The manager of a bakery in Gargždai overcomes trials with hard work and humanity

Only upon entering the Saldù saldù bakery, located in Gargždai just a year ago, you are greeted by the warm smile and sparkling eyes of the founder Roberta DIRGINČĖ. The secret of the success of a small bakery is not only the desserts lined up in the window, but also the team that creates them. The manager says that she had to overcome many difficulties, but now the bakery is the home of her soul, where she grows, develops and creates desserts that surprise customers.

As a child, he dreamed of a restaurant
– How did you start your path in food production?
– I started cooking in the 11th grade, I liked making cakes for holidays. I wouldn’t say that it went very well at first (laughs – author’s post). I remember I made a cake for my husband’s birthday and nobody ate it because I had added too much sugar. And I thought it would be delicious, I will add various candies.
When we were planning our wedding a few years ago, we wanted to add macarons to the invitations, but they were very expensive. I decided to make them myself, but when I started making them, I realized that I couldn’t get them. So I went to “Mina” in Gargždai and bought it, so I spent twice as much. After some time, I rediscovered that box with all the macaroni making tools and decided that I needed to understand them, to overcome them. I made macaroni every night for three months. He kept failing and failing, but one day he finally managed to cook them properly. Then we needed the filling – I bought the recipe, it was very expensive, but the macarons turned out very tasty right away. Orders started pouring in at home, and soon there was a lack of space.
Therefore, I held a family meeting where I announced that I wanted to rent the premises. The family agreed, but there were many unknowns. Dad called the same evening about renting the premises, where I settled. The premises were empty, needed repairs and equipment. In the beginning, I worked alone – it was very difficult. But people liked desserts, they wanted not only macarons, but also cakes.
There was a lot of fear in the beginning, but my character is all or nothing, I was passionate about that idea. I participated in many trainings, I thought about further education, but I think 2 bachelor’s degrees are enough, because I gained a lot of experience here. I realized that you don’t need to be afraid when you start – everything develops by itself.
– Before you founded the bakery, you also had a snack business. How did the idea for this activity come about?
– I had a grandiose plan to conquer the world or at least Gargždus with snack trays (laughs – author’s post). I did it for half a year, but I started to dislike it because you spend half the time in the store.
In fact, since I was a child, I thought I would own a restaurant. But when it came time to choose my studies, I chose physiotherapy. The studies were useful, meaningful, but physical therapy was not my field. I cried when I saw a person, a child with a disability, I could not do such a job. Seeing a young person crippled by life motivates some, but not me. So, in my last year, I decided to study business management, a second bachelor’s degree. I started studying at 2 colleges at the same time. After graduation, I worked as a dental technician’s assistant, but I quit when I started making snacks.

Business wizard – help from relatives
– What was the hardest part of starting a business?
– Finances. Quality is important to me, and equipment is very expensive. Secondly, no one told me that it would be necessary to work so much (laughs – author’s post). At the very beginning, I used to get up at 4 in the morning, because at 5 you have to be at work. I worked until 1 a.m. at night and I woke up again at 4 a.m. My inner values ​​are that everything is fresh, natural, so I have to put in more work.
There was a moment when a friend of my parents stopped by the bakery and asked why I didn’t have any candies. I broke down – I started crying because I couldn’t work anymore. It was a sign that a person was needed for the team. I worked even harder, but it was a relief to know I wasn’t alone. We started with macaroons, three cakes and cinnamon rolls, then cupcakes appeared. Now we also deliver orders to cafes in Gargždai, Klaipėda, Kretinga. They, like the customers, are constantly asking if we have anything new. As orders grew, additional hands were needed again, so now there are four of us.
It is not easy because of the amount of tasks, because you also need to fill out documents, order products, and produce and sell them. However, all difficulties hardened, allowed to grow and improve.
– You have been working for a year. Are there situations when the desserts do not work?
– Every day. Uncooked, overcooked, overmixed, unwhipped – everyday. Of course, I get a little angry, I blame myself and my colleagues, but we try to learn from it and do better.
– How do you manage to be both a bakery and a team leader?
– I understood the main thing – you have to love a person, because you work with him for 8-10, sometimes even 12 hours. He becomes close. Now I have a great team that is fun to work with. I try to make working here enjoyable and successful. Of course, sometimes I am angry, tired, but it is important that people feel good at work. For me, human resources is the most important factor, because people are the main work tool. I can buy the best oven, refrigerator, tools, but if no one can use them, there will be no desserts.
Being the manager of a bakery is not easy, because our team is small, so I cannot hire a confectioner, salesperson, accountant, advertising specialist. A manager wears many hats, I’m still learning it. It is not easy to grow your team. I had a lot of anxiety: how to get along with the staff, how to set expectations. At the beginning, I tried to evaluate the employees, but later I realized that the most important thing is to be a good person, because everything can be learned.
I am glad that I have a husband who helps me in all situations in my business growth journey. In the beginning, he also had to bake, so he knows the recipes very well. We joke that he is the manager of our team, because he always fixes everything, even the things that cannot be fixed. I also have many people I can ask when I run out of knowledge – parents, their friends, my friends, acquaintances.
The challenge of being a young entrepreneur is that most people think you will fail. For example, many suppliers refused to cooperate with me. And the suppliers I work with now also say they can’t believe we’ve grown so much. Only as the business grows, it becomes more and more difficult to maintain a personal relationship with everyone who wants to communicate.

A good word pleases
– What does the life of a bakery in Gargždai look like?
– When you made it wrong, you know you made it wrong (laughs – author’s post). If you make it well, you will have many customers. Sometimes I ask myself if there are really that many people in the area, but word of mouth probably travels the furthest. Another marketing trick is good ventilation. The smell from the bakery reaches the apartment buildings and the playground, so children and families come.
There are many people in the Klaipėda region, they are increasing here, you just need to not be afraid to create and act. It is important to look less at what others are doing and try to improve. This way there will always be customers. So with hard work and humanity you can achieve a lot.
We are currently supplying coffee shops, although we do not fully meet the current demand. We would like to open another point where people can buy the bakery’s desserts. Because there are situations that even from Palanga they call and ask where they can buy our desserts, if I go to Palanga – I take them. But at the same time there are doubts, because here, in this bakery, I started my journey, and I no longer see this place as a dream, I live it. I don’t want to get away from it.
– Do you have time for leisure?
– Now I work less than at the beginning, because I have reinforcements – my team. I had a vacation for the first time in 2 years. But colleagues say “maybe don’t go on vacation, you brought a lot of work back”, because I came back full of new ideas. My free time is spent thinking about what else I can do, create, improve. But you also need rest, it gives strength to new ideas. I apply the same to my employees so that they come rested and energized.
Now I spend my free time at home with my husband and pet, family. I also find small joys in watching a movie or cleaning the house. Rest is not enough, but enough.
– What makes you most happy at work?
– The team is the most gratifying. The employees motivate me, together we create new recipes, taste them, and adjust them again. I am also happy with our customers, we have regular customers who keep attracting new ones. I call them “oldies” because they confirm that we are doing something right. I’m also happy for myself because I didn’t quit when I broke down. Now I try to support other people who produce and create in Gargždai, I keep buying their products. Because I remember how difficult it was in the beginning and how much support meant.

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Interesting facts
Saldù saldù is used up in the bakery during the week

• 150-200 kg of various chocolates,
• about 25 kg of wheat flour,
• about 20 kg of almond flour,
• 15 kg of sugar and 30 kg of powdered sugar,
• about 20 liters of raspberry, mango, passion fruit and other berry purees.
  The bakery, which is famous for its exceptional macaroons, produces more than 1,500 of them per week, and around 3,000 during the festive period. During the Christmas period, around 100 liters of honey are needed.

Gabriele ČIUNKAITĖ spoke
Personal archive photo.