Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Dreyer.
Stephanie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My journey as an entrepreneur was never planned. I started an online community about ten years ago via a blog. My goal was to share my vegan lifestyle and connect with others in the plant-based community. As the only vegan in my family of 5, I gained expertise in feeding my family with one meal, despite our dietary differences. One of my biggest strategies for doing this was through my meal planning system and techniques.
I started to get asked to teach classes and share my tips. Those classes led me to create the system that my meal prep membership, Batch Cooking Club, is founded upon. I did all of the above as a passion, not as a business. It wasn’t even a side gig or hustle. I was just doing my best to serve and help people while doing what I love — make delicious plant-based food for my friends and family. When I was unexpectedly let go from my full-time job, I decided to scale my in-person batch cooking classes into a digital membership.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My business is still in the “start up” phase with its share of struggles. My first challenge was COVID. I launched in January 2020 and many people were not investing in memberships. Although cooking at home was at an all-time high, families were being conservative with their discretionary income.
In addition, one of my biggest challenges is getting the word out about the membership and what I do. My system is unique to other meal prep memberships out there and it’s not only geared to plant-based families but also for families like mine where not all the members are vegan. My meals start with a plant-based meal but include suggestions and ideas for making the meal work for the whole family so everyone is eating the same thing without having to make separate meals. Educating others about the benefits of this type of membership and the transformative effect it can have on the family is a constant challenge.
I’ve also struggled to find the right marketing outlet. I’ve recently ditched social media to focus more on our blog and free content. I love creating resources and sharing recipes with my community so I’m focusing on that exclusively now and hope that will expand awareness of the membership.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Batch Cooking Club is a weekly, plant-based meal prep membership. We help busy parents make mealtime easier by providing weekly meal plans and recipes without time-consuming prep so that they can enjoy daily healthy, homemade meals with their family without having to think about it.
We believe feeding your family should be joyful, not stressful. We want to help you stress less so you can connect more because that’s what dinner is really about — connecting with your loved ones over a delicious meal.
As the only vegan in my family, the meals aren’t just for vegan and vegetarian families, but also families who might have a mix of vegans and omnivores like me. I start with a plant-based meal but also offer suggestions for the nonplant eaters so that everyone can eat the same meal. My goal is to simplify dinner and eliminate the need to make multiple meals a night to please everyone.
I’m most proud of our unique approach to batch cooking. We don’t just give you a menu of dinners for the week and a grocery list. We help you figure out where to best plug those into your weekly meal plan based on your schedule and we give you a weekly meal prep system that transforms your daily dinner prep. Our done-for-you prep plans take you step by step with what to do to prepare 4-6 meal components for the week in less than 2 hours so you can have dinner on the table during the week in 30 minutes or less.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Be ready to pivot! Expect the unexpected and when it happens, be flexible to change direction and adapt as necessary to be successful.
Pricing:
- $297 for the annual membership
- Monthly Membership $29.70/month
- $1 to try us for a month
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.batchcookingclub.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/batchcookingclub
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/batchcookingclub
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/batchcookingclub
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/batchcookingclub (Pinterest)
https://www.batchcookingclub.com/blog (Blog)
