Social mission:
iBakery is a social enterprise under Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, with a social mission to train and employ people with disabilities through the production and retailing of bakery products and the operation of a cafe.
We have our own baking factory, bakery, cookie shops, restaurant and snack kiosks. We hope to make all these aspects self-sustainable, while spreading fine aroma and great taste everywhere in Hong Kong.
We vary in our abilities, but we share the same passion in our hearts. We insist to put all our efforts into every little bite, to make sure you will always taste the difference.
We believe every little bit counts. And we make our little bites of happiness for you to share around, so all of us can help make our society a little bit different, together.
Business model:
We are currently employing 110 employees, 58% of whom are people with disabilities, to operate 11 branches, including two ISO22000 accredited baking factories, 2 cafes, 3 food kiosks, 2 bakery shops and 2 pop-up stores.
What we do:
1. Bakery Business – we produce additive-free handmade quality bread, cookies and cakes, selling them in our stores and supply directly to our corporate customers.
2. Café and Catering Business – we do dine-in, take-away services in our cafes and food kiosks, and we also provide catering service for tea receptions, luncheons and buffets.
3. Inclusive Educational Programs – we deliver talks about community inclusion to visitors from local and overseas organizations, and provide inclusive baking classes, table manner talks and reading clubs for adults and students, to promote inclusive workplace.
Founding Team:
The business idea and concept were originated from the vocational rehabilitation service team of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals.
Social Impact:
iBakery reshapes public perception on social enterprise and improves work capacity of people with disabilities, through our quality products and services.
Social Impact on Employment
1. Employed over 150 people with disabilities during the past 7 years
2. Delivered 30,000 hours of bakery and catering trainings to people with disabilities (non-employees) as part of their vocational rehabilitation trainings
3. Created over $10 million workfare to our employees with disabilities
Social Impact on Promoting Social Inclusion
1. Organized 180 inclusive educational programs, including cookie classes, table manner talks and reading clubs, for 4,000 community members
2. Mobilized 100 volunteers to contribute 8,500 hours for social services
3. Over 300 media coverage on our products and services
4. Engaged community and corporate partners to support social enterprises, through transferring expertise and skills, building business network, sharing experience and offering discounted rental。
Proposed project with students:
Proposed Project:
To develop effective online sales platform for our bakery products
Why this Project:
iBakery has already developed stable and strong production capability. We need to expand our sales channels for business expansion. During the past two years, we worked closely with our corporate supporters to open pop-up stores in different shopping malls and districts. Although we obtained discounted rental from our corporate supporters, it is still difficult to sustain our business especially during low seasons. We are now exploring possible solutions to expand sales channels, either building our own platform or collaborating with partners to sell our bakery products.
In the meantime, we also hope the project team can help us overcome logistic difficulties emerging from online sales.