Baking & Snack - October 2022 - 20

THE GOOD BREAD CO.
The Good Bread
Co. leadership
strives to create a
work environment
that is supportive
of employees and
has seen results in
reduced turnover.
Photos by Eli Lindauer
With the acquisition came the rebrand to The Good
Bread Co., a more intentional approach to company culture,
and a closer look at product portfolio and operations.
Acquiring an entire new bakery comes with more
customers and geographic reach, and therefore ample
opportunities for more growth.
" Our goal is to build a great company, and to do that,
you need resources, " Mr. Assimacopoulos explained.
" You can either bring in investors and capital, or you can
grind it out, and that's what we've done since day one.
Growing and having more resources and revenue helps
bring a company to a critical mass of capabilities to have
the right equipment to do what's necessary to have a
great, modern company. Growth takes time and money;
it's not easy, and growth through acquisition can be a bit
of a shortcut to get to that place. "
And all
that growth requires the operational and
equipment infrastructure to support it. In addition to
the acquisition and name change, The Good Bread Co.
is also taking steps to invest in equipment and processes
that will take it from a batch artisan process to a continuous
artisan process. It's been a journey to climb such
a learning curve, but Mr. Assimacopoulos is determined,
knowing that the continuous process will unlock a world
of efficiencies and opportunities.
Keeping it good and simple
Mr. Assimacopoulos is always on the lookout for an
opportunity to expand The Good Bread Co., but as
he pointed out, growth takes resources, especially in
terms of capital and equipment. An acquisition provided
a second bakery facility, wider geographic reach
and more customers. So despite the challenges faced
in 2020, the team at Michigan Bread decided to pursue
an acquisition.
" There was a lot of uncertainty in the business and in
20 Baking & Snack October 2022 / www.bakingbusiness.com
the world at that time, " Mr. Assimacopoulos said. " We
understood the risk but believed this acquisition would
ultimately make us a stronger organization. The transaction
closed in September of 2021 and has been transformational
for both facilities. "
Franklin Street Bakery was attractive not only because
the product portfolio and customer base were
similar - artisan breads for foodservice - it was a less
complex business model. All the finished product is
frozen, simplifying distribution, and the team was very
self-sufficient.
" THE FIRST DAY
EXPERIENCE IN THE BAKERY
IS CRITICAL; FEELING
WELCOME AND SUPPORTED
REALLY HELPS RETAIN NEW
TEAM MEMBERS. "
Spiros Assimacopoulos, The Good Bread Co.
While Franklin Street Bakery had a simplified business
model and great team, it was also capacity constrained,
and as Mr. Assimacopoulos walked through
the bakery, he saw what he could bring to the operation.
" I had ideas of how we could unlock all this capacity, " he
said. " It was a mutually beneficial acquisition. Combined
we are both years ahead of where we would be. "
Franklin Street Bakery is now internally known as
the West Bakery and the Michigan Bread Co. facility is
known as the East Bakery. To bring these two operations
together for optimal efficiencies, the company integrat
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Baking & Snack - October 2022

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