Kinnikinnick Foods Brand

Kinnikinnick Foods Brand

Kinnikinnick Foods is a food production company that specializes in gluten-free items. They’ve been in operation since 1991. During their launch, they were one of the 3 snack manufacturers countrywide that catered to people with Celiac Disease. The company’s current CEO is Jerry Bigam who is also a co-owner. Kinnikinnick employs around 200 people in its facilities and the main production center has an overall space of 150,000 square feet.

Kinnikinnick Foods Brief History

Though the company began operations in 1991, Jerry Bigam purchased half of the shares together with his wife Lynne in 1997. Their business took off quickly, especially when the couple’s son, Jay, suggested that they set up a website to improve sales and distribution. The online portal needed to be easy to navigate and use and accessible from all types of devices. The Bigams later took full ownership of Kinnikinnick in 2005.

When they first acquired shares for their company, the potential for growth in the gluten-free market was quite unclear. But Lynne and Jay turned fortunes around and proved that this was indeed a lucrative business to get into. Both of them had been confirmed as Celiac patients in 1998. They embarked on a mission to help other patients in America and worldwide through creating healthy, gluten-free snacks.

Kinnikinnick is acclaimed for being the first gluten-free company in North America to distribute freshly baked items through a courier. In fact, at one point in time, direct sales to customers made up around 80% of their total sales. They ranked among the top 5% of active UPS distributors in Canada for many years consecutively. This business model served as inspiration for others who later entered the budding gluten-free industry.

Recent Developments

In a bid to reduce clutter and focus on the things that matter, Kinnikinnick has updated its website to feature a simplified version with only 3 main areas for Products, Stores, and Recipes. In the Products section, there are complete details regarding each item on sale, ingredients, quality standards and frequently asked questions about the products. There’s also a quick and simple way to add items to your cart. In addition, registered users can easily save favorite products and buy them later with a single click.

In the Stores section, it’s been made easier to use and upgraded with new features that improve navigation. You can conduct a local search in your area by entering your zip code. There are more than 13,000 stores that currently sell Kinnikinnick products. Moreover, the new website is hosted on SSL, meaning that each visitor is protected by encryption.

As part of their security upgrade measures, the company has disabled browser support for older search engines. Therefore, if you’re encountering any difficulties with viewing the site then try upgrading your browser. This should be done as soon as possible since older browsers can pose a huge security threat to users.

Kinnikinnick Foods Goals and Objectives

Kinnikinick’s mission statement is to provide Celiac patients and those with special dietary needs with an untainted, risk-free source of gluten-free foods. They aim to provide customers with products that taste and look great. Customers have a practically unlimited choice of items to pick from, all of which are delicious. For these people, the act of purchasing and preparing food from home can be a big challenge. Hence the reason why they prefer pre-cooked items that are made gluten-free.

The company takes pride in providing these items to those living with special dietary needs, or those that are sensitive to gluten. Their offices receive multiple calls per week from satisfied customers calling to say thank you for the amazing products, with most of them attesting that they have indeed made a difference in their lives.

As Kinnikinnick continues to enhance and expand their line of specialty items, they believe that even more people will enjoy their products and see them as a healthy and fulfilling alternative to other foods. They shall continue being the leading manufacturers of alternative foods for many years to come.

Other Emerging Trends

Radical improvements in the gluten-free market segment have seen many manufacturers changing their products to suit consumer demands. While most customers are mainly looking for gluten-free products, they’ll not put up with plain, tasteless foods that offer no sensory appeal. This has spurred innovation in production throughout the sector, with Kinnikinnick taking the leading role. Increased competition has also resulted in major changes in the manufacturing process.

About 15 years ago, the company sold 21 different types of bread and each one of them had its own unique distribution network. Today, they sell their signature white and multi-grain bread, and also have the distribution channels ready for two new soft bread products that are soon to be released. These items are outselling the older bread products by huge numbers.

Despite the high demand, they’ve doubled down on quality and their products still meet the highest possible market standards. Their motto is making top quality bread both efficiently and cheaply. Nevertheless, as of November 2014, they discontinued production of certain items, namely:

• Sunflower Flax Bread
• Tapioca Rice Bread
• Robin’s Honey Brown-Bread
• White Sandwich Bread
• Candadi Yeast-Free Multigrain Bread
• Italian White Tapioca Rice Bread

No products found.

For those customers who were accustomed to these products, this may come as unwelcome news, but the decision is based on factors that are for the common good of the company. These bread products have been completely taken off the shelves by most distributors.

Following their move to discontinue the products listed above, Kinnikinnick Foods won’t release any recipes of the withdrawn products. They’ll also not be taking any special orders from customers regarding these items.

But all is not lost since there are still four new generations of soft bread products that customers can try which are superior in taste, nutrition, and texture compared to the discontinued products. For customers with additional allergen intolerances that necessitated reliance on these de-listed products, the frustration can be real, but there are still other substitutes which you can check out from the Kinnikinnick product lineup.

Sources

• http://blog.kinnikinnick.com/
• https://www.kinnikinnick.com/index/content/corpphilosophy
• http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-growth/top-10-food-companies-kinnikinnick-foods/article555804/