The History of ovgo Baker②

This time, we will look back on ovgo Baker's history, from its beginnings at the Aoyama Farmers Market.

2020/1-3 Participation in Aoyama Farmers Market

January 26, 2020 (Sunday), This was my first time setting up a stall at Aoyama Farmers Market, a place I'd always wanted to try out !

On weekdays when we were able to prepare, we gathered in the kitchen and started baking cookies, making hand-painted tapestries, and preparing for the first day a little at a time.
We didn't finish labeling at all as planned (we didn't have a labeler so we printed out copies, cut them up with scissors, and attached them one by one with double-sided tape. I'm sure we'll have to struggle with packing a lot in the future...), so each person took their packed items home and labelled them at home until the early hours of the morning.

And then, our first Farmers Market!
I was excited when I first set up a stall at a market where I had previously only been a customer. It was also fun to be able to talk to the other stall owners around me, who were all making delicious food, about all sorts of things, going from being in the position of shopkeeper-customer to being in the position of a fellow shopkeeper.

All items were sold out on the first day!!!
I also have fond memories of many customers tasting the food and saying, "It's so delicious I couldn't believe it's vegan."

We have been setting up a stall once every two weeks since Sunday, January 26, 2020, and we have gradually become acquainted with other stall holders, and ovgo Baker has gradually become familiar with the market. A teenage customer who came to the market after setting up a stall at the market a few times said this to us.

"My parents are vegan, so I've only ever eaten vegan food since I was born, but when I found ovgo cookies at Airstream Garden and tried them, they were the best I've ever tasted. I saw your Instagram and came to the Aoyama Farmers Market to buy some."

I still remember those words and they continue to encourage us.
I was happy that people took the time to follow my store on Instagram and come shopping there, and I also found it rewarding to feel that I was able to help people who are trying to go vegan in some way.

For us who want to do work that helps people even in some way, it was really nice to hear about it directly in this way, and it made us want to work even harder.

2020/4-6 The coronavirus pandemic hits. BASE takes off!

Just as I was finally getting used to the market and the weather was starting to get warmer, the coronavirus restrictions on going out began.

At that time, I was selling at a biweekly market and at several cafes, but both were closed due to the COVID-19 restrictions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I took a break from ovgo Baker's cookie activities and would occasionally get together to think about recipes other than cookies, thinking about whether to resume after the pandemic.

Meanwhile, orders started coming in little by little for the BASE online shop that I had set up from the beginning.

I was making them little by little in the workshop, but one day, no matter how much I baked, I still couldn't finish making all the orders for that day. I was supposed to finish by the evening, but it was already night.
I wondered if we had received so many orders, and when I checked again, I realized that I had made three times as many chocolates as we needed. (The founding members of ovgo often make mistakes like this.)

Since there's no point in having so many, I thought I'd try putting them on sale as a bonus in my e-commerce shop, and I casually posted about it on my story, and for some reason, I ended up receiving a lot of orders!!!

Around this time, I gave some cookies as a gift to a food influencer. They posted about it on their stories, and a friend who happened to have ordered cookies gave some to her best friend who is a model, who then featured them in a magazine. During the COVID-19 pandemic, my exposure gradually increased, and my Instagram followers gradually increased.
So, far from being on holiday, I've been busier than ever with the manufacturing and shipping of orders from BASE. Packing and shipping is surprisingly hard for online shops.

Although there was no timetable for the reopening of the Aoyama Farmers Market,
Around Golden Week, the cafe gradually reopened, and I was able to open a market in front of a local cafe. Not only EC, but we were also able to resume wholesale and events.
Around this time, we started serving it at cafes we still have relationships with, such as Almond Hostel in Yoyogi Park and Matcha Tokyo. Both are great places, so I definitely recommend you go and try them!

2020/7 To the cookie shop

We heard the news that the Aoyama Farmers Market might reopen in July (although it ended up not reopening, which is a bit sad after all), and in the summer of 2020 we officially became a cookie shop!

We currently have a stall at the Aoyama Farmers Market, where ovgo Baker originated, on the third Saturday and Sunday of every month!!!
Please come and have a wonderful weekend!