PUBLISHED ONApril 06, 2024 1:16 AMByBhavya RawatDriven by the desire to have something to hand down to their two sons, especially their eldest who has autism, Rachel Gan and her husband turned her long-time hobby into a home-based family-run business.
Rachel and Ming Gan, both 39, started Gan Delights in August last year after much discussion.
Speaking to AsiaOne, Rachel said that as parents to a special needs child, the couple were consistently worried about their son's future after he left school.
"One day over tea and coffee, an idea struck us – since I have always loved to bake, perhaps we could consider starting a home-based bakery," she said.
The couple named their home-based bakery after their family surname and the feeling of joy that they derive from family.
"We hope that when people eat our bakes, the feeling of joy and connection comes to mind, similar to how we feel when we eat together as a family," the stay-at-home-mum of two added.
At Gan Delights, Rachel does the baking while Ming, a Junior College Economics teacher, helps with quality control, packing orders and deliveries.
Their sons Cal, 8, and En, 6, are also involved in the process.
They have been given proper job titles as well, such as Artisan Packaging Writer for Cal and Head of Public Relations for En.
Cal is in charge of penning customers' names on the cards included in Gan Delights' orders.
Rachel and Min take turns to get him to repeat the names, helping him train his speech.
"For returning customers, we will explain to him that 'this auntie or uncle purchased from us before, how about writing a short message for him or her?' Thus, through writing, Cal is slowly expanding his vocabulary bank," Rachel told AsiaOne.
His younger brother, En, whom Rachel describes as having a "larger than life" personality, is in charge of making deliveries with his father and interacting with customers, which he enjoys tremendously.
"These two boys are the complete opposite of each other. However, this is also how they complement each other in their roles in our inclusive family bakery," Rachel said.
"We hope this home-based bakery of ours could be a family legacy to our boys, especially for Cal who has autism – that he will be able to lead a life of dignity and self-reliance with something to call his own."
Being a stay-at-home-mum was not something Rachel had envisioned herself doing.
She had to leave her role in Corporate Marketing and Community Outreach to care for her children full-time when Cal's condition started to worsen in 2017. Rachel was also breastfeeding En, who was an infant, at the time.
"He (Cal) had zero eye contact, was non-verbal and had behavioural issues which impacted his studies," Rachel shared with AsiaOne.
"I have always preferred to work. But between work and children, the decision was a no-brainer."
"Though our family income was lower, we could get by. Cal's condition also brought Ming and me closer as we see each other as a team," she added.
Cal has since improved tremendously in terms of his behaviour and academics, and was invited to his previous special-education needs school to receive an award in March.
Rachel also told AsiaOne that she has been baking since she was 15, searching online sites for recipes to bake for her family or experimenting with different ingredients.
She only started taking baking classes during the Covid-19 pandemic as she wanted to learn new techniques to improve and is currently enrolled in a master course in cake baking.
Rachel added that she likes creating new recipes based on what her children enjoy, adding that Cal's love for goji berries was what inspired Gan Delights' signature Nutella goji berry cookies.
When the Gans launched Gan Delights last year, they pledged to donate 10 per cent of their sales to the Asian Welfare Women’s Association School as Cal had been enrolled in the school since he was three years old.
Rachel also created a limited-edition bake for Cal (the Purplicious Heart cookie) for the month of March, to celebrate him receiving an award from his school.
Additionally, Rachel and Ming donated 10 per cent of their March sales proceeds to the Autism Resource Centre.
"Cal has benefited from special needs schools. This is our way of giving back to the autism community," Rachel said.
"Parents in a similar situation like us can reach out directly to us via our social media channels - Facebook, Instagram, email, etc," she added.
"We were alone five to six years ago, and we know how it feels. We hope to pay it forward by helping whenever possible."
bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com