Weeks 1–2: Professional Recipe Testing

This is not casual baking. This is systematic testing. For every product you plan to sell:

• Bake it three times from the same recipe. Note any variation between batches. If batch 3 is different from batch 1, your recipe needs refinement before it’s production-ready.
• Document in exact weights, not volumes. Cups and tablespoons are for home baking. Grams are for production. A kitchen scale eliminates batch-to-batch variation from imprecise measuring.
• Calculate cost per unit. Every ingredient, every gram of packaging, every disposable supply. This is the foundation of your pricing. See Appendix D of your binder for the full pricing formula.
• Get honest feedback. Not from your partner who loves you. From a friend who will say “this is a little dry” without feeling bad about it. A group taste test where people don’t know which item is yours gives the most useful feedback.

What you’re building by the end of week 2: a production-ready recipe list with known yield, known cost per unit, and verified taste quality. This list is the foundation of everything — your pricing, your order form, your farmers market inventory.

Weeks 3–4: Brand Identity in Three Decisions

You do not need an expensive brand package. You need three things that are completely consistent across everything you create.

Decision 1: Two Colors

A primary color and an accent. Pick them in Canva’s color palette tool or choose a real hex code. Write them down. Use only those two colors on every piece of content you ever create for your business — packaging, social media, your website, your email template. Consistency is brand recognition.

Decision 2: One Font Pair

A display font for headlines (something with personality that fits your brand voice) and a body font that is clean and readable. Canva has free font pairings. Pick two that feel like your business. Write them down. Use only those two fonts on everything.

Decision 3: Your Logo Mark

A simple wordmark — your business name in your chosen display font — is enough to launch. You do not need a crest, an icon, or an elaborate logo to start. Clean and consistent beats elaborate and inconsistent every single time.

Create it in Canva (free). Export as a PNG with a transparent background. Save the file in a designated “Brand Assets” folder you will use for everything.

Your Brand Document

Create a one-page brand doc — even just a Google Doc — with: your two hex color codes, your two font names, a copy of your logo file, and the link to your brand template in Canva. Every piece of content you make goes through this filter. Share it with anyone who helps you create content for your business.