Speaker 1: As I wrap up the week, so excited to have
Speaker 1: with me Karen Colburg, co CEO of King Arthur Baking Company.
Speaker 1: She joins me on the phone from Norwich, Vermont. So, Karen,
Speaker 1: I have to say, there are certain interviews where I think,
Speaker 1: you know what, my kids are going to think, this
Speaker 1: is pretty cool. This is an interview where my mother
Speaker 1: in law is going to think I am the coolest
Speaker 1: on the planet because she is one of your biggest customers.
Speaker 1: Alice Game, I'm talking about in Walton, New York. You
Speaker 1: have the must have product of the pandemic flower. We do,
Speaker 1: and we're so we do. We feel very fortunate to
Speaker 1: be making a the best baking flower out there and
Speaker 1: to have been doing it for two thirty years. Yeah,
Speaker 1: this is like two thirty years in the making. I
Speaker 1: know it's been it was popular before this, but tell
Speaker 1: me what it's been like over the past few months
Speaker 1: as you have seen this and it's funny. Max Levchin,
Speaker 1: my previous guest, who runs a big tech company, was
Speaker 1: talking about nesting and and sort of the purchases that
Speaker 1: people were making. I mean, clearly that's part of what
Speaker 1: was going on here, is that people were trying to
Speaker 1: make bread and all sorts of baked goods. But what
Speaker 1: did it look like from where you sit? We saw
Speaker 1: people and almost immediately I think it was it started
Speaker 1: with we thought it was pantry loading, right, so everyone's
Speaker 1: like everyone were sheltering in place. We need to get
Speaker 1: to the grocery store and stock up, and that definitely happened,
Speaker 1: and it was almost immediate. So also that we were
Speaker 1: getting calls on our hotline orders for everything baking related
Speaker 1: beyond Flower. We're seeing the kind of the spikes across
Speaker 1: our businesses, and people were at home and they had
Speaker 1: probably more time they typically had. And baking is such
Speaker 1: a comfort. You know, you're you're getting your hands into something,
Speaker 1: You're able to start a project, you can you know
Speaker 1: you're something. It's whether you're doing it, whether your mother
Speaker 1: in law's doing it for you or for her for
Speaker 1: her where the you know, where people are home with
Speaker 1: their kids and they need something to do. It's such
Speaker 1: a um kind of a source of of comfort and joy.
Speaker 1: And people really took to it and they it became
Speaker 1: at least initially, you know, kind of something to do.
Speaker 1: I referred to it as, you know, a national past time.
Speaker 1: But it's because I think it's become a hobby and
Speaker 1: we've really seen that in the amount of inquiries ongoing
Speaker 1: that we continue to get. Um come through all of
Speaker 1: our channels, however people choose to reach out to us. Yeah. Well,
Speaker 1: and if my co host Carol Master were here, she's
Speaker 1: very bummed and she's missing this interview, she would say,
Speaker 1: we are blue Berg. So let's talk some numbers. If
Speaker 1: I have this right, June increasing the number of pounds
Speaker 1: of flowers sold compared to a year earlier, sold more
Speaker 1: flower than any other month since July. Pounds of flower
Speaker 1: what Yeah, yeah, exactly, Um, we are sales and then
Speaker 1: and it's you know again, you kind of start at
Speaker 1: the beginning and you don't know if this is going
Speaker 1: to sustain who kind of probably saw triple the volume
Speaker 1: in the beginning and we're continuing, um, even into June
Speaker 1: to see this two to three times volume of of business.
Speaker 1: And it's both again, like I said, people are we're
Speaker 1: pantry loading. We were thinking in the beginning, and we
Speaker 1: thought we'd see a leveling out and people have kept
Speaker 1: baking and they've kept and they've kept buying. Which of
Speaker 1: you know you were you're seeing in the numbers that
Speaker 1: you're quoting, and we predict that that will continue definitely
Speaker 1: through certainly through you know, kind of the next month
Speaker 1: or so. Maybe there'll be a little lull. Summers typically
Speaker 1: a much slower time of year for baking anyway, and
Speaker 1: you know, we're really gearing up for the fall holiday
Speaker 1: baking season where normally that's our you know, that's our butter,
Speaker 1: so to speak. And we've we're gonna have you know,
Speaker 1: we're producing two times are normal volumes so that we
Speaker 1: can be ready for you know whatever whatever This sort
Speaker 1: of first wave and second wave of the pandemic throwout
Speaker 1: any supply chain issues. You know, there's you know, as
Speaker 1: you can imagine, there's there's certainly there certainly were UM
Speaker 1: and it's ongoing. I think there's probably two critical things
Speaker 1: we had to do. We certainly had to focus on
Speaker 1: our highest volume most of you know, kind of the
Speaker 1: products that starting with all purpose flower that people were
Speaker 1: looking for to bake UM, and that's not you know,
Speaker 1: you never want to disappoint the whole weed baker or
Speaker 1: whatever flower is. We're choosing to you know, let let
Speaker 1: go out of stock before that one, but all of
Speaker 1: them have had a you know, kind of our signature flowers.
Speaker 1: We've been in and out of stock on UM as
Speaker 1: we rebuilt the supply chain and so to that to
Speaker 1: that point, we've added a lot of capacity. So uh,
Speaker 1: we were able to kind of get with our partners
Speaker 1: to get as much flowers we possibly could. And uh,
Speaker 1: we also were able to add some partners who could
Speaker 1: you know, kind of add new sizes of our all
Speaker 1: purpose flowers. So again, so we can continue to get
Speaker 1: that sort of number one product out there. And we're
Speaker 1: you know, we're reaching a I think, uh, we're certainly
Speaker 1: a new normal of production levels for us. But we're
Speaker 1: going to hopefully be back in stock in a sustained
Speaker 1: way towards probably another month. All Right, we're going to
Speaker 1: keep going with this conversation just a few minutes. I
Speaker 1: have a lot of questions to ask you about the
Speaker 1: company and some of your background. You have a fascinating
Speaker 1: resume leading up to this job. And also want to
Speaker 1: understand this is a company that's a hundred percent employee owned,
Speaker 1: as I understand it, so lots more to talk about
Speaker 1: with Karen Coolberg over at King Arthur Baking Company. Let's
Speaker 1: get back to our conversation with Karen Colberg, she's the
Speaker 1: co CEO of King Arthur Baking Company. Still with me
Speaker 1: on the phone from Norwich, Vermont. So, Karen, it feels like,
Speaker 1: and you know, I'm sort of teeing you up for this.
Speaker 1: You have sort of a special company there. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's run a little bit differently than maybe what we're
Speaker 1: used to tell me a little bit about it. So
Speaker 1: we're a hundred percent employee owned and have been for
Speaker 1: over twenty years. Uh. We are a founding b corporation,
Speaker 1: you know, benefit corporation, which means we you know, we
Speaker 1: are bound and committed to taking to you a multi
Speaker 1: stakeholder approach to managing the business in all decision making. UM.
Speaker 1: And as you noted when you introduced me, that we
Speaker 1: have a co CEO structure at the top, which in
Speaker 1: and of it in and of itself, as always is
Speaker 1: always interesting to folks. UM. But you know, it really
Speaker 1: starts with employee ownership and how everyone kind of shows
Speaker 1: up as owners and it's a real special part of
Speaker 1: of our culture and it's a kind of a defining
Speaker 1: part of who of who we are. So how did
Speaker 1: you come to the company, because you are not a
Speaker 1: lifer there at Ting Arthur. You've got a fascinating background.
Speaker 1: You worked at GE, you worked at GAP, I believe.
Speaker 1: So what's what's the brief story of Karen Colberg getting
Speaker 1: to this job. The brief story is I've always loved baking.
Speaker 1: My connection to this area where we are is a
Speaker 1: is graduate school. And uh, you know the short story,
Speaker 1: once I finally kind of make talk, went to talk,
Speaker 1: I went to talk, and um, moved to San Francisco,
Speaker 1: work to the Gap, loved it, Um, you know, finally
Speaker 1: decided to get married and have a family and decided
Speaker 1: to make a life change and loaded up the four
Speaker 1: f one fifty and drove across the country and King
Speaker 1: Arthur King Arthur Baking Company now King Arthur Flower. Then
Speaker 1: it really was the only place I wanted to work.
Speaker 1: And it took a few years to end up here. Um,
Speaker 1: but I, you know, kind of I made my way
Speaker 1: here and it's you know, kind of as I say,
Speaker 1: when I talked to the company about it, it just
Speaker 1: felt like coming home because you know, baking has always
Speaker 1: been something I've been passionate about. UM. And it's like
Speaker 1: I sit here chatting with you today, but you know,
Speaker 1: there's three seventy employee owners that really make this place
Speaker 1: as special as it is. So I'm I'm just proud
Speaker 1: to be part of that of that group. And so
Speaker 1: tell me about the people who who work there, because
Speaker 1: you know, as as you sort of allude to, you know, Norwich, Vermont,
Speaker 1: it is not This is no insult anyway. It's not
Speaker 1: a bustling metropolis. It's not New York City, it's not
Speaker 1: San Francisco where you live before. So it does take
Speaker 1: a certain sort of commitment to the mission, and the
Speaker 1: mission clearly is a big part of what you're doing.
Speaker 1: So so tell me about those other employee owners. So
Speaker 1: you know, our mission is basically building community through baking
Speaker 1: and hopefully you know, leaving the world a better place
Speaker 1: because through that and people that come to work here.
Speaker 1: And traditionally pre COVID it was kind of sometimes hard
Speaker 1: to recruit folks, right, and we're we're in nestled up
Speaker 1: in northern New England and it's not where you know,
Speaker 1: they're just not It isn't not bustling metropolis. Um, but
Speaker 1: people certainly like the community and where we live and
Speaker 1: the outdoors and all those pieces. But now in you know,
Speaker 1: the world where we were all remote, and it's it's
Speaker 1: much easier to imagine, you know, being remote. I think
Speaker 1: we I think a lot of us, you know, King
Speaker 1: Arthur and outside of King Arthur, you always thought you
Speaker 1: needed to be on site and the job needed to
Speaker 1: be there. That Um, I think that recruiting piece will
Speaker 1: look real, will look really different as we as we
Speaker 1: look forward, which is exciting, But it still takes the
Speaker 1: special person and the values alignment that people kind of
Speaker 1: show up here because I think of who we are
Speaker 1: as a company and what we're trying to do out
Speaker 1: there in the world, and how we treat our employees. Um,
Speaker 1: and we kind of collectively all believe in that and
Speaker 1: trying to you know, like I said, live our values everything,
Speaker 1: and it's you know, that's in it's you know, and
Speaker 1: I think any you probably talked to lots of business
Speaker 1: leaders all day long, and I think many companies out
Speaker 1: there probably have similar values and strive and strive to
Speaker 1: live them as well. UM. But for us, just you know,
Speaker 1: like we always say, let's just just do the right
Speaker 1: thing and most things are going to work out well.
Speaker 1: I dare say pun intended obviously, it's it feels like
Speaker 1: it's did here UM. And also this notion that in
Speaker 1: many ways, not just the the product, but you know,
Speaker 1: the whole notion of a b corporation. I feel like
Speaker 1: people are looking at that more seriously. I mean, what
Speaker 1: does it feel like, amot, We're on both the product
Speaker 1: side and the cultural side that the world has sort
Speaker 1: of come to you it. It feels, it feels great,
Speaker 1: it feels natural. UM. I think that people are both
Speaker 1: you kind of looking to us for what we do
Speaker 1: from a you know, kind of from a baking standpoint,
Speaker 1: and it certainly shined a light on on the company.
Speaker 1: And as we've as we were chatting or you've you've referenced,
Speaker 1: I appreciate it. You know, King we became King Arthur
Speaker 1: Baking Company this week, UM, which was a you know,
Speaker 1: long transition in the in the making, UM. And it's
Speaker 1: given us just a nice opportunity to really to both
Speaker 1: talk about what it is we're doing in showcase what
Speaker 1: it is we're doing, because it's always about UM our
Speaker 1: actions behind you know, the words that are out there,
Speaker 1: and so the heightened attention over the past three months
Speaker 1: has really given us an opportunity to really to talk
Speaker 1: about who we are talking about why we're in business
Speaker 1: and how we do business to your point, um, and
Speaker 1: it's all you know, baking is this platform for us
Speaker 1: to to do all the things that we're that we're
Speaker 1: trying to do. So tell me briefly, why make the change?
Speaker 1: I mean that is especially for a brand that's been
Speaker 1: around for as long as that, it feels subtle but
Speaker 1: meaningful in many ways. Is that just a sign of
Speaker 1: greater ambition or is it sort of the branding catching
Speaker 1: up with what you had already become. I'm gonna say both,
Speaker 1: and I you know, somebody think about it like it's
Speaker 1: a word, right, we want King Arthur Flower Company, King
Speaker 1: Arthur Baking Company. But it's so powerful because we have
Speaker 1: always been a company of bakers. The company kind of
Speaker 1: relocated from Boston to Norwich, Vermont about thirty years ago,
Speaker 1: and it was at that time where we said we
Speaker 1: have flower as our foundation. It's what that's what we do,
Speaker 1: that's what enables baking. But we're here to teach people
Speaker 1: to bake, We're here to inspire people to ache, and
Speaker 1: we're just kind of there to be your friend in
Speaker 1: the kitchen and help you and doing getting baking into
Speaker 1: our name. Um, it just really it does exactly say
Speaker 1: who we are and who we've been. And absolutely there's
Speaker 1: you know, we've all along, we've got already got hundreds
Speaker 1: of products and thousands of recipes and inspiration online, but
Speaker 1: lots of new products coming out as well that again
Speaker 1: speak to all kinds of baking, not just conventional wheat
Speaker 1: flower baking. Um so even though we've always done it,
Speaker 1: it's it's very freeing, and it's it says we're here
Speaker 1: and we are going to be doing exactly what we've
Speaker 1: been doing it and much more impactful, intentional, and it's
Speaker 1: and there's never that ambiguity of weight. Flower wait your flower,
Speaker 1: we're you know, we're baking company and flower is you know?
Speaker 1: Is that at the heart of it all? All right, well,
Speaker 1: I really enjoyed catching up with you. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1: Karen Coldburg, co chief executive Officer of King Arthur Baking Company,
Speaker 1: joining me on the phone from Norwich, Vermont