Agnė and Raimondas, who are setting up a business in the Klaipėda district: many pastry chefs bake desserts, and we do the opposite.

“Many pastry chefs bake desserts, and on the contrary, we refrigerate them,” Agna smiles.

A new approach

A healthy lifestyle, the desire to avoid preservatives in the product, to eat natural, real, non-allergenic but delicious food, encouraged Agnė to seek a new approach to sweets.

Thus arose the small association “Alkepa” and the brand “Gėrybė”. All the desserts made by Agnė and Raimondas are vegan.

The young family opened that the head of the family – Raimondas is responsible for production, supply, commercial documentation and Agnė – constantly creates, experiments, seeks inspiration for new tastes and practically sells.

Changed diet

The business arose when Jonukas, the first-born of Agnė and Raimondas, saw the world in 2018.

The young woman noticed that the breastfed child was drinking, was sensitive, allergic.

The young woman gave up eggs, lactose, sugar and gluten. After changing the diet, the boy quickly improved, but the young mother found it difficult to live without one of the greatest daily joys: sweets.

“Sweets are my weakness. When I rejected them, I felt depressed, without energy, because sweets are much more than a delicious snack, it is emotion, love and real joy. To pamper myself with dessert, I started looking for healthier alternatives: I replaced the flour with nuts, butter and cream in organic coconut cream, I used a lot of berries to make desserts. I decorated the delicacies with my own handmade chocolate, homemade date caramel and thus alternative desserts appeared in our family. The first products were for me, my family and then I offered them to other mothers. She believed that other mothers raising food-sensitive children would face similar problems. Strict dietary restrictions are inherent in health conditions, a gluten-free diet is necessary for those who are allergic, have autoimmune diseases, and suffer from celiac disease. I thought that the sweet life and the joy it brings should be for everyone, ”says Agnė about starting her business.

The hardest start

“The first year in business is the hardest, when you need to get the message across about products when no one knows you yet. We toured exhibitions, fairs, we told people about our desserts, their uniqueness. Even grandmothers had to get involved – while We presented our desserts at the fairs, they took care of the little one who dictated the business idea. We delivered desserts all over Lithuania, so I almost found out about all the road signs on the highway, I transported them myself to customers. those who fatigue took over. Fortunately now, we already have good logistics partners, we no longer have to drive hard, spend time on the road. We easily deliver desserts throughout Lithuania with the help of partners. More time for family and science ”, opens Raimondas.

After graduating in administration, the young entrepreneur has now immersed himself in food technology studies to immerse himself professionally and qualitatively, with a new body of knowledge, in the development of the family business.

“When you do something, you work, you develop a business, you really understand what specific knowledge you need. And studies and science are very enriching ”, says the interlocutor about his return to the student bank.

Business and home

It is very important for Agne to separate family life from work, so they bought separate production premises, the desserts are not born in the family home, but in specially designed premises, in Slengiai.

“The business started in Klaipėda, Jaunystės Street, where we rent production premises. They were spacious, about 150 square meters. At first, only a part of this square would have been enough for our business. During the first quarantine, we managed to move into our own new production facilities, which we built in the way we already wanted to make efficient use of each plaza. There is a large production kitchen, professional refrigerators, on the second floor, a place for an office ”, said the family where the desserts are born and the commercial documentation is handled.

“We care not only about what we put in our mouths, but also about the trail left by our growing family business. That is why we pack desserts in ecological and fully recyclable packaging, and we use only green energy to make them. We are small, we believe that together we can take small steps to contribute to a healthier future ”, said the dessert producers who expressed a sustainable approach to the environment.

All for real

The motto of the makers of unique desserts is “all that is real”. It obliges to produce only from natural products, renouncing refined sugar, gluten, semi-finished products, stabilizers, colorants and preservatives.

“After reading the composition of our desserts, customers are always surprised, everything is clear, of course, there is no need to search for descriptions of certain materials on the Internet. The desserts are rich in nuts, coconut cream, berries, they are sweetened with date syrup, apple extract. Because the desserts are raw and frozen by quick freezing, they do not lose the nutritional value of their valuable ingredients, “said Agnė about the simple, clear and understandable composition of the products.

She is happy that her eldest son Jonukas is willingly testing her products. “On holidays, he always prefers our production dessert, if there is that option,” Agnė said.

Their goal of making desserts healthier that is both delicious and appealing is to break another stereotype, as the myth prevails in society that healthy is not particularly delicious.

Speechless

According to Raimondas, working in a family business is not easy, but it is good.

“The best thing about a family business is that by creating and solving emerging challenges together, they know each other well, they know their strengths and weaknesses, their abilities, so the work is distributed naturally, without words. After all, the objective of both is the same ”, opened Raimondas.

Now the brand “Gėrybės” has created 12 different types of desserts, and the latest achievement is the well-deserved recognition of the “Rimi” shopping center. Family products are sold in the “Vikis” peasant store in this shopping center.

Young entrepreneurs have been happy that more and more people are looking for healthier and more natural alternatives, interested in the composition of food, the quality and the origin of the ingredients, thus creating an increasingly intelligent and responsible consumer society. Nowadays “Gėrybė” and its desserts travel all over Lithuania, you can taste desserts by visiting various cafes, hotels or even ordering directly to your home online.