for King Arthur's products jumped six-fold almost overnight. The company, based in Norwich, Vermont, scrambled to manage supply chains, ramp up production and to focus on in-demand items like bread flour.
“We built trust with the baker over decades,” Colberg said. “We didn’t have to react in the moment. That’s what we always did.”Interest in home baking hasn’t subsided along with the virus. Bakers are now experimenting with more complex ingredients, Colberg said. King Arthur is seeing double the website traffic for its
The Associated Press spoke with Colberg about King Arthur’s growth and its unusual structure as an employee-owned company. Her comments have been edited for length and clarity.A. We believe our product is a very good value, particularly for the heavy baker, because of the performance and the consistency. Baking is not only an escape -- people say they do it for stress relief -- but it’s also a less expensive way to bake a nice artisan loaf of bread.
Q. You shared the CEO job at King Arthur for nine years before becoming the sole CEO in 2023. How did sharing the top job prepare you?