E1: Welcome to the Perfect Rise Conversations with the RBA!

In this inaugural episode, host Kimberly Houston sits down with Marissa Velie to dive deep into the heart of the Retail Bakers of America (RBA)—a community dedicated to supporting bakers at every stage of their journey. Whether you're a seasoned bakery owner, a student just starting out, or an independent baker looking for guidance, the RBA is here to help you rise to your fullest potential.

In this episode, we cover:

• The mission of the RBA and how it serves the baking community
• Who can benefit from RBA membership
• Exclusive benefits, from networking to certification programs
• How the RBA has evolved over the past 100+ years to meet modern baking challenges
• Inspiring success stories and why community is key in the baking industry

Want to get involved? Join the RBA today and become part of a thriving network of passionate bakers. Visit retailbakersofamerica.org to learn more.

Follow the RBA on social media for updates and industry insights:
Instagram: @retailbakersofamerica
Facebook: Retail Bakers of America

If you enjoyed this episode, like, comment, and subscribe for more inspiring bakery conversations.

#RetailBakers #BakingCommunity #BakersOfAmerica #RBA #PerfectRiseConversations #BakerySuccess #BakingBusiness #SmallBusinessOwners #BakingTips

Become a Member

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to the RBA and Its Mission
• 3:14 Membership Benefits and Community Support
• 5:36 Evolution of the RBA Over the Years
• 7:31 Getting Involved with the RBA
• 9:56 Success Stories and Certification Highlights
• 12:33 Encouragement for Potential Members

Transcript

Kimberly Houston (00:01.268)
This episode of the Perfect Rise Conversations with the RBA is brought to you by the Retail Bakers of America, your community, your resource, and your advocate in the baking industry. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting your baking journey, the RBA is here to help you rise to your fullest potential and now help me welcome our first guest, Marissa. Marissa, welcome to the podcast. How are you?

Marissa Velie (00:25.079)
Well Kimberly, thank you so much. I'm excited to be here.

Kimberly Houston (00:28.558)
I cannot wait to get into this conversation with you so that we can let our listeners know what the RBA is all about. So I have a couple of questions for you. that's okay, we can jump right in. All right. So can you tell us what is the mission of the Retail Bakers of America and how does it serve the baking community?

Marissa Velie (00:39.11)
Yes, absolutely.

Marissa Velie (00:48.242)
The retail bakers of America are really here for community. We are here to bring bakers together, to provide them with education and resources to thrive in the industry. That's what we're all about.

Kimberly Houston (00:59.374)
Yes, I love it. Okay, can you tell me like who would be the primary members for the RBA and what unique challenges do they face in their business?

Marissa Velie (01:12.54)
Sure, so we have a lot of different types of members. Our primary membership are in our name. They're the retail bakeries across the country. We have small retail bakeries like Mom and Pops that have single stores. And then we also have larger retail bakery members. That being said, we also have students in our membership, culinary schools, allied suppliers, and also independent bakers as well. So we have a pretty broad range.

of membership, if you are in the baking community that touches retail in any way, shape or form, like really we have resources for you. and about challenges that are facing those bakers, it really depends on where you are in the industry and when you are in your career. So again, we offer resources to bakers that are just starting. So if you're a student, you know, some of those challenges might be finding a network, finding support.

And we have that for that subset of our community. If you're a bakery owner, you know, it might be finding new hires or ingredient costs and things like that. And again, we have a network to support you in that. With schools, they have their own, you know, set of needs and our allied suppliers as well. So wherever you are in membership, there are unique challenges in the industry.

But then also we have a unique set of resources for those folks as well.

Kimberly Houston (02:39.554)
Mm-hmm.

Kimberly Houston (02:45.592)
Lovely. The RBA is covering all of the people in the baking industry. So if someone is listening to this and they are thinking about becoming a member, what would a benefit of the RBA be? So what would people gain being a part of the organization?

Marissa Velie (03:06.406)
The number one benefit of the RBA is this community you gain. I think it's really easy, especially as a retail owner of a shop, to become sort of this little island and to be really isolated in your business. And with the RBA, you're able to connect to other people that understand your experience and also the unique aspects of your business. So what you gain is this...

Of course, we have education and certification, all these other elements to your membership with RBA, but you also gain this network of really well-informed, really successful business people, suppliers, things like that. So it's an incredible community support. We have something in RBA called RBA Connect, and it's our forum. So members can post on that forum.

Kimberly Houston (03:59.352)
Mm-hmm.

Marissa Velie (04:05.946)
and get great responses to their questions about all sorts of things. We just had someone post about, know, sheet pans and, you know, fixing up their sheet pans and what's the process and what do you do? Like, you send them out to get them recoded. We get great responses to that or formulas. There's a formula library, but also our members might have their own formulas that they're so willing and generously share with

Kimberly Houston (04:17.944)
Hmm.

Kimberly Houston (04:35.394)
Mm-hmm.

Marissa Velie (04:35.836)
people that ask their questions. So number one benefit of RBA is this amazing community that comes with being a part of an association.

Kimberly Houston (04:47.798)
I love it. Okay, so here's a question for people who may not know how long RBA has been around. Can you tell us how the RBA has evolved over the years to stay relevant within the baking industry?

Marissa Velie (05:01.842)
Yeah, so the RBA has been around for over 100 years. And so there's just been a long standing presence in the industry. And I think what has happened is what retail bakeries look like has evolved over time. There are non-traditional business models now, especially with e-commerce that may not have existed even 15 years ago.

especially with the onset of COVID and things going online, e-commerce has blown up in the baking industry and having that online presence, whether it's ordering online and having delivery, whether it's using a third-party system of some sort to get your product out there. These are all things that have changed in the industry. Also, I think just the offerings have changed.

Right? What is being produced in bakeries? Even 50 years ago, the variety of products being sold in the United States is not what it is today. There's a lot more international influence in American baked goods. And also the products being used, the ingredients being used are much more diverse than they were with different grain varieties, different types of flours. All of that has expanded.

Kimberly Houston (06:05.656)
Mm-hmm.

Marissa Velie (06:27.6)
and really diversified the baking industry in a way that is, it's really exciting to see.

Kimberly Houston (06:33.578)
Mm-hmm. Agreed. Lovely. Okay, so let's talk about membership involvement, right? So if someone wants to join the RBA, once they're inside, let's kind of pull back the veil and let them know what's happening in there. So what are some ways that bakers, educators, or suppliers can get involved with the RBA?

Marissa Velie (06:56.242)
So I mentioned before RBA Connect. That's a really easy way to get involved, get your voice out there, get your questions answered. The second is our events. So if you go to the RBA website, there's a tab that's events and education, and you go and you can check out all of our webinars. We have tons of resources there. We have webinars happening a couple times a month that I recommend everyone check out. And there's a lot of different topics. A lot of them are the business of baking,

So different challenges our bakers might face in terms of like succession planning, hiring. We have one coming up about the seasonality of bakeries. So these are the type of topics we're addressing in our webinars. And all of our members either can access those for free at a discount versus non-members. And some are member exclusive events as well. On that events tab, there's also in-person events that people can attend.

We are a national organization, so we do our best to jump around geographically from east to west coast and have events periodically throughout the year. One of my favorite types of events that we do are the RBA road shows, which are a day of education and also bakery tours. So we all jump on a bus in a certain city and we visit a bunch of bakeries. And it's a great way for members to get to know each other on the bus and also to see

Kimberly Houston (08:09.89)
Mm-hmm.

Marissa Velie (08:26.13)
businesses in action. So those are a couple ways people can get involved. And also I would mention the trade shows. So RBA gets involved with lots of different trade shows. IBI being the biggest one that happens every three years in Las Vegas. The one coming up is 2025 in September. So this year coming up and our members get access and discounts to those trade shows.

Kimberly Houston (08:28.61)
I love it.

Kimberly Houston (08:51.764)
Nice. If I wasn't already here, I would be joining right now. It is in so many things and I'm so glad we're having this conversation so people can know what exactly is being offered at the RBA, which could probably change the life of their business if they became a member. I'm loving this conversation. Let's keep it rolling. Can you tell us, I guess, something that you would consider a success story or a highlight?

Marissa Velie (08:55.218)
It's a lot of great things.

Kimberly Houston (09:21.41)
that is bringing value to people who are members of the RBA.

Marissa Velie (09:27.524)
Absolutely. One of my favorite stories of success in the RBA is within certification, actually. We have three different levels of baking certification. We have certified journey bakers, that are those just starting out in their craft, certified bakers that have four plus years experience, and then certified master bakers that are 10 plus years.

And sometimes we see people go through this full process from certified journey Baker to certified Baker to certified master Baker. And then at the end of that journey, which you might think was the end, right? Master Baker, you've achieved the thing. And my favorite part of the RBA is how involved our certified master bakers are. So a lot of them will turn around and then become judges and trained to become judges within the RBA and then mentor the community. So

Kimberly Houston (10:03.884)
Mm-hmm.

Marissa Velie (10:19.728)
We have a couple of incredible lead judges right now with the RBA, Leanne Adams, Heather Moore and Heidi Hediker. They're all CNBs that have now become lead judges. And the way that they get involved with those training for their certification is incredible. They develop these real personal connections with people that are wanting to achieve this level of their craft.

And I think that is, to me, that is an incredible success that we have people go through this process of training and that feel compelled to then stay within the community and continue to teach. So when we go to the CSU certifications, it's almost like a reunion, right? When the judges get together, because sometimes they've met at exams. So you see candidates test together and get to know each other.

And sometimes commiserate together on the challenges that they're facing and they stay connected. And then I hear about this later on. I tested with so and so and my gosh, I call them all the time or I call her all the time for advice or this or that. And that's what I love to see. That is the success. It's again, creating this really strong network of bakers. So you have a support system.

Kimberly Houston (11:36.558)
I love that so much. So before we wrap this up, we definitely want to speak to people who are maybe on the fence about joining the RBA or not. So for any listeners who aren't yet members, why should they consider joining the RBA?

Marissa Velie (11:58.355)
If you're in the baking industry, come try us out, know, join, see what it's like for a year, but then get involved. So if you're not a member yet and you're on the fence, give it a try. But then it's kind of on you, right? You have to, it's what you put in. So post to RBA Connect, come to the event, utilize the benefits that we provide.

And then it's kind of this gift that keeps giving because then the network gets bigger and bigger and more robust and kind of the excitement builds and it's this momentum that you get out of membership. So that's what I would say to someone that's on the fence, know, join for the community and give us a try because I think it is a beautifully sharing baking community that we have. And every time we gather in person, it's exciting.

Because it's like those CMB exams. It's like a reunion of friends that come together in this incredible support system.

Kimberly Houston (13:01.216)
Agreed. And I think the one thing we're all looking for, particularly now, is community. So I think that's super helpful. If you can, tell the listeners where they can go to learn more about the RBA and how to get involved.

Marissa Velie (13:14.46)
To get involved with the RBA, go to retailbakersofamerica.org. And also you can follow us on all the social media things, Facebook, Instagram, at retailbakersofamerica. And make sure you come check us out, come say hello.

Kimberly Houston (13:30.087)
Lovely. Is there anything else you would like people to know before we sign off?

Marissa Velie (13:36.786)
I am just genuinely passionate about this community and this industry. And if you aren't familiar with us yet, if you haven't taken advantage of the resources, even if you're a current member and maybe haven't gone to an in-person event, I implore you to come and get to know us better.

Kimberly Houston (13:54.836)
I love it so much Marissa. Thank you for being the first guest on the new RBA podcast. Here at the RBA we believe in rising together, one baker, one recipe, and one success story at a time. We'll see you guys on the next episode.

Marissa Velie (14:10.738)
Thank you.