Meet David Huffman | Vegan Baker

We had the good fortune of connecting with David Huffman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi David, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
As a gay, vegan business owner I am aware that what I put out into the world could be potentially judged by some in a negative light even before they have tried my baked goods. For that reason, I want to make sure that what I produce and how I present it are going to help reflect positively on the communities I am proud to be a part of. While I consider myself an “ethical vegan” who has made this choice primarily for the animals, I am aware of the positive environmental impact plant-based products generally have over traditional resources. I also use compostable plastics for my packaging since I don’t want to keep putting more and more plastic into the world. As an out business owner, I have been genuinely touched by how many parents of LGBTQ+ children have been so excited to buy something for their kids or take a “Bitchy Vegan Homo” pin for them to wear. Visibility is important and when it comes packaging a delicious brownie, that’s even better!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Bitchy Vegan Homo started out originally just as a YouTube cooking show, but as I started to do events to promote the show it became clear that the actual business was going to be selling my vegan baked goods. It started out slowly with just a few events every now and then, but within 5 years I was doing roughly 100 events or pop-ups a year. I’ve built the brand on social media, and through these events, and plan on launching it nationally in the near future. I have allowed it to grow organically but I have also been fairly aggressive with my schedule to get myself and brand in front of as many people as possible.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well I’m lucky enough to have my best friend live just a few minutes away so no need to pretend he’s visiting. I can just tell you about where we enjoy going. We’re both big movie fans so we go see lots of films at the Cedar Lee Theatre, Capitol Theatre and Cleveland Cinematheque. We also take lots of walks down to Edgewater Park which is right on Lake Erie and has a cool view of the city. For food, Melt Bar & Grilled is required (not least of all since they host a monthly vegan night partnering with Bitchy Vegan Homo), and we also enjoy going to Ninja City, Happy Dog, Banana Blossom, Cloak and Dagger, and The Vegan Doughnut Company to get a dessert that I didn’t bake. I also encourage people to visit the City Greenhouse. It’s a free place to go and if you want to see bananas growing in Cleveland, this is the place to do it!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
One person that I definitely owe quite a bit to is Adam Wilde from TRG Multimedia. For years I had talked about starting Bitchy Vegan Homo, but it wasn’t until Adam and I met to discuss bringing my vision of the YouTube cooking show to life that things finally started to happen. He produced and directed the shows and really encouraged me at the start. While Bitchy Vegan Homo has now shifted focus from its origins of the cooking show into the thriving bakery business it is now, none of it likely would have happened without him acting as the catalyst to get me started.

Website: bvhbakery.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bitchyveganhomo/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-huffman-bvh/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bvhbakery/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/bitchyveganhomo

Image Credits
Bitchy Vegan Homo