Meet entrepreneur, Galen Saturley, part owner of Breadtopia , located in Fairfield, Iowa.
Galen’s parents moved from Oregon to Fairfield, IA when he was five years old. Galen spent his entire childhood in the Fairfield community until leaving for college studying photography at the University of Iowa – after two years of college Galen was called first to the Rockies and then to the East Coast in Boston. In 2001, he met his wife Liza and they moved to New Hampshire. Galen continued to work in the marathon and graduation photography industry managing and training photographers in the North East. He trained approximately 200 photographers during this time.
After his son was born, like many people, Galen reassessed his life priorities and he and his wife decided to move the family back to his hometown. He continued to work in the marathon and graduation photography industry in the Midwest while helping to improve the product photography of Breadtopia.
After his son was born, like many people, Galen reassessed his life priorities and he and his wife decided to move the family back to his hometown. He continued to work in the marathon and graduation photography industry in the Midwest while helping to improve the product photography of Breadtopia.
The Business: For his parents, the business was meant to equip (both literally and figuratively) individuals with all the tools to make bread at home. They loved providing individuals and families with a hobby or a way to nurture their loved ones. At the time, they were truly cutting edge in producing YouTube tutorials and an e-commerce website dedicated to high-quality bread-making tools. Over nine years, the company moved from the family’s garage into a small warehouse. Galen left his photography career and joined the family business in 2015.
At first, he focused on what he knew well—revamping all the product and recipe images. The business grew, and then grew even more, in less than two years. They moved from a 2,000-square-foot warehouse to a 5,000-square-foot space. In the new warehouse, Galen built a flour mill and packaging operation which expanded Breadtopia’s product offerings but took up warehousing space. While looking for a new home for Breadtopia, Galen and his family dreamed of a space that could also have a studio classroom, bakery, pizza kitchen and retail space for their customers that wanted to visit the virtual business.
In 2019, it felt like their passions could finally come to fruition when they bought an old brush factory near downtown Fairfield. At the end of the year, they moved the entire operation to a 40,000-square-foot space while simultaneously renovating and fulfilling the holiday “boom” of orders. Then, in March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, closing businesses worldwide.
Breadtopia faced huge challenges in supply scarcity (flour, grain, yeast) and workforce issues. Galen helped in implementing safety protocols, diversified suppliers—while maintaining extremely high standards—and oversaw the expansion of the business to include The Collective (a commercial kitchen space/incubator) and The Bakehouse (a bakery, cafe and retail space). Despite the difficulties, they were able to persevere.
Galen has sustained his drive for the business because he loves that the products they provide bring joy to others. He also shared, “We can make a significant difference in our small little world and bring more people into our community.” And he’s not done yet.
In the works are plans for a small grain cleaning operation to alleviate some of the bottlenecks facing small grain farmers in the state. Galen is also continuing efforts to support small businesses through The Collective and expanding The Bakehouse to offer ready to eat frozen products sourced and milled locally, shipped right to your door.
NewBoCo: Support from NewBoCo has helped entrepreneurs in Fairfield feel less isolated and provided a structure for meaningful engagement among business owners. Galen noted that the organization has also delivered critical resources to his peers as they navigate a wide variety of challenges.
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