Thrive, Nothing Bundt Cakes partner to help employees learn

Nothing Bundt Cakes employs over 6,000 people, from established individual operators to those with ambitions to become multi-site franchisees.

courtesy of Thrive Learning/Nothing Bundt Cakes

Thrive Learning, the industry’s fastest-growing learning technology company, has secured a U.S.-based partnership with Nothing Bundt Cakes, the nation’s largest specialty cake company.

Founded in 1997, Nothing Bundt Cakes has grown from a business which started in a home kitchen, to over 550 hand crafted bakery locations in 40+ U.S. states and Canada, offering a modern spin on a classic treat.

As the business continues to grow and thrive, the Nothing Bundt Cake team wanted to ensure everyone under the business umbrella has the support to develop an ingrained culture of self-directed learning to ultimately unlock growth, which is why they approached Thrive as their partner of choice for now and for the future.

Nothing Bundt Cakes has a unique and varied team, with over 6,000 people from established individual operators to those with ambitions to become multi-site franchisees. They needed a modern and dynamic platform which could be tailored to each individual’s needs, empower people to take control of their learning, and be used to smoothly and efficiently onboard new team members and franchisees. Thrive’s all-in-one learning platform will provide Nothing Bundt Cakes with a learning hub to suit the needs of their growing enterprise.

“As a hugely widespread and growing business across the states, Nothing Bundt Cakes needs a robust communications vehicle which can reach each bakery not only with the most pertinent information but a system which helps build a strong and flourishing learning culture. One which truly allows Nothing Bundt Cakes to take care of its people, and give them unrivalled access to learning opportunities, career development resources, and development opportunities," comments Sean Reddington, CEO of Thrive Learning.

"We love a challenge at Thrive, and building and delivering a solution which not only meets the needs of a customer today but also will grow with them for years to come is where we truly shine.”

Alongside Thrive’s learning tools, which include features such as social learning, AI-powered solutions, and setting goals to drive skills development, Nothing Bundt Cakes also has access to Thrive Content, a library which delivers ready-made e-learning to upskill teams with thousands of sector-specific resources, pre-made pathways and a service that fills content gaps overnight.

“This partnership has been a long-time in the making, we considered over 18 different providers! But are incredibly excited to properly begin our journey with Thrive, a company with the capacity to support our vision for the future," adds Anna Marie Samson, vice president of learning and development at Nothing Bundt Cakes.

"We came to them with a very specific problem—how do we ensure we are not only empowering our Support team, but ensuring everyone across the Nothing Bundt Cakes family has easy access to world-class training, job-aides, learning content and more. On top of that, how do we create a system which people actually want to engage with, which delivers content in an exciting and social way?"

“Thrive ticked all of the boxes and more. We feel this partnership is the start of our digital transformation and puts the power of learning into the hands of all of our team members. Through the communications tool, we can create connections regardless of geography and really bring the team together. What better way for us to say thank you to our people than investing in their future?"

Alongside championing social learning, with a reporting and performance tracking system, Thrive will support the Nothing Bundt Cakes managers and senior team, giving valuable insight into the correlation between learning behaviors and performance metrics, pinpointing how employees are interacting with the platform. Statistics such as when, where, and how will help determine if they are learning on the go or as a part of their usual daily routine at work.

The appointment with Nothing Bundt Cakes will expand Thrive’s portfolio of clients who have invested in employees to create a unified approach to learning and development, including Burger King UK, Krispy Kreme, St Austell Brewery, Black Rifle Coffee, Dojo, and many more.

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Liz Parker Kuhn is the senior editor of Candy Industry and Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery, and has worked at BNP Media since 2012. She has written for CBS Detroit as well as for her own blogs. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan. Liz can be contacted at (248) 839-7156 or at parkere@bnpmedia.com.