Baking Interest Rising Amid the Pandemic

have the must have product of the pandemic flower. We do, and we're so we do. We feel very fortunate to be making a the best baking flower out there and to have been doing it for two thirty years. Yeah, this is like two thirty years in the making. I know it's been it was popular before this, but tell me what it's been like over the past few months

as you have seen this and it's funny. Max Levchin, my previous guest, who runs a big tech company, was talking about nesting and and sort of the purchases that people were making. I mean, clearly that's part of what was going on here, is that people were trying to make bread and all sorts of baked goods. But what did it look like from where you sit? We saw people and almost immediately I think it was it started with we thought it was pantry loading, right, so everyone's

like everyone were sheltering in place. We need to get to the grocery store and stock up, and that definitely happened, and it was almost immediate. So also that we were getting calls on our hotline orders for everything baking related beyond Flower. We're seeing the kind of the spikes across our businesses, and people were at home and they had probably more time they typically had. And baking is such

a comfort. You know, you're you're getting your hands into something, You're able to start a project, you can you know you're something. It's whether you're doing it, whether your mother in law's doing it for you or for her for her where the you know, where people are home with their kids and they need something to do. It's such a um kind of a source of of comfort and joy. And people really took to it and they it became at least initially, you know, kind of something to do.

I referred to it as, you know, a national past time. But it's because I think it's become a hobby and we've really seen that in the amount of inquiries ongoing that we continue to get. Um come through all of our channels, however people choose to reach out to us. Yeah. Well, and if my co host Carol Master were here, she's very bummed and she's missing this interview, she would say,

we are blue Berg. So let's talk some numbers. If I have this right, June increasing the number of pounds of flowers sold compared to a year earlier, sold more

flower than any other month since July. Pounds of flower what Yeah, yeah, exactly, Um, we are sales and then and it's you know again, you kind of start at the beginning and you don't know if this is going to sustain who kind of probably saw triple the volume in the beginning and we're continuing, um, even into June to see this two to three times volume of of business. And it's both again, like I said, people are we're

pantry loading. We were thinking in the beginning, and we thought we'd see a leveling out and people have kept baking and they've kept and they've kept buying. Which of you know you were you're seeing in the numbers that you're quoting, and we predict that that will continue definitely through certainly through you know, kind of the next month

or so. Maybe there'll be a little lull. Summers typically a much slower time of year for baking anyway, and you know, we're really gearing up for the fall holiday baking season where normally that's our you know, that's our butter, so to speak. And we've we're gonna have you know, we're producing two times are normal volumes so that we can be ready for you know whatever whatever This sort of first wave and second wave of the pandemic throwout

any supply chain issues. You know, there's you know, as you can imagine, there's there's certainly there certainly were UM and it's ongoing. I think there's probably two critical things we had to do. We certainly had to focus on our highest volume most of you know, kind of the products that starting with all purpose flower that people were looking for to bake UM, and that's not you know, you never want to disappoint the whole weed baker or

whatever flower is. We're choosing to you know, let let go out of stock before that one, but all of them have had a you know, kind of our signature flowers. We've been in and out of stock on UM as we rebuilt the supply chain and so to that to that point, we've added a lot of capacity. So uh, we were able to kind of get with our partners to get as much flowers we possibly could. And uh, we also were able to add some partners who could you know, kind of add new sizes of our all

purpose flowers. So again, so we can continue to get that sort of number one product out there. And we're you know, we're reaching a I think, uh, we're certainly a new normal of production levels for us. But we're going to hopefully be back in stock in a sustained way towards probably another month. All Right, we're going to keep going with this conversation just a few minutes. I have a lot of questions to ask you about the company and some of your background. You have a fascinating

resume leading up to this job. And also want to understand this is a company that's a hundred percent employee owned, as I understand it, so lots more to talk about with Karen Coolberg over at King Arthur Baking Company. Let's get back to our conversation with Karen Colberg, she's the co CEO of King Arthur Baking Company. Still with me on the phone from Norwich, Vermont. So, Karen, it feels like, and you know, I'm sort of teeing you up for this.

You have sort of a special company there. I mean, it's run a little bit differently than maybe what we're used to tell me a little bit about it. So we're a hundred percent employee owned and have been for over twenty years. Uh. We are a founding b corporation, you know, benefit corporation, which means we you know, we are bound and committed to taking to you a multi

stakeholder approach to managing the business in all decision making. UM. And as you noted when you introduced me, that we have a co CEO structure at the top, which in and of it in and of itself, as always is always interesting to folks. UM. But you know, it really starts with employee ownership and how everyone kind of shows up as owners and it's a real special part of of our culture and it's a kind of a defining

part of who of who we are. So how did you come to the company, because you are not a lifer there at Ting Arthur. You've got a fascinating background. You worked at GE, you worked at GAP, I believe. So what's what's the brief story of Karen Colberg getting to this job. The brief story is I've always loved baking. My connection to this area where we are is a

is graduate school. And uh, you know the short story, once I finally kind of make talk, went to talk, I went to talk, and um, moved to San Francisco, work to the Gap, loved it, Um, you know, finally decided to get married and have a family and decided to make a life change and loaded up the four f one fifty and drove across the country and King Arthur King Arthur Baking Company now King Arthur Flower. Then it really was the only place I wanted to work.

And it took a few years to end up here. Um, but I, you know, kind of I made my way here and it's you know, kind of as I say, when I talked to the company about it, it just felt like coming home because you know, baking has always been something I've been passionate about. UM. And it's like I sit here chatting with you today, but you know, there's three seventy employee owners that really make this place as special as it is. So I'm I'm just proud

to be part of that of that group. And so tell me about the people who who work there, because you know, as as you sort of allude to, you know, Norwich, Vermont, it is not This is no insult anyway. It's not a bustling metropolis. It's not New York City, it's not San Francisco where you live before. So it does take a certain sort of commitment to the mission, and the mission clearly is a big part of what you're doing.

So so tell me about those other employee owners. So you know, our mission is basically building community through baking and hopefully you know, leaving the world a better place because through that and people that come to work here. And traditionally pre COVID it was kind of sometimes hard to recruit folks, right, and we're we're in nestled up in northern New England and it's not where you know,

they're just not It isn't not bustling metropolis. Um, but people certainly like the community and where we live and the outdoors and all those pieces. But now in you know, the world where we were all remote, and it's it's much easier to imagine, you know, being remote. I think we I think a lot of us, you know, King Arthur and outside of King Arthur, you always thought you needed to be on site and the job needed to

be there. That Um, I think that recruiting piece will look real, will look really different as we as we look forward, which is exciting, But it still takes the special person and the values alignment that people kind of show up here because I think of who we are as a company and what we're trying to do out

there in the world, and how we treat our employees. Um, and we kind of collectively all believe in that and trying to you know, like I said, live our values everything, and it's you know, that's in it's you know, and I think any you probably talked to lots of business leaders all day long, and I think many companies out there probably have similar values and strive and strive to

live them as well. UM. But for us, just you know, like we always say, let's just just do the right thing and most things are going to work out well. I dare say pun intended obviously, it's it feels like it's did here UM. And also this notion that in many ways, not just the the product, but you know, the whole notion of a b corporation. I feel like

people are looking at that more seriously. I mean, what does it feel like, amot, We're on both the product side and the cultural side that the world has sort of come to you it. It feels, it feels great, it feels natural. UM. I think that people are both you kind of looking to us for what we do from a you know, kind of from a baking standpoint, and it certainly shined a light on on the company. And as we've as we were chatting or you've you've referenced,

I appreciate it. You know, King we became King Arthur Baking Company this week, UM, which was a you know,

long transition in the in the making, UM. And it's given us just a nice opportunity to really to both talk about what it is we're doing in showcase what it is we're doing, because it's always about UM our actions behind you know, the words that are out there, and so the heightened attention over the past three months has really given us an opportunity to really to talk about who we are talking about why we're in business and how we do business to your point, um, and

it's all you know, baking is this platform for us to to do all the things that we're that we're trying to do. So tell me briefly, why make the change? I mean that is especially for a brand that's been around for as long as that, it feels subtle but meaningful in many ways. Is that just a sign of greater ambition or is it sort of the branding catching

up with what you had already become. I'm gonna say both, and I you know, somebody think about it like it's a word, right, we want King Arthur Flower Company, King Arthur Baking Company. But it's so powerful because we have always been a company of bakers. The company kind of relocated from Boston to Norwich, Vermont about thirty years ago, and it was at that time where we said we have flower as our foundation. It's what that's what we do,

that's what enables baking. But we're here to teach people to bake, We're here to inspire people to ache, and we're just kind of there to be your friend in the kitchen and help you and doing getting baking into our name. Um, it just really it does exactly say

who we are and who we've been. And absolutely there's you know, we've all along, we've got already got hundreds of products and thousands of recipes and inspiration online, but lots of new products coming out as well that again speak to all kinds of baking, not just conventional wheat

flower baking. Um so even though we've always done it, it's it's very freeing, and it's it says we're here and we are going to be doing exactly what we've been doing it and much more impactful, intentional, and it's and there's never that ambiguity of weight. Flower wait your flower, we're you know, we're baking company and flower is you know? Is that at the heart of it all? All right, well, I really enjoyed catching up with you. Thank you so much.

Karen Coldburg, co chief executive Officer of King Arthur Baking Company, joining me on the phone from Norwich, Vermont