OEN Member Spotlight: Royal Rye LLC

Royal Rye is a company that aims to bake bread that is both nutritious and delicious. Through their product, Royal Rye moves to improve the health of Americans by providing a healthy alternative to empty-calorie snacks and to increase America’s awareness of the health benefits of rye grain and sourdough. Take a look at the Q&A with Royal Rye founder Elisabeth Tuck to learn more about her company.

Q: What does your business do?
A: Bake dark sourdough rye bread.

Q: What problem does it solve?
A: The need for bread that is full of complex carbohydrates, wheat free and high in fiber, which gives you and incredible feeling of satiety. This is a brand new product to most Americans and has nothing to do with what most people think rye tastes like (often Jewish rye with caraway seeds).

Q: How did you come up with this business idea?
A: I grew up with this kind of bread in Denmark. I started baking it because I had a difficult time finding anything healthy and filling to eat from convenience stores. I became very surprised when my colleagues liked it, and when I found out how much supporting science there is behind this bread. I realized that with the right marketing strategy this product has major potential.

Q: What are your biggest challenges?
A: To find someone to bake for me!

Q: What are your goals for the company?
A:
• To become known as the company that introduced high quality rye products to the market as a much healthier alternative to processed wheat products.
• To get a chance to give back to the community and to be part of changing the way we eat.
• To be able to offer jobs.
• To be profitable within a period of 2 years after launch.  

Q: Are you looking for funding?
A: Not at this time, simply because I have yet to get my product to market.

Q: What would funding enable you to do?
A: Depending on how soon my product will take off, I would need funding to expand. I would need space, equipment and employees.

Q: Have you been an entrepreneur before?
A: Never

Q: What brought you to OEN? What do you hope to gain from membership?
A: I was referred by a member of OEN. I hope to gain insight and guidance into the financial side of running a business in addition to networking with successful business people.

Q: What has been the biggest surprise in your entrepreneurial experience to date?
A: How difficult it has been to find a baker to bake for me.