America's oldest flour company is experiencing dynamic growth since relocating to Vermont. How have they done it? Find out in this discussion about the company known for King Arthur Flour.
If you're from New England and you've tasted superb baked goods; like cakes, breads, rolls, pastries or pies then chances are you're familiar with King Arthur Flour. The Sands, Taylor & Wood Company, which was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1790, is best known for it's high-quality King Arthur Flour. Flour, as a supermarket product category nationally is experiencing slight declines in supermarket sales.
King Arthur Flour sales however are "on - the - rise "! Now, more than 200 years since it's inception distribution has spread to 49 of the 50 states. King Arthur has finally conquered America!
History
The Sands, Taylor and Wood Co. began operation in 1790. That makes King Arthur the oldest flour company in America. The company was headquartered on Boston's Long Wharf and imported quality flour from England. Since it's beginning King Arthur has and continues to sell only unbleached, unbromated milled flour with absolutely no chemical additives. A high protein, quality flour that has earned accolades from chef's world-wide.
In 1896 George Wood, one of the founder's of the company came up with the now famous name for the product King Arthur Flour. The legendary name came to him after attending a play called "King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table" in Boston. Woods felt the ideals of King Arthur matched the attributes of his new flour perfectly; strength (high protein) and purity (no chemical additives) .
In 1984 King Arthur flour moved to the scenic Connecticut River valley town of Norwich, Vermont just across the river from Hanover, New Hampshire. Company President, Frank Sands, attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. and developed a deep fondness for northern New England.
The company moved into it's present 16,600 square foot timber frame headquarters in October of 1995. The building features a unique 12-sided post and beam, open floor plan design.
Growth
In 1990 the company developed it's first catalogue. The new division has brought a new revenue source to the Sands, Taylor & Wood Company. The mailing list has grown from 100,000 people to more than 3.5 million people. Sales have also jumped, from 3.5 million dollars in 1994 to 7 million dollars in 1997. The original catalogue was actually more like a pamphlet and featured mostly flour. The new color catalogue has more than 600 different items.
The King Arthur's Flour Baker's catalogue currently features hard to find baking supplies, accessories and extracts. Many of the commercial grade baking and cooking utensils in the catalogue were previously unavailable to the non-professional. The products offered are all tried, tested and recommended before being placed in the catalogue. Sales have been brisk and continue to grow. The catalogue is getting larger with each issue and new products are constantly being tested and selectively added. The company was 200 years old when it produced it's first catalogue. It's been quite a nice birthday present.
The retail store on Route 5 in Norwich, Vermont is also growing and contributing to profits. Plans are to enlarge the current building to accommodate more products ... and more customers. The store promotes business by offering free baking demonstrations every month. The topics range from cake decoration to donut making to chocolate. The demonstrations are quite popular and effective at informing the public and promoting sales. Details are posted on the company's web site or available by phone at 802.649-3361.
The fourth division of Sands, Taylor & Wood Company is baking supply sales to commercial bakery's and food service organizations.
Marketing & Advertising
King Arthur Flower is a company that believes in advertising and in fact, has done some rather bold promotions to attract attention. King Arthur Flour was the first company to advertise on Boston street cars in the 1800's. Their entry into the New York market was announced by Walter Sands personally. Mr. Sands drove a truck outfitted with a large pipe organ and an 8 foot wooden statue of King Arthur, through the streets of New York City! The NYPD put a stop to the promotion until New York City mayor Jimmy Walker granted a special license to Walter Sands as an "itinerant musician".
At a Boston Food Festival an armored man dressed as King Arthur rode in on a stallion waving his flag and promoting his cause!
Radio listeners may remember "The King Arthur Round Table Of Song" or the "King Arthur Coffee Club". The programs aired on WBZ in Boston in the 1930's and 40's.
These days more traditional mass media like T.V., magazines and the internet is utilized. The T.V. dollars are spent primarily in new markets to build consumer awareness. Campaigns are concentrated to air just prior to the start of "baking season" which is November for the consumer market.
The Internet: King Arthur on the WWW.
Like it's profits, King Arthur's web site is growing. The King Arthur web site was developed in 1996 originally as way to inform customers of retail stores selling King Arthur flour and to share recipes. The recipe section of their web site is the most popular. More attention is being spent on this relatively new medium and plans are to offer more direct to consumer sales on the web.
