Bakery on Main
Gluten-free pioneer Bakery on Main has seen steady growth over the past two decades and brought forth a flurry of innovation in the wake of expansion into a new plant.
For the complete story on Bakery on Main, see “Bakery on Main: gluten-free snack sensations.”
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We’re living through the great gluten-free boom. U.S. gluten-free sales doubled from 2012 to 2014, and are projected to exceed $2 billion in the next few years. And Bakery on Main, East Hartford, CT, has helped define the gluten-free trend.
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In 1994, Michael Smulders, president of Bakery on Main, founded a retail bakery, Garden of Light Natural Foods in Glastonbury, CT, that eventually specialized in gluten-free baked goods. Business grew. In 2003, Bakery on Main was born in the back of that natural-foods retail bakery with the mission to provide healthful, natural, gluten-free baked goods to a wider community. By 2006, the bakery’s granola had achieved national distribution, and the business expanded into a 33,000-square-foot plant. Growth continued, and in December 2014, Bakery on Main invested more than $10 million into its current 111,000-square-foot dedicated gluten-free, non-GMO, SQF Level 3 facility.
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Baker on Main is known for its Truebar products, which all include chia seeds with a strong fruit and nut profile, available in varieties like Apricot Almond Chai, Coconut Cashew, Fruit & Nut, Hazelnut Chocolate Cherry, Raspberry Chocolate Almond and Walnut Cappuccino.
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Bakery on Main strode into new territory during 2015 with its new line of Nut Crunch snacks. The snack clusters take inspiration from the company’s granola products.
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While the gluten-free supply chain has grown significantly more sophisticated over the past few years, Michael Smulders notes finding reliable sources of non-GMO corn is still a regular challenge. Corn is necessary for the bakery’s signature corn curls that go into its many granola products.
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Bakery on Main operates lines dedicated to extrusion, baked cereal and snacks, granola bars and hot cereals. Select processes have gained new levels of automation in the new plant, but all still employ some degree of hands-on labor. “During the construction of our new plant, we installed a large amount of new machinery and equipment to make sure our production processes were the most efficient to yield the best-quality products,” says Michael Smulders. Additional automation is anticipated in the future.
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Bakery on Main’s line of Nut Crunch snacks is now available in Original, Maple Vanilla, Chocolate, Chocolate Orange, Chocolate Peppermint and Blueberry Cobbler. The granola-styled cluster snacks come in resealable, stand-up pouches. All are based on a core ingredient lineup of cashews, almonds, walnuts, pecans and certified gluten-free oats.
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Operations staff continually seeks to boost plant efficiency. “Our business focuses on Lean Manufacturing,” says Michael Smulders. “Bakery on Main is a learning organization, engaged in kaizen, meaning continuing improvement. We make sure to involve everyone in the plant in the effort to measure, learn and improve our processes every day.”
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Granola bar innovation has also continued. “We are in the process of relaunching our granola bars,” says Michael Smulders. “Based on consumer feedback, we saw a push for higher protein, higher fiber and lower sugar, which led us to our 4-4-8 Granola Bars. These new bars are the best of both worlds, giving excellent taste and catering to the consumer’s desires by offering 4 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber and only 8 grams of sugar.” Varieties will include Double Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Jelly and Oat & Honey.
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“Bakery on Main is entering into a five-year phase of dramatic growth,” says Michael Smulders. “We have a large amount of capacity in our plant, and we are looking to fill it as quickly as possible. In terms of marketing, we intend to become a top-of-mind brand among health-conscious consumers. With our operations, we intend to achieve world-class quality in all that we do.”