Milling & Baking News - January 8, 2013 - 11

Dessert maker expanding with facility purchase in Colorado
DENVER — Steven Roberts Original Desserts and its subsidiary Ticklebelly Desserts have purchased a 380,000-squarefoot facility in Aurora, Colo. The acquisition is expected to allow the companies to consolidate their Colorado bakeries, warehouse, and corporate headquarters under one roof, to increase manufacturing and shipping capacity of their signature desserts, and to add up to 800 new jobs to the area over the next three years. The facility will open in mid-2013. Currently, Steven Roberts Original Desserts operates two bakeries and one warehouse in Colorado as well as a bakery in Pembroke, N.C. The Pembroke bakery, which was opened in 2011, will remain open. “Our sustained growth allowed us to purchase this facility, and we plan to invest millions of dollars renovating the building to continue to grow our companies and produce our innovative, award-winning desserts,” said Charles Kosmont, chairman of Steven Roberts Original Desserts and Ticklebelly Desserts. “With our bakery in Pembroke, N.C., this new facility gives us close to 520,000 square feet of manufacturing, warehouse, and office space.” Steven Roberts Original Desserts develops

and produces a broad line of frozen desserts, selling them directly to restaurants, hotels, theaters and grocery stores. Founded in 1995, Steven Roberts Original Desserts, L.L.C. is a privately held, Denver-based company owned by Mr. Kosmont and Steven Fabos. Ticklebelly Desserts provides gourmet products for the consumer marketplace, including dessert shots, cake pops, cakebabies and dessert minis. Ticklebelly also bakes a line of individually packaged gourmet cupcakes, molten cakes, cheesecakes, and infused cakes. Headquartered in Denver, Ticklebelly was founded in 2007. Its products are available nationwide in the in-store bakery section of select grocery stores, including select Kroger and Target locations. MBN also will maintain its headquarters and all of its current staff and operations near Portland. The partnership with Goode will result in some operational changes, though. In addition to its equity stake, Good Partners will be represented by three individuals on the Dave’s Killer Bread board, joining Mr. Dahl, Shobi Dahl and Glenn Dahl. The company also will add Angelo Fraggos, a 38year veteran of the baking and snack industry, as chairman of the board. He is expected to bring the expertise needed to drive strategic direction and organizational development, the company said. “As a board, our chief focus will be to ensure the heart and mission of this company are uncompromised,” Dave Dahl said. “We believe the addition of Goode Partners and Angelo to our team will help drive our company to new heights.” MBN more organic prepackaged products. Breakfast foods came out unscathed during the recession, experiencing a 20% increase in dollar sales from 2007 to 2011, rising to $12 billion from $10 billion during that time period. The market is expected to continue to grow nearly 26% from 2012 to 2017 to reach $15.7 billion. “While price will continue to play an important role when it comes to breakfast foods, Mintel’s research shows that consumers are willing to pay more for higher-quality breakfast products,” said Carla Dobre-Chastain, food analyst at Mintel. MBN
Milling & Baking News January 8, 2013 / 11

Dave’s Killer Bread broadening beyond western U.S.
PORTLAND, ORE. — Dave’s Killer Bread is preparing to expand outside the western United States in 2013. The company, which was founded in 2005 by Dave Dahl, who battled depression and emerged from a life of crime to start the bakery, offers organic, whole grain, vegan and bioengineered-free bread products. In order to facilitate the expansion, Dave’s Killer Bread has partnered with Goode Partners, a New York-based private equity firm that focuses exclusively on investment opportunities in the consumer sector. Dave’s Killer Bread is available in 11 states, and it recently launched in retail chains throughout Southern California, Hawaii and Colorado. The company had sales of approximately $53 million in 2012, and of its 280 employees about 30% are ex-cons. “We love that people want our bread in their stores, and we’ve been doing our best to meet demand in more states,” said Mr. Dahl, who is president of the company. “Our first priority when we add a new market is to make sure that the quality of the bread is never compromised. Today, we are unable to ship bread farther and farther away from our Portland-area ‘Breadquarters’ without sacrificing its quality. “Our relationship with Goode Partners is going to give us additional resources and a top-shelf board member who knows exactly how to build a brand and grow nationally. Together, we’re going to work to get our bread in the hands of new fans in new cities.” As president, Mr. Dahl will retain his role as leader of product development, brand development and the company’s philanthropic efforts. The company

Consumers searching for healthy breakfast foods
CHICAGO — Consumers are looking for healthy breakfast foods, according to a recent report from Mintel. In fact, 69% of survey respondents who eat breakfast consider low-cholesterol or heart healthy claims as important when choosing their first meal of the day. In addition, 65% of consumers believe low-fat and high-fiber are significant health-related benefits to consider when choosing breakfast foods. Consumers often are looking for these healthier items in the traditional breakfast
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food category with 52% of respondents wanting to see more healthful varieties of waffles, 48% looking for healthier kinds of pancake mixes and 37% looking for healthier sausages. Consumers also are willing to spend more on prepackaged breakfast foods. Fifty-seven per cent of respondents who eat any breakfast food during the week said they would be willing to spend more on higher quality prepackaged foods, while 41% of consumers would like to see

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Milling & Baking News - January 8, 2013

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