POCATELLO — A local cottage bakery is curating deliciously crafted desserts for a niche market, creating cupcakes, cookies, confections and other treats that are entirely gluten-free, nut-free and vegan.

Bunnie Bakes was founded in 2022 by Bunnie Myers, who launched the business while living in Idaho Falls after she and a close friend, Ollie Weber, were each diagnosed with food allergies in adulthood and share a restrictive diet.

Myers and Weber met through an outside job and quickly became friends. Weber began helping fund the bakery during its earliest markets. When they both relocated to Pocatello in 2024, Weber became a full business partner.

The pair founded the cottage confectionery to provide a service to anyone who has ever shown up to a party, public market or wedding and found themselves unable to safely eat anything on the menu.

“We really wanted to fill in that emptiness where people just feel excluded in being able to have a treat,” Myers said. “We just think everyone deserves something, whether it’s a cupcake or a cookie or some bread or whatever they need.”

That accessibility also extends to the cost, to make their treats as affordable as possible.

Weber said baking has been an integral part of her life since childhood.

“I started baking with my grandma,” Weber said. “This really just reopens that love and that desire to bake and to give people good food and make things that people enjoy. As far as collaboration goes, I feel like Bunnie and I work very well together. We both come up with ideas and have different parts of the baking process that we each do, and we work together really well.”

Because of Bunnie Bakes’ food philosophy, the bakery avoids peanuts, tree nuts, coconut, oats and sesame in most items. It relies on rotating vegan butter alternatives and gluten-free flours, sometimes hand-blending sorghum, tapioca and millet flours for certain recipes. It also uses pre-blended options such as Bob’s Red Mill.

To ensure there is never contamination of any kind, Myers said their equipment is dedicated to specific ingredients rather than being cleaned between uses. That standard helps prevent trace exposure that could make an allergic customer seriously ill.

Best sellers include a triple chocolate cupcake, Monster Munch cookies, a Shirley Temple cupcake, banana bread and a focaccia bread that Weber said is the bakery’s top seller. The bakery also makes zucchini bread from Weber’s grandmother’s recipe and has recently added cake push pops. Flavors and frosting combinations rotate frequently, built around a variety of drink-inspired syrups.

Because Bunnie Bakes operates under Idaho’s cottage food license, it is currently limited to shelf-stable items — baked goods that can safely sit out for a couple of days — which rules out products like cheesecake and certain pies for the time being.

The owners have spent a considerable amount of time getting the texture, sweetness and taste of their confections right, and said clients often express surprise that the business’s desserts are gluten-free or vegan.

“We’ve worked very hard to mimic the texture of regular desserts,” Weber said.

Bunnie Bakes has spent its first years building a following through custom orders and market appearances rather than a storefront. The bakery joined the Pocatello Farmers Market partway through the 2024 season and is now in its third year there. It also appears at craft fairs around Idaho Falls, including an October event called the Boutique Market.

Myers and Weber said they are now working behind the scenes on plans for a brick-and-mortar location, though details haven’t been finalized. Opening a storefront would also let them expand into items like cheesecake and would allow both owners to eventually run the bakery full time.

A special ribbon-cutting celebration to welcome them into the Pocatello-Chubbuck Chamber of Commerce community has been set for Aug. 4, from 5:15 to 5:45 p.m. Attendees can meet the owners and learn about their growing business.

“We are planning to continue doing markets and continuing to share our love of dessert with everyone,” Weber said.

Bunnie Bakes does not currently have a set menu, but the owners said they are willing to build custom orders within their gluten-free, nut-free and vegan guidelines.

Customers can reach the bakery through its Facebook and Instagram pages, or by calling or texting directly. Myers can be reached at 208-716-6674, and Weber can be reached at 435-799-5558. The owners said they generally respond to calls and texts between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Both owners said they hope people who haven’t tried allergen-friendly baking will give it a chance.

“We just ask that people expand their minds,” Myers said. “We want to keep it fun and fresh, and we encourage people to try something different.”