Many people turned to new pursuits during the pandemic lockdowns, and cooking was not an uncommon choice. In a period marked by isolation and stress, it’s reassuring that it was also a time for reconnecting with long-lost family recipes and regional flavors.
Shaylin Davis took the opportunity to refine her passion. Her community, interests, and skills came together in a special moment to create something new, and now Shaylin is selling her specially made bundles of spices through her new company as the founder and CEO of B.A.F. Bombs LLC.
A Moment of Invention
“When the pandemic lockdown occurred,” Shaylin says, “I immersed myself in learning how to make more intricate recipes to keep my brain and my hands busy.” This was an experience shared by many in Shaylin’s community. “I lived in a wonderful neighborhood that fostered a great sense of community, where people would sell plates of their dinner and baked goods to fellow neighbors.”
Shaylin loved this sense of community and “leaned into that” with special energy. She began to sell her special birria ramen and birria tacos, and they were incredibly popular among her neighbors. It didn’t take long for people to start begging for her slow cooker recipes, so Shaylin began selling her spice blend on the side. This idea evolved until she was selling them in specially made “bath bombs” for slow cookers. Simply toss the bomb into your slow cooker and it bursts with all the spices you need for an authentic birria recipe.
This product, the Birria B.A.F. (Bad A** Food) Bomb, would soon take off in a way beyond Shaylin’s dreams.
An Explosion of Flavor (And Online Success!)
“When I decided to launch B.A.F. Bombs on TikTok,” Shaylin says of @bafbombs, “It went viral overnight… In only a matter of hours, the birria bomb became so popular that it was incredibly challenging to keep in stock.” There was an incredible passion surrounding the flavor and the bomb recipes, and people couldn’t wait to get their hands on the bombs. In fact, it became a big problem for Shaylin, who couldn’t keep up with demand. “For months, I would post restocks, only to have what took two weeks to prepare in my tiny home office sell out in as few as two minutes.”
For small business owners, such incredible success can be a dream and a nightmare at the same time. People were upset about the lack of inventory, a problem that only increased as Shaylin’s product gained more and more attention. The company is still young, but Shaylin is taking steps to build it bigger to satisfy demand, and to prepare for even more in the future. “After being in business for nine months,” she says, “I decided to lease a warehouse and purchase larger equipment. We opened the doors to bigger possibilities at the beginning of 2024.”
What the Future Holds
Shaylin’s dreams have also grown to match the popularity of her birria bombs. “B.A.F Bombs would like to be a pantry staple in every home around the world,” she says. There’s more to it than just the desire to grow, however. “From the beginning, my mission has been to aid women who are in need of help getting back on their feet,” Shaylin explains. “The bigger motivation behind B.A.F. Bombs LLC is more than just creating easy crockpot meals; it’s knowing my business can help people in need that inspires me to focus on the future.”
Her humanitarian goals could be within reach as B.A.F. Bombs continue to grow in popularity at an incredible pace. Somewhere between the wonderful flavor of the crockpot recipes and the incredible convenience of the food bomb, there’s an ingenious idea that is growing every day.
