The challenge: the headache of scaling success

For Jed McCammon, the owner of Body of the Year, growth was becoming a double-edged sword. As the bakery’s reputation for high-quality bread spread across Dunedin, the number of wholesale orders began to climb. However, more orders meant more deliveries – specifically, a high volume of small orders that required a driver to be constantly on the move.

Before partnering with Pedals, Jed had a team member dedicated to deliveries in a company car. This created a significant internal drain. Their peak delivery time corresponded with peak morning traffic in the central city – Dunedin’s layout became a nightmare of one-way streets and gridlocked traffic. Finding a park in the Octagon or Moray Place to drop off a few loaves was annoying and inefficient, often turning a short trip into an hour-long odyssey. Every minute that staff member spent stuck in traffic was a minute they weren't in the bakery doing prep or baking bread. Jed realised the business had hit a wall: they couldn't take on new customers because the logistical headache of adding another stop to a congested car route was too great.

The solution: realising a biking dream

Jed’s vision for the business had always included a sustainable, bike-based delivery model. In the early days, he even had his brother build a custom bike trailer, but the bulky design proved impractical for the daily hustle. When Pedals Couriers launched, it was the perfect alignment of Jed’s original values and the bakery’s practical needs.

By outsourcing the hustle to Pedals' e-cargo bikes, Body of the Year swapped their inefficient car-based system for a nimble, professional fleet. The e-cargo bikes could navigate the pokey streets of Dunedin with ease, bypassing traffic and rolling directly to the doors of central cafes and restaurants. This allowed Jed to move his staff back into the bakery where they were most productive. The Pedals booking system provided a weight off the shoulders, offering a variety of delivery windows that allowed the bread to cool properly before being whisked away, ensuring the product arrived in peak condition.

The impact: from heads down to moving up

The impact of this partnership has been nothing short of transformative. While the sustainability and romantic appeal of bike-delivered bread align with the bakery's mission, the most significant gain has been business growth.

By removing the limitation of the delivery driver's schedule, Body of the Year was finally able to stop saying “no” to new clients. The hidden advantage Jed discovered was that a delivery company could actually be a growth engine. Because the system is so scalable – simply adding an order to the box and clicking send – the bakery’s volume increased to the point of total capacity. The efficiency gained by using Pedals has been a primary driver in Body of the Year’s current success: they have now outgrown their current space and are planning a move to larger premises to keep up with the demand that the bike-based model enabled them to fulfill.

The future: a better environment for a bigger bakery

Having lived in Amsterdam, Jed sees the bigger picture for Dunedin’s future. For Body of the Year, the future isn't just about a bigger oven and more floor space; it’s about continuing to foster a city environment that prioritises safety and efficiency.

As they move into their new, larger premises, Pedals remains a core part of their infrastructure. The partnership has proven that even in a city with challenging weather and steep hills, the e-cargo bike is the most efficient tool for wholesale logistics. For Jed, the success of Body of the Year is proof that when a business stops fighting the streets and starts working with a partner that can navigate them, the only way to go is up.