2020 Har-Ber Graduate Feature
UA Student Couple Launches Instagram-Based Bakery Business
UA Student Couple Launches Instagram-Based Bakery Business
Courtesy: The Arkansas Traveler
- Erica Wilson // Staff Reporter // @EricaWi33624801
- May 13, 2021 Updated May 14, 2021
For two UA freshmen, a shared passion for baking has always played a major role in their relationship. Once the pandemic hit in March 2020, the couple used the extra time to refine their desserts, and they began selling them via Instagram in November.
Alexia Brito and Lee Inlow were inspired to start their Instagram baking business, Dough Haus Pies XNA, after going on a date in November 2020 to Art and Soul Studios in Rogers. Their art instructor chatted with them about their passion for baking and asked them to bake her a pie, which gave Brito and Inlow the idea to start selling their desserts.
Cooking is a way for Brito to show affection for the people she cares about, she said.
“I really enjoy tasting and refining dishes, making them the best I can for the people I love,” Brito said. “I’ve been doing it for so long that it’s become a big source of happiness for me.”
Dough Haus’ menu incorporates recipes from both Brito’s and Inlow’s backgrounds. For Brito, who is of Mexican descent, this includes tres leches cake and pineapple empanadas. Inlow, who has old Southern and German heritage, said he uses a chocolate pie recipe that his grandma taught him and which has been passed down in his family for centuries.
Building from the chocolate pie recipe, Brito and Inlow created a mocha pie by adding espresso chips. The couple also takes inspiration from people they meet to create new desserts. They recently baked babka, a sweet braided bread, for a friend who is Jewish.
The couple chose Instagram as the platform on which to sell their desserts because they thought it would be easy to promote themselves, especially during a time when so much of life is online, Brito and Inlow said. They have found using hashtags with their posts helps users discover their page, which has over 100 followers. Brito and Inlow have completed about 50 orders, averaging two per week.
Patrick Kingston, a close high school friend of Brito and Inlow, said he orders from Dough Haus every other month. Brito and Inlow, who have been dating about a year and a half, have been passionate about baking for as long as Kingston has known them, he said. He thinks the initiative they took to turn their passion into a profitable business is inspiring.
“It’s really great to see them (drawing from) both their heritages and combining them, and it’s also very tasty at the same time,” Kingston said.
Matilda Rydell, a UA freshman, ordered an apple pie from Dough Haus in January after meeting Brito through Kappa Kappa Psi, a band service fraternity. Rydell admires that Lee and Inlow have incorporated both of their backgrounds and personalities into their business, and thinks that starting a successful business during a pandemic is impressive, she said.
“It takes a lot to start a business at such a young age anyways, and for them to get this figured out in the middle of a pandemic is even cooler,” Rydell said.
During weeks preceding holidays, Brito and Inlow sometimes spend over 30 hours a week in the kitchen working to complete orders, they said. The pair sees baking as a fun activity they can enjoy as a couple, and it seems to come naturally to them. In the future, Brito and Inlow plan to slowly expand their business.
“We’re just going to keep pushing new recipes, try to expand our horizons and start advertising more,” Inlow said.
Dough Haus’ business page can be found on Instagram @doughhaus_.
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