What started as a teenager’s detention baking project has grown into a thriving Barrie business with a storefront, dessert trailer, custom-order service, and an increasing product line. Sophie Rennie started Sweet & Sassie Bake Shop, which has been named Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the CanadianSME Small Business Awards 2025. According to CanadianSME’s internal winner record, Sweet & Sassie Bake Shop won in the Young Entrepreneur category.
The award recognizes Rennie’s transformation from a 16-year-old home baker to an award-winning entrepreneur who built a diverse dessert business while remaining deeply connected to the Barrie community. Rennie is an award-winning entrepreneur from Barrie, Ontario, who started the firm as a secret baking project in July 2020, when she was only 16 years old, and it has since grown into a successful storefront and dessert truck.
A Business Born During Lockdown
Rennie opened Sweet & Sassie Bake Shop from her family’s house in July 2020. Baking had always been a part of her family life, but the extra time at home during the COVID-19 lockdown allowed her to experiment with recipes and share baked delights with family and friends. Rennie added that offering the treats taught her how baking might provide joy during terrible times. That discovery inspired her to turn her passion into a business dedicated to sharing handcrafted delicacies with the larger community.
Customers flocked to the firm soon. By February 2021, while still in her senior year at St. Joseph’s Catholic High School, Rennie reported fulfilling around 20 orders per week. Her early menu featured cookies, scones, muffins, cupcakes, and cakes. Although Rennie initially saw the firm as a hobby, increased consumer demand helped her realize its long-term potential. Even at this early stage, she expressed a desire to ultimately build a bakery in Barrie.
Growing Beyond the Home Kitchen
Sweet & Sassie Bake Shop gradually expanded beyond its initial preorder strategy. In 2023, Rennie launched a mobile, self-service baking cart outside her home. Customers could use the cart to purchase available sweets at specified pop-up events without placing an advance order. Rennie described the first Thanksgiving-weekend sale, which included ginger cookies, cinnamon-sugar scones, carrot cake, and pumpkin cake, as a huge success.
The company’s expansion has also involved:
- Custom cakes & cupcakes for birthdays, weddings, and other events.
- cookies, bars, and event treats.
- Frozen cookie dough that customers may make at home
- A self-service bread cart and pop-up sales.
- A 20-foot dessert trailer for community and private parties.
- A real storefront that serves baked goods and beverages.
Rennie has also considered product collaborations. In 2023, she told BarrieToday that Sweet & Sassie collaborated with baking firm Sweetapolita to create three sprinkle blends. Nicholyn Farms offered its products to reach more stores.
Turning a Teenage Dream into a Storefront
One of Sweet & Sassie Bake Shop’s most notable achievements was the establishment of a physical store inside Kennedy’s Lakeside Grocery at 90 Collier Street in downtown Barrie. According to a September 2025 announcement, the storefront will formally open on September 6. Customers could purchase baked goods as well as coffee, tea, smoothies, and refreshments on-site.
Rennie highlighted the early consumer response as higher than expected and thanked Kennedy’s owner, Adam Fetterley, and the Barrie community for their support of the expansion. The storefront symbolized the fulfillment of a goal Rennie had publicly stated as a high school student in 2021. It also allowed for more direct consumer interaction after several years of operating primarily through online orders and porch pickups.
Products Made for Celebrations
Sweet & Sassie Bake Shop describes itself as a celebration-focused bakery that provides bespoke pastries for various events. It offers cookies, snack bars, cupcakes, bespoke cakes, and gourmet foods. According to Rennie, one of the company’s most well-known items is a Nutella-filled cookie with browned butter, sea salt, and a Nutella center. Butterscotch pretzel chocolate-chip cookies have also proven popular.
Custom work is an essential element of our business. Rennie has stated that he enjoys the creative process of producing cakes and cupcakes to complement a customer’s event theme. The company’s website also touts custom-designed cakes prepared with fresh ingredients and a personalized approach.
Community Impact Beyond Baking
Sweet & Sassie’s success has been largely driven by community support, and Rennie has utilized the company to assist local causes. According to Rennie’s 2025 shop announcement, consumers helped Sweet & Sassie earn $10,000 for a local girl undergoing cancer treatment. The bakery has also conducted fundraising campaigns for the Gift a Family program and contributed to other community projects. These examples show how a local firm can leverage its customer relationships and public presence to make a difference beyond its commercial activities.
Recognition for Entrepreneurial Leadership
Rennie’s CanadianSME Young Entrepreneur of the Year award isn’t the only official recognition of her efforts.
In March 2026, she won the Entrepreneur Award at the Barrie Chamber of Commerce Women in Business Awards. Rennie characterized the nomination and acknowledgment as noteworthy, especially because someone in the community took the effort to nominate her firm. The award honoured Sweet & Sassie’s growth from home-based porch pickups to bespoke orders, mobile service, retail merchandise, and a permanent customer-facing facility.
While Rennie credits her mother, a veteran business owner, with useful advice, she has also stated that most of her entrepreneurial education has come from running the company and learning from day-to-day experiences.
Celebrating the Next Generation of Canadian Entrepreneurs
Sweet & Sassie Bake Shop’s success highlights how a tiny idea can blossom with consistency, community relationships, and a desire to pursue new chances. At 16, Rennie began making handmade snacks. Within five years, she had established several sales channels, expanded into events with a dessert trailer, created retail products, supported philanthropic causes, and had a downtown storefront.
Receiving the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the CanadianSME 2025 Awards celebrates Sweet & Sassie Bake Shop’s growth and the dedication that drove it. CanadianSME Small Business Magazine congratulates Sophie Rennie and Sweet & Sassie Bake Shop on their achievement, and recognizes the innovation, ambition, and community spirit that are developing the future generation of Canadian entrepreneurship.
Your role in staying up to date is integral to our shared mission of fostering a community of innovators. CanadianSME Magazine is a valuable treasure trove of entrepreneurial knowledge. Click here to subscribe to our monthly editions for updates on Canadian businesses. Follow our handle, @canadian_sme, on X to stay updated on all business trends and developments. Your support is crucial to our mission.
Disclaimer: This article is based on publicly available information and is intended only for informational purposes. CanadianSME Small Business Magazine does not endorse or guarantee any products or services mentioned. Readers are advised to conduct their research and due diligence before making business decisions.
