PLEASANTON, Calif., May 17, 2007 — Safeway continues adding natural and organic products by rolling out the first-ever mainstream whole wheat brownie mix, Big Bear Brownies. The folks at Baker Mills, the makers of Big Bear Brownies, always believed they could make a tastier whole wheat brownie mix than any white flour/white sugar mix on the market. For nearly two years, the Clarks, who own and operate Salt Lake City-based Baker Mills, worked on Big Bear Brownies. It is a double chocolate, whole grain brownie mix that rolls out this month into Safeway-owned stores nationally, which includes Tom Thumb, Randal's, Vons, Dominick's, Genuardi's, Pavilions, and Carr's. For these and other stores now selling the new product, Big Bear Brownies is the first whole wheat brownie mix in the mainline baking section.
With trends toward whole grains spiraling, consumers are looking for more whole grain products. "But they don't want cardboard," says Joel Clark, President of Baker Mills. "People know that they need to eat more whole grains, but they won't do it if they have to sacrifice taste," Clark says. The folks at Baker Mills believe they have developed a way to make whole grain baking mixes taste better than white flour mixes. Their customers agree. Since they launched their first product, Kodiak Cakes Flapjack Mix in 1995, letters from happy consumers have poured into their offices, telling them that this pancake mix is the best tasting mix on the market. Not bad for an add-water-only mix that contains no added fat, no cholesterol and is 100% whole grains.
Customers are now saying the same things about brand new Big Bear Brownies. One customer wrote, "That is the best brownie I have ever tasted. I can't believe its whole wheat." Retailers are just as excited about Big Bear Brownies, which in addition to Safeway, is now selling or will be placed in hundreds more stores such as Albertson's, Raley's, QFC, Smith's, Associated Grocers, Cabela's as well as many Kroger and Publix stores in May.
From his Salt Lake City basement in 1995, Jon Clark began selling his grandpa's whole wheat pancake recipe in the form of Kodiak Cakes. Clark, whose mother urged him to develop a business based on the family recipe, spent months researching grains and eating pancakes almost daily for six months, prior to taking the recipe to market. Clark's mother Penny dreamed about selling her father's recipe. In 1982, she sent her eight-year-old son Joel out to the neighbors, selling her lunch sack pancake mixes from his red Radio Flyer wagon. Joel, now 32, runs the company with his father Richard, 67, whom he recruited out of retirement as a university-level religion teacher. From their humble beginnings, the Clarks now sell their mixes in over 3,500 grocery stores nationwide, and online at http://www.kodiakcakes.com.
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For more information, contact:
Joel Clark
801-274-1191