In a lot of ways, Will Schumacher knew he was going to be an entrepreneur. After all, the Cincinnati native’s father was an entrepreneur himself — one who built log cabin-style homes in New Richmond — and it seems like innovation and creativity is a bug that he passed off to his son.
Schumacher, along with his sister Kate, teamed up with Cincinnati bread icon Mark Frommeyer of Blue Oven Bakery to make a ketogenic-approved bread called “Keto Kubes." On March 2, the website for the startup that sells the bread, Uprising Food, went live.
Their bread appeals to those on the ketogenic diet, which instructs users to eat less than 50 grams of carbohydrates a day.
“We stand first and foremost for giving you bread that fits your lifestyle,” according to its website. “Food that fits the math.”
"When you look and feel healthy inside and out — mentally and physically — the world is your oyster."
But before Schumacher even got involved in his current enterprise, he was beginning his entrepreneurial path in finance. As time went on, however, he wanted to take a risk, one that would ultimately better position him to start his own business down the line.
“I ended up moving over to Procter & Gamble, and the way I got there was, I said, ‘Hey, you know, my dream is to be an entrepreneur. I know that I want to run a business and I went to school for marketing, but I happen to find myself in finance. So, what can I do to really continue to hone my skills and prepare me for the moment when it's time to take that leap into entrepreneurship?’"
His questions landed him a job with the company, and Schumacher worked with P&G for more than three years.
As for Uprising, he eventually found himself engaging with keto bread through a traditional path: he started the keto diet after getting out of shape thanks to career and life changes. Deciding he didn't want to continue to let his health slide, he took blood tests and tried a bunch of different diets, eventually settling on a low-carb diet.
But there was one issue he had with the keto plan — he couldn’t eat "normal" bread, and the low-carb breads in the supermarket aisles didn’t taste good. That's when it clicked: he would set out to make a bread that tastes great, but also fits his lifestyle.
“I baked over 200 keto breads, and then I finally found a formula [that made me say], 'Oh, this tastes good,'" he said. "And I'm eating it every day, but I need a co-founder. Who can really help elevate this bread to the level that I want consumers to have it?”
It was a question that made him decide to take a step out of the office and into the kitchen. Made (in part) with almonds, apple cider vinegar and almonds, each kube has eight slices, a 2:1 fat to carb ratio, is baked on a farm and is gluten free.
He baked and built this startup with his sister and the aforementioned Frommeyer as co-founder, whose Blue Oven Bread is a staple in kitchens and restaurants all over Cincinnati.
Their work resonated, ultimately helping them nab a finalist spot at the FedEx Small Business Grant Contest. Their elevator pitch for the contest states they're "on a mission to take down big bread."
The company's ultimate goal, however, is a bit simpler: to help people get healthy and stay that way.
"Health is hard work ... however, the return is worth the investment," Uprising's website states. "When you look and feel healthy inside and out — mentally and physically — the world is your oyster."
