Canyon Bakehouse
Canyon Bakehouse, a leading gluten-free bakery, has seen significant growth since opening in 2009 and now distributes to all 50 states and internationally.
For the complete story on Canyon Bakehouse, see “Canyon Bakehouse redefines gluten-free.”
Canyon Bakehouse
When Christi Skow, co-founder of Canyon Bakehouse, Loveland, CO, received a diagnosis of celiac disease in 2007, she began her search for pleasing gluten-free foods that would form a regular part of her diet moving forward. Unfortunately, the products on the market at that time did not satisfy. But her husband, Josh Skow, co-founder and CEO, with a long history in the food industry, and friend Ed Miknevicius, co-founder and master baker, were able to come together to create some truly innovative, tasty gluten-free bread products that formed the basis of a new bakery, Canyon Bakehouse.
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Canyon Bakehouse grew from the collective experience of Josh Skow (left) and Ed Miknevicius (right), along with Christi Skow (center). At the point of startup, the owners did everything. Today, the company supports more than 100 employees. And it all started with a loaf of bread. “We had one product to show to a customer,” says Josh. “We showed it to Whole Foods Rocky Mountain Region, and they said they’d put it on the shelf. That’s how our business started. You have a few sales calls in your life that blow your mind. This was one of them.”
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In 2012, Canyon Bakehouse moved into its current facility, a 20,000-square-foot building, initially occupying 10,000 square feet with an option on the other 10,000. “Within six months, we took the other 10,000,” says Josh Skow. “We grew pretty quickly, on average between 90 and 100 percent growth every year. And we’re set to grow another 100 percent this year.” The current product lineup includes several loaf breads, focaccia, buns and muffins. The bakery also recently added bagels to the lineup.
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Canyon Bakehouse has steadily increased its daily output since opening in 2009. Distribution now spans across all 50 states, in more than 8,000 stores—including Target, Whole Foods, Wegmans, Kroger, Safeway, Giant Food, Stop & Shop, Hy-Vee, Ralphs, Raley’s, Sprouts Farmers Market, Natural Grocers and Costco.
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The bakery’s best-selling product is the 7-Grain bread. Canyon Bakehouse has crafted artisan characteristics into its products—positioning that has required careful balancing when facing the necessity of increasingly automating more aspects of production.
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Canyon Bakehouse Deli Rye tends to sell best on the coasts, says Josh Skow. “It doesn’t have rye, since rye contains gluten, but is has the caraway seeds. We use a natural sourdough starter to make it. It’s truly a unique, artisan-flavored bread.”
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Canyon Bakehouse now offers two new gluten-free bagels: Plain and Everything (a blend of garlic, onion, poppy and sunflower seeds). In 2014, the bakery started to try to get ahead of its production capabilities. “We bought more ovens than we needed, more proof boxes, more mixers, etc.,” says Josh Skow. “We didn’t need all of that for 2014, but we were ready for this year. It’s the first time that we were ready ahead of time.”
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Just by the nature of the Canyon Bakehouse process, the products have a certain amount of variation—a characteristic directly aligned with how shoppers perceive “artisan.” The loaf breads develop a signature crust that Ed Miknevicius says comes from the “fairly long bake times” the products require.
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Innovation continues at Canyon Bakehouse, and the bakery has also developed a new Brownie Bites product. “The Brownie Bites allow us to move into a dessert/snacking opportunity,” says Kevin Brouillette, vice president of sales and marketing.
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When Canyon Bakehouse products say their products are gluten-free, they mean it. “When we started back in 2009, there wasn’t a standard for how much allowable gluten could be in a product,” says Josh Skow. “Now the government has said that the limit is 20 ppm. We’ve never operated at that level. We always felt that if it’s gluten-free, it’s gluten-free—meaning there’s no gluten in it.” He notes that current scientific testing methods for gluten do not allow for indications below 5 ppm. “The acceptability range for our finished products is when the test comes back as undetectable.”