Baking & Snack - October 2018 - 12

Where everybody knows your name
I recently celebrated 10 years here at Sosland Publishing
Company. Hold your applause ... it's a milestone, but in
a 98-year-old company and compared with the likes of
Mike Gude or Paul Lattan, I'm a mere toddler.
This anniversary did get me reminiscing about some
points on my 10-year timeline, specifically making the
leap to Baking & Snack from bake magazine, which covers
the industry's independent retail bakeries. I must confess
that while covering the retail side of baking - the craft
bakers and "mom and pop shops"- I erroneously subscribed to the idea of "big food." So, when I made the
move, I assumed covering commercial baking would be
a daunting task. I imagined this huge world where I'd be
lost in a sea of conglomerates.
I learned fast how wrong I was. It turned out that
talking to an engineer from Bimbo wasn't much different from an artisan baker making bread on a
small hearth. Bakers of all types live to feed people, and they also thrive on collaboration and
education. They study in places like Kansas
State University's grain science programs, or
they learn the craft by following their family
through the back of a bakery or with a toolbelt
up and down the production line.
And bakers love to educate.
They feed people knowledge and wisdom as
much as bread, cookies or rolls ... all you have to do
is ask. That's what I tell new employees who join our
editorial staff. There truly are no stupid questions in the

PUBLISHING STAFF
Publisher
Paul Lattan
Publisher Emeritus
Mike Gude
Associate Publisher
Steve Berne
Director of Audience Development Michael Barbee
Audience Development Manager
Kay Hudspeth
Audience Development Analyst
Dustin Pickman
Director of Digital Media
Jon Hall
Digital Advertising Manager
Carrie Fluegge
Advertising Manager
Nora Wages
Advertising Assistant Manager
Erica Reyes
Design Services Manager
Sadowna Conarroe
Design Services Assistant Manager Ryan Alcantara
Production Specialist
Marj Potts
Senior Design Consultant
Becky White
Graphic Designer
Brian Peterman
Promotions Manager
Jim White
Promotions Media Designer
Abby Chronister
Sales Coordinator
Whitney Hartman

12 Baking & Snack October 2018 / www.bakingandsnack.com

baking industry. Bakers - and allieds - love educating those of us who are either new to the industry or just
plain curious.
I don't mind saying, "Slow down, I just got here," every now and then. In fact, that's been my foundation for
many industry relationships. Commercial baking may
seem big to an outsider, but it truly can be a place "where
everybody knows your name." In fact, I recently traveled
to Munich for iba - arguably the largest global bakery
tradeshow - and even amid 12 massive halls, I couldn't
get too far without bumping into someone I knew.
While at the show, I also had the privilege of sitting down with Robb MacKie, president and CEO of
the American Bakers Association, and Johann Sanders,
vice-president of R&D for Dawn Foods and president of
FEDIMA, the European baking industry's trade union. It
was fascinating to discuss the similarities and differences
across the pond on issues such as consumer trends, regulatory affairs and, of course, consumer assumptions about
commercial baking. Our camaraderie spans the globe!
These days, when I hear people talk about "big food," I
just have to laugh ... in that bless-your-heart kind of way.
Sometimes I take time to correct them, but some people
are happier living inside their own assumptions. Those
who don't know better often don't want to.
For me, as long as I stay hungry - for knowledge and
baked goods - I know I'm in the right place.
- Joanie Spencer, editor
jspencer@sosland.com

EDITORIAL
Editor
Editorial Director
Managing Editor
Senior Editor
Digital Media Editor
Associate Editor
Contributing Editors:

Joanie Spencer
Dan Malovany
Nico Roesler
Charlotte Atchley
Anna Wiber
Karlee Renkoski
Donna Berry
Len Heflich
Jim Kline
Joe Stout

CORPORATE
Chairman and CEO
Charles S. Sosland
President
L. Joshua Sosland
Chief Financial and
Administrative Officer
Staci Greco
Director of Operations
Meyer Sosland
Corporate Headquarters
4801 Main St., Suite 650, Kansas City, MO 64112
Phone: (816) 756-1000; Fax: (816) 756-0494
E-mail: BakingSnack@sosland.com
Internet: www.bakingandsnack.com

BAKING & SNACK is distributed free-of-charge to qualified readers with managerial responsibilities in the baking
and snack food industries. SUBSCRIPTIONS: To apply, log on to www.bakingbusiness.com and select Magazine
Subscriptions. For non-qualified readers, US and Canadian subscriptions are accepted at $36 per year. Foreign
subscriptions (from outside the territory of the US and its possessions and Canada) are accepted at $72 per year.
BAKING & SNACK assumes no responsibility for the validity of claims in items reported. ©2018 Sosland Publishing
Company, a division of Sosland Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents
without written permission is prohibited. Printed in USA

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Baking & Snack - October 2018

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