University of Georgia graduate Amanda Wilbanks is well on her way to building a baking empire. What began as a home-grown operation in her own kitchen, Amanda’s Southern Baked Pie Company has expanded into a booming retail business, with one cookbook in print and another on the way. We caught up with Amanda to hear all about her inspirations, essential pie-baking tips, and what’s next for Southern Baked Pie. Get to know our newest FACE of the South!
When did you first discover your love of baking?
I fell in love with baking as a little girl. I grew up cooking in my mother’s and grandmother’s kitchens. The kitchen was always the heart of my mom and grandmother’s homes.
Tell us about Southern Baked Pie Company’s journey from a baking hobby to a booming online business with four retail locations.
I started baking pies out of my home kitchen and selling them at festivals and events in the fall of 2012. I’ve been in business for 11 years now. It’s hard to believe where I started and how Southern Baked has grown. I started with less than 400 dollars to my name, and I’ve now opened four retail pie shops in the Atlanta area — in Buckhead, Vinings, Alpharetta, and Gainesville.
I started shipping pies all over the country while managing my retail stores. The pie shipment side of the business skyrocketed during COVID and has continued to grow by leaps and bounds ever since. I ship more pies across the country each day than we sell in all four of our retail stores combined. I dipped my toes into the corporate gifting market a few years ago, and now corporate companies ship our pies to clients and employees all over the U.S. for celebrations, promotions, and gifts.
Growing Southern Baked has come with challenges, but I’ve overcome most by setting up good processes to ensure if a mistake happens, we don’t let it happen again. I’m a firm believer that you’re never a failure if you learn from your failures, make changes, and create processes that keep them from happening again.
It’s challenging to scale any business, but since our product is perishable and made by hand, it’s been extra challenging. Consistency and quality is what makes our product unique. I work hard to ensure as we grow, we never waver on our commitment to quality so that every time you get an apple pie or chicken pot pie from Southern Baked Pie, it tastes the same as the one you got before.
What is your personal favorite pie on offer at Southern Baked Pie Company?
Chocolate Chess and Chicken Pot Pie
For our hobby bakers, can you share your essential rules for pie baking?
Always use cold butter and ice-cold water if you’re making pie dough.
How did you come to collaborate with major brands like Williams-Sonoma?
I had tried to get into Williams-Sonoma for years with no success. Finally, a team member mentioned they were flying to Cali, and I asked them if they would take pies to the Williams-Sonoma headquarters. They did. They walked right in with a bag of pies and asked for a meeting.
They waited a couple hours, and finally, someone came out and took the pies, and promised the buying team would try them. When I got the call that they hadn’t actually gotten a meeting in their office, I was discouraged. A few days later, I got an email from Williams-Sonoma saying they admired our persistence and loved the pies! They started carrying them shortly after.
Who or what is inspiring you right now?
Travel always inspires me. I recently went to Miraval in the Berkshires and returned with a renewed sense of purpose and drive.
What is the greatest challenge you’ve faced as a business owner?
All the noise. There are so many distractions today that I didn’t have back in 2012. Life seemed simpler then. There weren’t constant alerts, notifications, group apps, and group texts going off at your fingertips. There was time to clear your mind and focus on the daily, monthly, and annual goals you wanted to achieve. There was more quiet space. It was easier to stay focused on the main goal of the business back then because there were simply fewer distractions.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Set the goal, but don’t focus on it. Instead, focus on the processes you need to put in place to achieve the goal.
And my favorite piece of advice or wise words that have been shared with me over the years is: The fortune is in the follow-up.
What’s next for Southern Baked Pie Company?
Franchising! We look forward to growing the Southern Baked Pie family of pie shops in 2024.
Lightning Round!
Most memorable meal:
My third date with my husband, Alex. He invited me over for dinner and cooked the most amazing French chicken tarragon and a chocolate wafer cake with homemade whipped cream. I had never experienced something so heavenly and so thoughtful. It’s not always the food that makes a meal memorable, though — it’s the people you share the food with and the connection the food brings. I’ll never forget that meal for the rest of my life.
Book(s) on your bedside table right now:
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Healthy Kids, Happy Moms by Shelia Kilbane, MD
When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin
The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella
The Daughter of Auschwitz by Tova Freidman and Malcomb Brabant
My Bible
My cookbook Southern Baked: Celebrating Life with Pie, filled with draft pages for my next cookbook
Your go-to gift (to give):
Of course, I always ship or hand deliver my friends’ favorite pie, and I usually include a blessing bead from The Sercy Studio.
Aside from faith, family, and friends, three things you can’t live without:
Sweets. Summer in Grayton Beach with my kids and husband. My notebook, where I keep everything in my life. I’m old school. Pen and paper will always be my best friend.
Thanks for chatting with us, Amanda!
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To meet more Southern women doing remarkable things, check out our FACES of the South archive!
