Originally published 1 August 2022. Updated April 2026.
Volare are masters of handcrafted sourdough – supplying restaurants, cafés, and good food stores across the Bay of Plenty and Waikato with bread that's genuinely worth getting out of bed for. Ozone has been working alongside the Volare team for over a decade now, and the pairing still makes perfect sense: great bread deserves great coffee.
How did Volare Bread start?
It began with two old school friends, Ed Hemming and Ryan Simmons, in Hamilton in 2009. Ryan had been quietly building a following at Waikato farmers markets while he studied – selling home-made sourdough on the side, watching demand quietly grow. When Ed, a practical-minded engineer, came to visit one day and tasted the bread for himself, that was that. A lightbulb went on. There was a clear gap in the Waikato bread market, and the two friends were just the people to fill it – armed with one old oven, a tired mixer, and a clapped-out van. Ryan's recipes, Ed's business head, and a shared belief in doing things properly. The dream of a traditional artisan bakery – one built on quality sourdough, pastries, and cakes – was up and running.
How long did it take to perfect the Volare recipe?
Honestly? It's still evolving. Ryan is obsessed with his craft – always looking for the next improvement, the next iteration. Every product goes through multiple trial stages before it's signed off, because consistency is everything. If there's one thing Volare are known for, it's that the quality is the same every single time.
Ryan is still hands-on in training all of Volare's bakers, and he works hard to bring out their own creativity alongside his own. As for a number to put on it – Ryan has been at it for over 17 years now, with the bakery running 24/7. That's a lot of dough.
Volare have opened several sites over the years – was this always the plan?
Not exactly. Volare always had a store attached to the main bakery, but the expansion beyond that has been a natural response to demand. They now have stores across Hamilton, Cambridge, and Te Awamutu, and recently moved into a brand new Hamilton bakery – their third home in the city – with the capacity to quadruple production. It's a serious step up.
Neither Ed nor Ryan necessarily mapped all of this out from the beginning. They believed in the product, and their ambitions grew as the business did. In 2025, Volare took home the People's Choice Award at the Waikato Business Awards – a nod to the community that's backed them every step of the way.
What's important to Volare when it comes to coffee?
The same thing that matters with the bread: quality that everyone can get behind. Nothing inaccessible, nothing exclusive – just genuinely good coffee, sourced ethically and served with care. That's the common ground that brought Ozone and Volare together in the first place.
The relationship goes beyond product, though. Volare put real stock in the people behind their suppliers – knowing that good service and genuine partnership matter as much as what's in the cup. It's a philosophy they apply to their own customers too. As the team put it themselves: big enough to get the job done, small enough to care.
What do your customers love about Volare?
The Almond Croissant and the Volare Grain Sourdough, by a mile – those are the consistent bestsellers. Beyond that, Volare are well known for their Gourmet Pies and Sausage Rolls, Custard Square, Hot Cross Buns, and a full cabinet of pastries and cakes that make it very hard to leave with just the one thing.
What should a first-time customer try?
Start with the Almond Croissant, grab a Pie, and pick up a loaf of Sourdough. And pair the lot with an Ozone coffee while you're at it.
