Walking the llama trail - The North Star Monthly

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8 NOVEMBER 2009 THE NORTH STAR MONTHLYAcross the pondVt. company has banner year despite bad economyBY MICHELLE ARNOSKY SHERBURNEWhat do nursery rhymes,milk bottles, WellsRiver, and cocoa have to dowith one another? Bread &Chocolate’s combination ofthese four components hasmade them a leader in specialtyfoods in Vermont. Recently,their top sellers ofStory Time Cocoa and SillyCow Milk Bottles havelaunched them into the internationalforay.In business for 21 years, Bread& Chocolate, based in Wells River,has found its niche with awardwinninghot chocolate beverages,classic pancake, bread and sconemixes, and signature Maple Mooseand Maple Leaf pops.“Our product lines appeal toemotion. People are drawn to thefunky packaging. Our demographicis women ages 25 to 55.We have a niche in the specialtyfoods market. We have found thatpackaging is the key to sales,” saysBread & Chocolate co-ownerJonathan Rutstein.It all began with chocolatesauce. Jonathan and his wife Fran,both Vermont natives, relocated tothe Upper Valley area and boughta small business producing chocolatesauces with a dozen regularcustomers.Today, Bread & Chocolate hasdistributors covering the Northeast,Mid-Atlantic States, theSouthwest, West, California andthe Midwest. Their products arecarried in Canada, England, Scotland,Ireland, Wales and Spain.They have large customers like TJMaxx stores and Macy’s Departmentstores. The past two yearshave been banner years for them.But didn’t the U.S. have itsworst economic year in recentmemory? How did a specialtyfoods producer in Vermont fare?Business was on an even keel butin the spring of 2008, the economywas becoming more unstable,and summer brought through-theroofheating prices and pricegougingat the gas pumps. TheRutsteins were getting nervousabout the effects it would have ontheir business.So Jonathan and Fran thoughtoutside of the box or “cocoa tin,”as it were. They decided to pushinto broader territories and focuson getting an overseas distribution.That way, they wouldn’t rely solelyon the domestic market if theeconomy tanked.They focused their energies onthe growing interest in a relativelynew product of theirs, Silly Cowcocoa in old-fashioned, glass milkbottles. People just loved thecocoa in bottles, and the orderspoured in. They started picking updistributors in areas they had nevercovered before.At the June 2008 food show inNew York City, fate smiled onthem and created a cocoa stir overseas.They piqued the interest of aUnited Kingdom distributor thatcovers England, Scotland, Irelandand Wales. They had been tryingfor 10 years to get their foot in thedoor of the UK.“We knew if we got into thePhoto by Michelle Arnosky SherburneKim Young runs the filler machine, filling tins of HeavenlyCocoa Chocolate Hazelnut one at a time.UK, it would be huge. We kept ourfingers crossed, and if we had theright product line that UK consumerswanted, we would be in.”The right product line was the StoryTimeHot Chocolate lines.Today, their products are carried ina top-quality department storechain over there which has createda ripple effect of interest and orders.The StoryTime Hot Chocolateis their biggest seller here andabroad. They’re packaged in nurs-ALL LOCAL HADCRAFTSFine quality gifts for the holidays!.Here to make you smileGeneral Dentistry for your entire familyWe emphasize a caring staff withprofessional dental treatment ...seeing our patients at their appointed time.New Patients WelcomedHubert Hawkins, DDSSheila Amadon, RDH • Bonnie Johnson, RDHJanice Phelps, OM • Katya Khomenko, TDA1350 Main Street • Suite 1 • St. Johnsbury VT(802) 748-2325ORDEREARLYBroad Street, Lyndonville, VT 05851(802) 626-5051 Open M-F 10-6; Sat 9-5Vinyl ReplacementWINDOWS• Take Advantage of New Tax Incentive• Free Upgrade on Harvey WindowsDouble Low-E Argon• Easy Tilt-in Sashes• 20-year Warranty on Glass• Lifetime Warranty on Window• Free EstimatesGive us a callor visit our showroomOpen ThroughDECEMBERMAYO’SGLASS SERVICEfor the booklover on yourholiday list!Tues.-Sat. 9:30-6Sunday 9:30-1Closed on MondaysIntersection of Rt. 2 & 15West Danville, Vermontwww.joespondcrafts.com(802) 684-2192VERMONTLIQUOROUTLETin the heart ofDANVILLEGreat Selection of Scotch684-9797Monday - Saturday 10-6Sunday 10-4email: diamondh@charter.net744 Portland Street, St. Johnsbury, VT(802) 748-8895 • (800) 286-6296www.mayosglass.com / info@mayosglass.com
www.northstarmonthly.com NOVEMBER 2009 9ery rhyme character tins such asMother Goose, Frog Prince orHey Diddle Diddle featuringtwelve different flavors in differentcharacter tins.The Silly Cow cocoa bottlesare popular because of their nostalgicappeal and feed right into thelarge Americana craze. “We are theonly ones doing milk bottles inspecialty foods, so we don’t haveany competition. “ There was sucha huge demand for Silly Cowcocoa that in December 2008 theyadded a third flavor, marshmallowswirl, to the existing line of chocolateand chocolate truffle.Another huge seller is theiroriginal pancake and waffle mixes;they just can’t keep enough instock. Popular mixes are organicpumpkin spice, maple buttermilk,blueberry and apple-cinnamon intheir line of nine different varieties,organic and natural.In the B&C kitchens, they testevery product until they are satisfiedthat it is ready for consumers.If a customer calls in with a complaintthat the pumpkin spice pancakemix is too dry, they head backto the kitchen to see what needs tobe added to make it “just right.”In March 2008, there was a callfor organic pancake mixes so theydeveloped their own. Bread &Chocolate has gone “organic,”keeping up with consumer demand.Their cocoas, pancake,scone, and bread mixes are madewith all natural ingredients with nofillers or dairy products. Jonathansaid that they eliminated cornsyrup in their confections line anduse rice syrup instead.No order is too small or toolarge. From the franchise of 100stores to the woman who orderstwo tins of Mary Had A LittleLamb Chocolate Caramel cocoa,every order is treated with a handsonapproach.“We like to talk to our customers,listen to what they have tosay, get advice from them.” Whena national distributor requestedquick bread mixes, Bread &Chocolate developed Crusty Italianand New England Sourdough.Ever since they bought thebusiness in 1988, the Rutsteinshave made an effort to promoteVermont with its numerous smallmanufacturers. Bread & Chocolatepromoted Vermont at June2008’s New York City food showby bringing Clover, Vermont’s newDairy Mascot to accompany them.Photo by Michelle Arnosky SherburneThe assembly line at Bread & Chocolate in action! In thebackground, Charlie Gibson caps the cocoa tins and MikePerkins inspects and then uses an air compressor to clean offthe extra cocoa dust.Clover was introduced by the VermontAgency of Agriculture andVermont Dairy Promotion Councilto draw attention to Vermont’sdairy industry. Jonathan saidClover was a huge hit; everyonewanted their picture taken with themascot.Rutstein says, “Under theSnelling administration, Vermontspecialty producers were booming,the leaders in specialty foods. Webanded together and would go ‘inforce’ to trade shows as ‘VermontProducers’.” The whole “Made inVermont” push began there. Butthen politics and the business atmospherechanged and now thesmaller producers are neglected.“We want to get people interestedin Vermont products and inVermont again. There is so littleattention given to the producersfrom the state, which is where itneeds to come from.”Another example of the Rutsteinscreating a product that generatesVermont interest was theintroduction of the Maple Mooseand Maple Leaf Pops 19 years ago.Maple syrup, moose and mapleleaves are synonymous with Vermont.BeginningsTwenty-one years ago, theRutsteins bought a smallspecialty foods company fromPhyllis Perry in Bradford, Vt.They started out in the formerWells River Town Hall andthrough the years, Bread &Chocolate manufacturedchocolate sauces, berry preserves,jams, mustards, pastasauces, salsas, marinades, andvinegars.When they decided to changetheir focus to cocoa in 1990, awhole new world opened up tothem. Cocoa would be their key tosuccess. Their award-winning lineof hot chocolate beverages hit theshelves and people couldn’t getenough of them. Consumers fellin love with the nursery rhyme tinsand sales kept increasing. They expandedtheir lines to include pancake,waffle, and scone mixes thatliterally, took off like hot cakes.They also added lines of chais, teas,and lattes.In 1990, they added the name“Burnham & Mills” due to a namedispute with a Washington, D.C.bakery with the Bread & Chocolatename. Today they are Bread &Chocolate, dba Burnham & Millsand people are curious where thenames originated from.Jonathan says, “It sounds veryBritish, doesn’t it? Well, it’s a greatstory...when we lived in Haverhill,N.H. on Court Street; we lived inwhat was the old county jail in the1800s. The name comes from twonefarious characters connected tothe jail. Samuel Mills was the lastman hanged in public in NewHampshire at the jail site there in1868. The other was a notoriousRevolutionary War veteran, JosiahBurnham who ended up in the jailand then got into a fight with otherprisoners and killed someone.Burnham’s lawyer was a youngDaniel Webster, but he ended uphanged in Haverhill.” Jonathan,who loves history, and Franthought the unique historic connectionand its prestigious soundcombination worked for them.Their confections line was reviveda few years ago when theychanged the name and format fromGreen Mountain Suckers to MapleMoose Pops, Maple Leaf Suckers,and Lollie Palooza Toy Pops. All arehand poured in original Bread andChocolate molds, using all naturaland organic ingredients.As their business blossomed,space became an issue. A warehousein the Wells River industrialpark near Interstate 91 was a primelocation. In 1994, Bread & Chocolaterelocated. Locals drive past thenondescript home unaware of thekitchens buzzing with activity andthe warehouse full of palletsstacked high with 100-pound bagsof sugar, cocoa, ingredients, packingpeanuts, boxes, StoryTime tins,Silly Cow glass milk bottles, pancakemixes, etc.Jonathan and Fran divide theresponsibilities of the business betweenthem with Jonathan focusingon the marketing, business, ordersand shipping end and Fran incharge of the total production oftheir products, product development,packaging and personnelmatters.Bread & Chocolate’s productionseason runs from July to December.A dedicated staff of about18 employees during the productionseason shift into hyperdrive tokeep up with the orders. Four canoperate the assembly line fillingcocoa tins, the confections kitchenkeeps up with the pops, a crewworks on hand-labeling, packing individualtins, bottles or containers,and that’s all before it gets to fillingorders, packaging and shipping out.Everything is done by handwhich is incredible considering themagnitude of the orders. Bread andChocolate has two shifts workingdiligently, sometimes seven days aweek to keep up production. Thesecond shift consists of a crew thatworks at a local furniture factoryand then comes in to Bread andChocolate to work.In the spring, the confectionsorders start pouring in. The first ofAugust is the onslaught of cocoaand pancake/bread mix orders.What does Bread and Chocolateforesee for the near future?Rutstein has a positive spin onthings. He feels that there is plentyof business to be had in the Statesand even more overseas. Now thatBread & Chocolate is gainingrecognition overseas, there is an uncharteredsales market to be had.Jonathan sees the specialtyfoods line doing well and the forecastof a hard winter this yearmeans another banner year forBread & Chocolate. “It will be badfor our oil tanks but great for SillyCow Cocoa.”They never sit on one greatproduct and already have 2010plans to introduce a new line. Theyare in the process of designing asmall tin milkcan, like the farmersused, to feature a line of cocoa.“Our forecast is that people willlove this mini milkcan that they cankeep afterwards. It will be great!”Also because the StoryTime tins aresuch huge sellers, they plan onadding two more character tins tothe line.Production gets more complicatedwhen they have multipleproduct lines, inventory and ingredients.Bread and Chocolate planson purchasing another filling machineso they can dedicate one justfor the Silly Cow bottles and milkcans.“Our production now hasreached a real bottleneck, excusethe pun, because of only one machine.We need to have two continuouslines running to keep up withthe demand.”When an order for a pallet of100 cases of Chocolate Silly Cowbottles (that’s six bottles to a box)comes in, the cocoa dust flies andthe employees work until the orderis filled, packaged, and pallettedready to be shipped. Just anotherday in the life of Bread & Chocolate.NORTH DANVILLEMEMORY TREEto be lighted in Memory of Leonard CarsonSaturday, December 5, 2009, 7 p.m.Dedication and Refreshments to follow.NORTH DANVILLE MEMORY TREEReturn to: Mary McReynolds, 1034 McReynolds Road, Danville, VT 05828Name: ___________________________________________________Address: _________________________________________________beauty / strength / performanceTAX CREDITup to$1500ask us for detailsLifetime Warrantyfor as long as you own your house.Service & parts are free!Phone: __________________________________________________In Memory of: _____________________________________________Given by: _________________________________________________Make checks payable to: North Danville Community ClubFor information, contact: Lee Beattie (802) 748-8286Compare Paradigm’s U Values and see why paradigm is your BEST CHOICE IN WINDOWST.B.S.I.Bernard Timson, president1062 Railroad Street, St. Johnsbury / 802-748-3769Specializing in WINDOWS & DOORS (new & reconstruction) 30+ Years of Experience
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