Today we’d like to introduce you to Irum Mahmood.
Hi Irum, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Seven years ago, I was a sophomore in college and was looking to change my major to something that truly interested me. After a lot of exploration, I decided that Nutrition and Food Sciences was something that had always caught my eye and I felt as though there was a lot of practical implementation of what I’d learn to my personal life. I have dealt with depression, anxiety, and a disordered relationship with food before and really wanted to understand the connection between what we eat and how it affects us mentally, emotionally, and physically.
I graduated from the California State University, Sacramento in 2017 and had met my soulmate in my last semester of college. As I was a new graduate and had not decided if I wanted to work or go to graduate school yet, when my husband had an offer to move us from Northern California to Knoxville, TN where he had grown up years earlier, we took the leap. After three years of adjusting to life in Knoxville, exploring the beautiful mountains and what the Southeast had to offer I came to the realization that I was destined to do something for this community. I had come to love all of the local businesses, following many on social media and how their journeys had connected them and woven them into the beautiful, diverse fabric of the city.
Around this same time my mother, who had been a type-2 diabetic for 7+ years was told by her doctors that she could now stop her medication and no longer had a need for it. A result that had come after many years of her totally adjusting her diet, baking low carb goods for herself, and we as a family truly saw that the change in her diet helped her manage her chronic disease. I had started baking with my mom as a child and grew up seeing how her baking and cooking adapted to how she was feeling and the low-carb lifestyle she lived. Flash forward to the middle of the pandemic in July of 2020, I was tired, uninspired from my job, and felt like a major change was on the horizon. I realized that I ultimately wanted to turn my healthier baking hobby into a passion and started in my home shortly after my 25th birthday.
The response left me speechless. All I had were some mixing bowls, a couple of sheet pans, and a dream to fill a need for those who had to eat for the goal of managing a chronic disease such as diabetes or celiac disease or those who wished to eat low carb or keto. There was no place for that prior to Inny’s in Knoxville and I wanted to be the first to include those who needed these options. Everything that I made had to meet the criteria of being gluten-free, sugar-free, and low carb, and every week, I tested and altered and adjusted 3-4 recipes until I was confident in my product. I hired one of my closest friends to deliver the goods locally after I baked them in my home for 10-12 hours straight in my two-rack home oven.
I am so thankful for how it has all turned out, I really couldn’t have imagined it to be like this but the experience reinforces the idea that there should be healthier and more inclusive options for those who cannot compromise their health but want to enjoy dessert or bread or those who just wish to eat something different without sacrificing taste and texture. I use my nutrition knowledge to make sure that our goods are low glycemic, 100% gluten-free, low carb, and are convenient for our customers to grab and go for their busy lifestyles. We use powerhouse ingredients and are looking to transition from our current 50% organic ingredients to 80% or more in the upcoming year. Additionally, we are looking to include vegan options on our website as well.
Here we are now, two commercial kitchens and a year and a half later, and have just earned our certification from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture which allows us to wholesale, ship nationwide, and participate in markets. After going viral on TikTok twice, we are confident that our products can change the narrative on sugarless, healthier goods being flavorless and gross to be delicious and fulfilling as many of our customers have reported our goods to be.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been smooth in some aspects and challenging in others. I found many resources online for how to expand my small business and I found the initial research of everything very easy. However, I have realized throughout building Inny’s Bake Shop that getting our own space without terrible interest-bearing loans is a big challenge.
Personally, I am not interested in growing that way and of course, that makes the process a little bit more challenging. The pandemic has really made a lot of small business owners question the trajectory of their business and how to constantly evolve to keep up with the changes in buying patterns and trends. We are learning as we go and are saving up for our very own kitchen one day.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are 100% gluten-free, sugar-free, and low carb. Ideally making us diabetic-friendly, celiac-friendly, and keto-friendly. Though everybody is different and responds to certain things differently. We are woman-owned, Muslim American-owned, minority-owned and are very proud of our heritage, background, and contribution to the diversity of business owners in Knoxville.
We are so proud of how we have conducted ourselves by making connections and community efforts locally and now across state lines, we love collaboration and believe there is enough business to go around for everyone. We love our fellow small businesses and are very community-oriented.
We offer a new menu online for purchase for local delivery or USA nationwide shipping. Our website is innysbakeshop.com. We also do custom birthdays, anniversaries, wedding cakes, and more!
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Never put all of your eggs in one basket. Diversify your business, explore new ways of expanding and growing and always hop on new social media platforms and stay with the times.
Pricing:
- We price our items anywhere from $5-100 depending on the item
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@innysbakeshop.com
- Website: innysbakeshop.com
- Instagram: @innysbakeshop
- Facebook: @innysbakeshop
- Yelp: @innysbakeshop
- TikTok: @innysbakeshop
