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From Single Mum to 140 Staff: How Jenna Sanders Built Kenilworth Bakery
Description
Jenna Sanders was 21 years old, a single mum with two kids…
And decided to buy a bakery.
No systems. No tech. No real plan.
Just grit, fresh product, and a vision to turn a small country bakery into a destination people would drive hours for.
Fast forward 10 years:
4 locations. 140 staff. Thousands of donuts sold every single day.
And one viral moment that changed everything.
In this episode, Jenna breaks down the real story behind Kenilworth Bakery. From $500 days and handwritten notebooks… to going viral with a kilo donut… to building a scalable, profitable business without losing the “magic” that made it special.
This is a masterclass in branding, social media, team culture, and knowing your numbers.
You’ll hear:
00:00 – From single mum to buying a bakery at 24
05:00 – The early days: $500 revenue and starting from scratch
08:00 – The kilo donut that went viral (3.5M views overnight)
12:30 – Handling explosive demand with no systems in place
16:00 – Using social media as free marketing (before it was normal)
20:00 – Why going viral means nothing without a great product
24:00 – Bringing in structure: the role of Jenna’s brother
27:30 – The simple data shift that made the business profitable
32:00 – Expanding to multiple locations (and the challenges)
38:00 – Hiring for personality over experience
42:00 – Creating “magic” in-store that keeps customers coming back
46:00 – Building culture, team morale & making work fun
50:00 – Why most businesses are underutilising social media
54:00 – Jenna’s advice for anyone starting from scratch
Key Takeaways
- Going viral is powerful — but only if your product makes people come back
- You don’t need fancy systems to start, but you do need them to scale
- Hire for personality — skills can be taught, energy can’t
- Data and numbers are what turn growth into profit
- Social media is still one of the most underused tools in hospitality
- Creating a memorable customer experience is what builds long-term success
If you’re ready to turn your venue into a profitable, scalable business, book a call with the Foodie Coaches team at:
www.foodiecoaches.com
Follow along behind the scenes:
Instagram: @foodie_coaches - https://www.instagram.com/foodie_coaches/
Instagram: @tim.kummerfeld - https://www.instagram.com/tim.kummerfeld/
New episodes every Wednesday.