Baking & Snack - March 2018 - 38

MORE THAN A BAKERY

The rotary's hopper is
equipped with level
sensors to ensure the
pieces are evenly
distributed for the die,
which can be rolled out
of place on a track.

Georgia plant still had some capacity, but the company
needed space to produce more horizontally wrapped
products that are the primary focus for More Than A
Bakery, which produces two- and three-count cookies
and crackers for foodservice and other industrial outlets.
"It's not all that helpful for the sales group to say, 'We've
got nothing to sell,' and this allows us to grow again.
From here, our potential will be almost limitless."
To solve the capacity problem and create future opportunities, the company spent three years searching
for a place to call home with help from The Austin Co.
During the site selection process - which took them
from St. Louis to Detroit to South Carolina, Tennessee
and, of course, Kentucky - More Than A Bakery realized its needs went far beyond capacity. "Our criteria
included a place where we could recruit top talent in a
growing workforce, have customers visit easily and, of
course, have abundant ingredients," Mr. Quigg recalled.
In the end, Versailles checked all the boxes ... plus
an important bonus: "It came down to where we would
want to live and raise future generations of family members, Quiggs and otherwise," he said.
In its new home, More Than A Bakery married the
longevity of Richmond's history with the innovation
of this new endeavor to create something truly special
in a new environment. "We consider ourselves to be a
100-year-old startup," Mr. Quigg said. "While we have
the strength, stability, industry knowledge and reputation of a century-old company, our attitude and excitement level reflected that of a startup. This is more akin to
a Silicon Valley tech company than an industrial facility."
An open office structure inside what's called the Family

38 Baking & Snack March 2018 / www.bakingandsnack.com

Serving up culture ... family style
More Than A Bakery is a new startup with
modern views, but it's also an extension of
the country's oldest family-owned cookie/
cracker bakery. This dichotomy is the basis
for coexisting as one big, happy family.
It starts before workers even enter the
building, when they take the driveway
entrance marked Family Members. And in
day-to-day interaction, "family" is an integral part of how the company works, with
a Values statement that includes words like
"serve," "integrity" and "respect."
"Our hiring process is purely a culture
fit," said Bill Quigg, More Than A Bakery
president. "We feel very strongly that
we can teach people how to bake cookies, but you have to fit the people you're
working with."
Felicia Quigg, vice-president, Family
Pride, meets every potential hire, and
she knows the value of a cohesive group
who can work together productively and
respectfully. "We can talk about what we
want our culture to be, and we can put programs in place, but what's most important
is how people treat the Family Member
beside them."
This mentality permeates throughout the
bakery, but it's most evident in the Family
Space, where break times are shared at
tables that can be reconfigured to accommodate large or small groups, or downtime can be spent playing a friendly game
of ping-pong or cornhole.
Meal breaks get a family feeling with
"real" dishes, silverware and napkins.
And throughout the entire facility, the
More Than A Bakery family shares music.
From any spot in the building - the Family
Space, the warehouse or even the production floor - music plays. "It's either K-Love
[Christian radio] or rock-n-roll," Ms. Quigg
said. "When we designed the building,
having music throughout was very important to me."
If the employees of More Than A Bakery
are Family, Ms. Quigg is most certainly
Mom. "I frequently joke that I'm a mom
to 370 people," she said. "It plays well into
the respectful accountability aspect."

http://www.bakingandsnack.com

Baking & Snack - March 2018

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