Astrid's Kitchen
“I almost feel like Drew is a partner in my business, with how much he cares about making Cottage CMS work for what I need.”
The Story
Astrid's Kitchen makes sourdough bread, focaccia, bagels, cookies, and more. Jenny Foxe taught herself sourdough during COVID, set it aside, then picked it back up while wedding planning as a stress reliever. She sourced dehydrated starter shipped from Norway — she's Norwegian — and named it Astrid, a Scandinavian name meaning "strong and beautiful." As Jenny puts it: "This is Astrid's kitchen now, I just work here." The business officially launched in January 2026 with pre-orders only, offering pickup two days per week.
The Challenge
Before Cottage CMS, Jenny was juggling orders across multiple disconnected systems: Google Sites for the website (with no online ordering capability), while orders came in via email, text, Facebook comments, Facebook DMs, and in person. Everything was tracked manually in a Google spreadsheet, with Square handling payments. The chaos of managing five order channels led to actually missing an order — which felt terrible.
- No online ordering — website was informational only
- Orders scattered across 5 different channels (email, text, Facebook comments, DMs, in person)
- Manual tracking in Google Spreadsheets
- Actually missed a customer order due to the chaos
The Turning Point
As the business grew, Jenny knew she needed online ordering and better organization. When the Founders Club deal appeared, she saw it as a smart investment to help grow the business and jumped at the opportunity.
“I don't feel like as a customer I'm just a source of income — he has a genuine care for his customers and building a tool that really helps us run our business and take it to the next level.”
The Results
The level of service. Jenny feels like she has a partner in her business, not just a software vendor. The platform also helped her streamline operations and stay organized — solving the exact chaos that had led to missed orders.
“I REALLY love how easy it is to build the product listing and calculate costs by mapping in the ingredients for the recipe. It's VERY helpful with figuring out my costs and what to price.”
Features That Made the Difference
Scheduling Windows
Pre-orders only with pickup 2 days per week — scheduling windows manage this structured workflow effectively.
Recipe & Pricing Analysis
Build product listings and calculate costs by mapping ingredients for each recipe — essential for understanding margins and setting the right price.
Centralized Online Ordering
Replaced the chaos of orders coming from 5 different channels with one centralized system. No more missed orders.
In Their Own Words
“It's on its way to becoming a real powerhouse tool with constant improvements and added features that I am able to use to make administrative tasks more efficient and provide better service to my customers.”
“It helps me spend less time on building and maintaining a website, doing cost analysis, etc., and lets me focus more on baking.”
What They Tell Others
Jenny actively recommends Cottage CMS whenever she sees platform questions in community groups. She views it as a growing powerhouse that lets cottage food entrepreneurs focus on what they do best — with constant improvements and added features that make administrative tasks more efficient and provide better service to customers.
Launch the storefront and workflows your local customers can come back to.
Start free and build the operating foundation behind your own story, just like Jenny Cleveland did.