“Klein, fein, aber mein” is a German phrase which means “small, exquisite, but mine.” That’s how Ingrid Prost describes pastryworld®, the family business she and her husband Johannes run in Yorkton, Sask.
At pastryworld, Master Konditor (pastry chef) Johannes hand-crafts high quality European desserts, specializing in cakes, pies and parfaits that use real cream for Co-op. Their products, like their signature pastryworld Bóveda Cakes, offer an alternative to a typical round cake.
“People actually like something different. They don’t always want the same,” said Ingrid. “Co-op has been really adventurous and sometimes trying things that weren’t as big in the marketplace.”
Canadian connections
Johannes was already crafting gorgeous desserts at his patisserie and café in Germany when he had the idea for pastryworld in the 1990s. Looking for a new experience, they set their sights on Canada, completing a successful one-year trial in Saskatoon. They built the pastryworld facility in Yorkton in 2001.
“Are we going to do this, or will we question what would have been?” remembers Ingrid. “It was really the entrepreneur in us that made the final push.”
In 2002, pastryworld approached Co-op with their real cream products, which were desserts that weren’t readily available in a lot of stores. Today, pastryworld supplies Co-op cakes, pies and parfaits, as well as desserts under the pastryworld label.
Johannes and Ingrid are always willing to adapt their products for their customers. Doing market research to prepare for their move, they learned that Canadian customers enjoyed desserts four times sweeter than their original recipes.
“When Co-op comes and says, ‘can you make this, can you do this?’ I certainly can,” said Ingrid.
When asked if any pastryworld desserts have been a surprise success, Ingrid said that the biggest surprise is how they’ve all been long-running successes, but attributes that to their focus on making high quality products.
It’s this quality that keeps their products in demand all over Canada. Sometimes they only learn how far away their desserts have travelled when they get a phone call with a question from another province or territory.
“We literally sell from Labrador to Vancouver Island,” said Ingrid. “I think that’s an accomplishment for coming from a different country.”
From pastryworld’s family to yours
The pastryworld facility in Yorkton, with seven employees, is smaller than people expect considering its output. However, the small scale allows for a hands-on approach.
“Quality has always been number one and because we ourselves are in production … we see and catch things to make sure that you get the best product possible, and that’s very important to us,” said Ingrid.
Their passion for pastry means they will always keep reinventing their products and finding new ideas.
In addition to quality, the small size of the company means that their employees are very close. It’s clear that Ingrid is proud of their team. She explained that making a living for all of their employees is an important part of pastryworld’s achievement.
“When we have accomplished at the end of the day what we wanted to accomplish, when I hear laughter in the bakery, when they’re working hand in hand, I think that is a success.”