How To Move Forward Against The Grain
At the start of the 21st century, Tom and Nancy Cain moved with their two sons from NYC to Southern Vermont in search of a better life. Little did they know just how successful that search would be.
Shortly after their arrival in Vermont, Tom was diagnosed with celiac disease, an immune reaction to eating gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. One of their boys was gluten-intolerant as well, and the gluten-free breads that were available at the time, while effective, were very dense and not tasty. Nancy figured there had to be a better way, so she researched recipes and started making her own gluten-free (GF) bread in their kitchen.
After some experimentation, she developed a recipe for a baguette that was not dense like existing GF breads, but had an open crumb, similar to the classic, wheat-flour baguettes. It also tasted much better than other GF breads. These baguettes were a huge hit in the Cain family, who wondered if other people would find it as delightful as they did. They asked friends and family to try a baguette and tell them if they thought there was a market for it. Almost immediately people offered to invest. In 2005, Against The Grain Gourmet was founded and soon began renovating a small space in the BDCC Business Park building at 22 Brown Court in Brattleboro.
In 2011, the company expanded its footprint in the BDCC building to 7,000 square feet and added its 13th employee. And since 2014, Against The Grain (ATG) has been named by Vermont Business Magazine to its list of fastest growing companies for 10 consecutive years, often ranking #1 or #2. ATG’s footprint in the Business Park building has increased more than eleven-fold to 78,000 square feet, and the total number of employees now stands at 100.
France Got Things Started, But Italy Was The Game-changer
From 2005-2007 ATG produced just bread. Pizza dough was added in 2008. Then in 2010, the company started offering pre-made frozen pizzas complete with toppings, and that’s when things really took off.
“We’ve grown like amoeba,” says Gregor Burriss, ATG’s Director if Manufacturing Operations, who started as that 13th employee in 2011. “We’ve basically doubled our sales every year, and with no sales team, just great product.” ATG products can now be found in several large grocery chains, including Whole Foods, Publix, and Walmart. “As a result, we just keep taking over more and more space in the Business Park,” says Burriss. “Our original space is now the R&D room, and we have created a large, dedicated space for producing just the pizza toppings.”
Location, Location, Location
Large-scale food manufacturing is typically located in the middle of the country, closer to agricultural centers and where it’s less expensive to ship product nationwide, but ATG loves being in Southern Vermont.
“Logistically, the BDCC Business Park is just half mile off I-91, so it’s easy for suppliers to deliver and for us to ship,” says Burriss. “We also like to lean on the Vermont spirit as part of our brand. ‘Don’t tell us we can’t do something. We’re Vermonters, and we have sharp elbows.’”
Those elbows come in handy when stealing freezer space from competitors. “We just ask the stores to try our pizza, now try theirs,” says Burriss. “Which would you want to eat?”
Companies Do Not Thrive By Bread Alone
Innovation at ATG isn’t limited to their food products. The company has worked with BDCC and other partners to make continuous improvements within their space in the Business Park. Earlier this year at the Efficiency Vermont Exchange, Burriss shared how the company is lowering energy costs through a flexible, load management program. A newly installed freezer control and FLM system allows their freezers to get cold, then shut off during periods of high electrical demand, known as ‘peak events.’
“This specific system we have is one of the first in the nation, which suits us just fine,” says Burriss. “We love to do things differently. Heck, it’s in our name!” Most recently, ATG made a significant investment to improve food safety: they added floor drains so they are now able to spray sanitizer on equipment and walls at the end of each day. Next up is working on a way to distribute excess BTUs from the oven room to parts of their 78,000 sq. ft. that are cooler. “The name of the game is persistent improvement,” adds Burriss.
ATG and BDCC have been partners in real estate-only for nearly 20 years, but recently there have been talks about ways BDCC might be able to help with funding future expansion and machinery acquisition. “I have learned a lot from the people at BDCC,” says Burriss. “They have been great to work with for sure!”
