New Kitchen, New Mixers, and a Blueberry Mini Muffin Hiccup

Running a small business is a wild ride. Whether you’re into high-protein snacks or just love a good story, here’s a peek into our latest adventure at Minky Muffins.

Settling Into Our New Kitchen

Last weekend, we fired up the ovens in our brand-new kitchen for the first time. Let me tell you, it felt good to settle into this upgrade. With way more space to whip up our blueberry mini muffins, it’s a game-changer for our small business baking journey.

The dishwasher stole the show, no more hand-scrubbing trays! It sped up our cleanup big time, giving us extra hours to perfect those healthy muffins you love.

Testing a Bigger Mixer for High-Protein Snacks

We also broke in a new mixer with double the capacity of our old one. The first few shifts were a mix of wins and losses, as expected when you’re leveling up your equipment and processes in the kitchen.

But here’s the kicker: one batch came out a little drier than usual thanks to a mixer slip-up. Don’t get me wrong, those high-protein blueberry mini muffins still taste great (I’m munching on them as I type!). Yet, they fell just short of the quality bar we set for our healthy muffins.

The Sting of a Small Business Setback

It stings, no lie. Hours down the drain, batter and ingredients turned into a slightly off batch, it’s a hit when you’re a small business working hard to keep up with all of the demands. Now I’m burning the midnight oil this week to bake replacements for Foxtrot and customer orders.

Here’s my take, though: I’d rather catch these snags now than face them when the stakes are higher. Sure, it’s a dent in time and resources, but it’s all part of perfecting our blueberry mini muffins process.

Why Early Lessons Matter for Premium Snacks

As orders for our high-protein snacks grow, or if we partner with a co-manufacturer, batches will scale up fast. A mistake then could cost way more than a few hours and some flour. Learning what goes off and why is pure gold in these early days of small business baking.

This new kitchen’s got the space to crank out healthy muffins like never before. It’ll take a few weeks to dial in this upgrade—I’ve baked that into the plan. We’re sorting out the kinks now to keep our premium snacks baking smoothly later.

Want to taste the magic yourself? Grab some of our high-protein blueberry mini muffins at one of our 6 Foxtrot stores in Chicago, and stay tuned for flavor number two dropping soon!