in the next few years, or the next three years?
Maddie Hamann: One thing you can definitely expect to see is tortillas. So up until now, we've mostly been focused on bread and English muffins. Earlier this year, we launched our sprouted sourdough tortillas on our website. Those will be rolling out in retail next year, so you'll be able to get those at your grocery store.
Justine Reichman: Is there any exciting news that you want to share?
Maddie Hamann: Yes. I do want to share that we are going to be launching into Sprouts. We're actually doing that right now. We're hitting the shelves. So hit or miss, you might be able to find it at Sprouts today. And yeah, they'll be carrying two of our bread flavors, and then also our two flavors of English muffins. Our English muffins are our top seller, and I have to say that they're my favorite.
Justine Reichman: So what are your favorite flavors?
Maddie Hamann: My go to is the original English muffin. I eat it probably every morning, and I really enjoy the multi seed bread. It's just like a really hearty seed bread. I feel really nourished, and it keeps me full for a long time. So those are the two that I like.
Justine Reichman: When you say that you're going to be in Sprouts, I know that you're in San Diego. Are they rolling it out in like 10 stores, or 5 stores, or everywhere? Can we see it in Northern California?
Maddie Hamann: Nationwide. So if you have Sprouts, they will have PACHA Bread.
Justine Reichman: Wow, that's a big win. That's big to fulfill.
Maddie Hamann: We're already nationwide in Whole Foods, and we have distribution in a lot of independence and small chains in different regions. So yeah, this is just the next step. We're excited, and we're actually going to be growing into a few more locations, which we'll announce a little later this year. But yeah, PACHA is growing. And hopefully, you'll be able to find it close to you.
Justine Reichman: So for those folks that maybe want to learn more about PACHA, or maybe order directly from you, what's the best way to go about doing that?
Maddie Hamann: Definitely, visit our website, livepacha.com. I recommend signing up for our newsletter because you will start to get information about our business. But also, you'll get subscribed to the mailing list and get updates about our special flavors. You asked what my favorite flavor is. My favorite flavor is carrot cake, but we only have it like once a year or so. It's not my go to.
Justine Reichman: I'm curious, Maddie, what is it like to work with your husband?
Maddie Hamann: It's great. I love working with my husband. I know that not everybody could do it. But when we first started the business, maybe six months before, I told him that I wanted to join PACHA Bread. He had told me that he didn't think it was a good idea for me to work on one of his other businesses with him just because it gets messy, right? If we were to break up, what would happen? But when I told him that I wanted to work on the business, he was like, I can't say no to that. He's too good. We'll have to do it. It's been really smooth sailing. I would say the most challenging thing about working on the business with my husband is that we sometimes don't set up containers to talk about the business. We just kind of assume that, oh, we see each other all the time, we're going to talk about these things. And then we realize, wow, we really need to schedule a meeting and have a virtual call, and really talk about the business.
Justine Reichman: You said virtual call?
Maddie Hamann: Well, he works at the facility. Sometimes, we got to do it.
Justine Reichman: I'm imagining you both in the airstream, or both at the plant or something. I guess it's the same thing. You have your office there, and he's got his office there. You're both doing different things, so you might get off site.
Maddie Hamann: Exactly. And sometimes, we do get to meet in person. Most of the time when we talk about stuff, we're in person. It just gets challenging to be like, okay, I don't want to have a virtual meeting with him. That's weird. But sometimes, it needs to happen. So that's one challenge. And I think all startup entrepreneurs probably struggle with this, but it just sometimes feels like we're working all the time. We just don't turn it off. We're always in PACHA mode to some degree. So being really intentional to set time and have date nights where we don't talk about work is really important.
Justine Reichman: What would your husband say about working with you? Is there anything that you know he might share? What do you think he thinks?
Maddie Hamann:One thing I will say is, really, I just trust. I know that Adam has got his piece of the business, and he knows that I have mine. There's just a lot of trust with the capacity and skillfulness. We both respect and trust each other on that. He might say that I'm not always awesome at answering emails. Like, ah, we'll talk about that later. And then, yeah.
Justine Reichman: I would blame it on Google because of the way they do the gmails. Sometimes, they get lost if six people are on it and they respond. First email, I don't know what we're talking about anymore. Thank you so much for joining us today. I want to thank our guests for tuning in, whether you're watching us on YouTube on our Essential Ingredients channel, or tuning into Spotify, or wherever you listen to your podcasts, make sure to sign up for our newsletter, it's a new sub staff that we just put out. We want to hear from you. We want to engage. We want to hear what you want to hear so that we can make sure to deliver content that is interesting to you. So again, we're at Essential Ingredients. For Instagram, essential.ingredients. And for YouTube, it's at Essential Ingredients. We look forward to continuing our conversations. And Maddie, again, thank you so much for joining in today.
