Floyd County bakery takes first place in Invest 606 competition

PRESTONSBURG, Ky. (WYMT) – A business in Floyd County took first place in Invest 606′s 2022 Business Accelerator and Pitch Contest Saturday.

FTD Bakery is owned by Samantha & Trevor Stovall.

The couple was awarded $15,000 to help purchase new equipment for the business.

Stovall said any local business in Kentucky should take advantage of Invest 606′s services.

“What Geoff has done with Invest 606 and all the donors is that he has created a learning environment of true mentorship,” he said. “Allowing you to reach out to people who know more about the field that you’re currently in and it’s just wonderful.”

Stovall said he was shocked when they took first place.

He said he was proud of the other 12 contestants.

“You have all these people who you are going up against,” Stovall said. “We’re all one big cohort, and we can all use each of the businesses to help our own.”

The journey of the bakery began with a need to raise funds for a medical mission trip.

“I went the previous year in 2019, we had a lot of fun,” Stovall said. “The funds we didn’t have at the time that we started planning for it.”

The two began selling baked goods online.

Stovall said this was despite no prior experience.

“I didn’t know how to bake, I don’t know why I chose baking, but I did,” she said. “When the fundraiser stopped, people kept wanting to order things. They were asking me to make these cakes. Honestly, I had no right to make them.”

Stovall said they brought something unique to the Floyd County area.

“At that time, there was no gourmet flavors,” she said. “I did a lemon blueberry cake, a white chocolate raspberry. You couldn’t get that around here, there was no bakery.”

The couple is looking to someday expand.

She added they plan on putting storefronts across Eastern Kentucky.

“We believe that we have the tools to do that thanks to Invest 606,” Stovall said. “We now have scalability access, we have management tools. Not only are we going to do multiple storefronts, we’re going to look on increasing our wholesale stores.”

Tying for second place was Positive Attraction Soaps in Lee County and Tipper Valley Farm in Rowan County.

Tying for third was Perry County’s own Hazard Coffee Company and Read Spotted Newt.

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