Behind the scenes at King Arthur Flour

The sudden boom in home baking came as a surprise to the folks at King Arthur Flour (KAF for short), the Vermont-based purveyor of high quality flours and baking supplies. They were gearing up for the traditional mini-rush in the lead up to Easter when they noticed that the usual spike in sales was much, much larger than expected. They quickly found out that the panic over the pandemic had emptied store shelves of flour and yeast, and people were turning to alternative sources. In Marker, David H. Freedman tells the story of what happened next, while providing a brief history of the company.

Both professional and home bakers alike extol the virtues of KAF. The company dates to the 1790s, making it one of the oldest continually operating businesses in the United States. What sets KAF apart from its competitors is exacting specifications for its products and its success at adapting to changing consumer demands, including building a commanding online presence. The company also published a newsletter that helped it build a community of bakers: first as The Baking Sheet, which was later expanded to full magazine format and re-branded as Sift. While KAF switched Sift to an online-only magazine for 2020, it has expanded its video offerings.

The article explores how the employee-owned KAF was able to quickly pivot its production from the bulk sizes that formerly went to institutional customers to the smaller sizes that home consumers needed. It involved adding capacity to existing facilities and establishing a partnership with another company that had room in its production line for KAF’s products. “It was an expensive solution, so it will be a temporary offering,” said Bill Tine, King Arthur’s vice president of marketing. “But we expect to keep it available for at least three months.”

While the pandemic has forced many companies to close, KAF has seen its business increase dramatically. Despite the challenges, KAF has put the health of its employees first, sending the bulk of its workforce home.For those whose jobs could not be performed remotely, training was offered so those employees could work from home. So far, no KAF employees have been furloughed and all are being paid, including a dozen employees who have been tasked with sewing masks for other employees.

Photo of Tuscan bread with herbs from Sift Magazine