Business - Made in Whatcom

POSTED: Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008

Erin Baker's debuts Power Crunch granola at Ironman

This week: Erin Baker's Wholesome Baked Goods

What it makes: Breakfast Cookies, in about a dozen varieties and five types of granola, loaded with whole grains and other basic ingredients like peanut butter, molasses and pure vanilla extract. The 15-year-old Bellingham company also makes Brownie Bites, a healthier take on a decadent treat, which were featured on the "Rachael Ray Show" in September.

Recent business news: Erin Baker's recently partnered with the Ironman Triathlon to release an official Ironman granola called Ultra Protein Power Crunch Granola. The peanut-butter flavored granola packs 8 grams of protein per serving.

Erin Baker's has had booths at Ironman competitions for the past five years, marketing its products to athletes. After sealing a licensing agreement with Ironman, Erin Baker's debuted Power Crunch at this year's Ironman world championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, on Oct. 11.

"We partnered with (Ironman) to bring credibility to the product as a great tool for athletes to train with," said owner Erin Baker. Power Crunch is a suitable breakfast or snack for elite athletes, but Baker wants people to know that it's as much an everyman's granola as it is an Ironman's.

"It's great for normal people too," she said. "We all need that to get through the crazy stuff in life, and food, sustenance is something that we take great comfort in and fuels us."

Baker is working on getting Power Crunch on the shelves of local grocery stores, like Haggen.

"People love the product," she said. "They love the crunch and the freshness and the peanut flavor."

Volume: 300,000 breakfast cookies and 50,000 10-ounce bags of granola per week.

Marketplace: Erin Baker's cookies and granola are available at their Meridian Street Bakery and in local stores such as Haggen, Cost Cutter, the Community Food Co-op, Terra Organica and Bargainica, as well as in larger national chains such as Safeway, Fred Meyer and Albertsons.

Production process: To make the Ultra Protein Power Crunch Granola, oats are mixed with honey, peanut butter, canola oil, molasses and vanilla extract in a 140-quart electric mixer. When the mixture is sticky, protein-coated crisp rice, flax meal and oat bran are added and mixed again so the ingredients form clusters. The granola clusters are spread onto 40 sheet pans that are wheeled into a giant oven. After baking, the granola is cooled by fans, then placed on a conveyer belt that moves them into a scale head, where they are weighed and divvied into 12-ounce portions.

"We used to do it by hand - what a nightmare," said Baker, who began her business in a basement kitchen in downtown Bellingham.

Workforce: 50.

ERIN BAKER'S WHOLESOME BAKED GOODS

4208 Meridian St.

Bellingham, WA 98226

(360) 714-9585

bbcookies.com