Inspiration for Innovation

From health and diet concerns to filling an ethnic niche, these entrepreneurs had special reasons for getting into the specialty food business. Read on to learn how the people behind Karoun Dairies, Kitchen Table Bakers, Spread Health Foods, Mary’s Gone Crackers and Ayala’s Herbal Water got started.

By Eva Meszaros & Kristen Seymour

The Baghdassarian Family,
Karound Dairies

“Anto Baghdassarian started the business after emigrating from Lebanon to the U.S. because he discovered there weren’t many authentic, handmade, all-natural fresh Mediterranean cheeses available.”

Twenty years ago, Anto Baghdassarian and his family fled the civil war in Lebanon to start a new life in America.

Upon arriving in Hollywood, Calif., Anto noticed a lack of familiar dairy products. “There was a little bit of scattered product out there,” Anto’s son and COO of Karoun Dairies, Rostom Baghdassarian, says, “but nobody had a whole Mediterranean line.”

Anto had worked for almost 30 years in the dairy business in Lebanon before coming to the U.S. For two years, he took odd jobs while learning about California’s dairy industry, and then opened Karoun Dairies, which began as a small shop with a deli in the front and an area to manufacture cheese in the back. Armed with passion, education and experience in dairy agriculture and science, Anto began making handmade cheeses and natural yogurts in his new country. He created the cheese in other facilities, and then brought that to his shop where he would rework and stretch and make string cheese.

Between 1992 and 1999, Anto continued to use other facilities to create his specialty cheeses and he began to take his products nationwide. It was in 1999 that Karoun had a true breakthrough—the company purchased and moved into what is now its own 80,000-square-foot plant where it could manufacture all its dairy products, which include Mediterranean yogurts, labne (also known as kefir cheese) and sour cream, and remain near its milk source.

Although Anto created Karoun to fill an ethnic food niche, serving different specialty ethnic markets including Greek and Armenian, the dairy quickly moved into other specialty and natural stores and then to the general population.

“As early as 1994 or 1995, we were in Trader Joe’s and Costco,” notes Rostom. And when new food and diet trends gain popularity, the company notices. In addition to the Karoun brand, it also produces brands to appeal to different ethnic backgrounds. Arz, geared toward those of Middle Eastern origin, was launched in 2001. Queso Del Valle, directed towards the Mexican/Hispanic consumer, was created in 2002. Central Valley Creamery, a more general brand, came out in 2004 and the company’s popular Indian brand, Gopi, launched in 2006. These fresh, all-natural cheeses can be found in Whole Foods Markets and other grocers nationwide. karouncheese.com —K.S.

Barry Novick, Kitchen Table Bakers

“I started my company because I needed something to eat on the Atkins Diet that would satisfy my craving for a tasty, salty, crunchy snack.”

After building a successful career in hospital administration, Barry Novick found himself unhappy and unwell. He’d gained a lot of weight and knew that was the first thing that needed to change.

Novick tried the Atkins diet and was pleased with the results. He wasn’t happy, however, with the lack of salty, satisfying snacks available within those low-carb restrictions. His wife eventually found a recipe for parmesan crisps that intrigued them both, but on the first few tries, they hated the outcome.

“I kept with it until I found the right combo, not realizing that I was discovering that baking cheese crisps is really a science,” Novick says.

When he got it just right, Novick began serving the crisps at his kitchen table and bringing packages to parties.

“Celery can only absorb so much vodka,” he quips, and the crisps were a hit among dieters and non-dieters alike. After considerable encouragement from friends and the owner of a local business specializing in low-carb foods, Novick baked up a few batches in his double oven and sold the simple packages through that local business in 2003. They were snatched up so quickly that Novick decided to drop samples off at a few gourmet shops. His phone was ringing with orders by the time he got home. And so, at the age of 55, Novick left his day job and started working full time on his Kitchen Table Bakers crisps.

For close to a year, the Novick family baked, packaged and shipped the crisps in their kitchen. “Even the dog smelled like cheese,” Novick laughs. In November 2004, they moved the operation to a small bakery in Brooklyn, continuing to ship from their home. They quickly learned they needed help with more than just baking, however, and moved to a larger facility that could handle the entire operation. Novick is thrilled with how his kitchen table business has grow—2010 saw a 40 percent increase over the prior year and a sofi Gold Award from the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT) in the Outstanding Cracker category.

Available in Aged Parmesan, Sesame, Rosemary, Flax Seed, Garlic, Jalapeño, Italian Herb, Everything and a new Mini size Parmesan, the crisps can be eaten alone, in soups and salads or with a favorite dip. Because they’re wheat- and gluten-free, they’re a great choice for those with celiac disease. They are sold nationwide at Food Lion and Fresh Market as well as gourmet food shops across the U.S. and through a few online retailers, including the company website, kitchentablebakers.com —K.S.

Krishnaswami "Krish" Raja, Spread Health Foods

“We started our business because we wanted our natural-products chemistry research to help the American diet.”

Krish Raja, co-inventor of Nutmeric with his wife and fellow chemist Rema Balambika, has had his sights set on advancing health for some time.

“From when I was a child, I knew I wanted to make a positive health impact,” Raja says. As an organic chemist, he had the expertise to develop a healthful product. The key component of the Nutmeric line is turmeric, whose active ingredient curcumin, Raja learned in his research, has been linked to health benefits, including cancer prevention, joint support and heart health.

Raja found studies showing that colon cancer rates in populations that eat around 500 milligrams of turmeric daily are 10 times lower than in those that don’t. He then recognized that turmeric is all but nonexistent in the Western diet. “I decided I wanted to solve that problem,” he says.

Next came the challenge: how to turn this super-herb into a delicious, marketable food. Turmeric and curcumin are insoluble in water, thus nixing the simple tablet supplement option, but this obstacle inspired Raja. Knowing that curcumin needs a fat to help it dissolve, he realized that nutty spreads and dips would be the perfect vessel to introduce the potent ingredient to unfamiliar audiences.

“The invention of the Nutmeric series of spreads combine the best of East and West,” Raja explains. The basic formula mixes Indian turmeric with California almonds to create rich nut butters that provide your daily dose of turmeric in one spoonful. Of course, the product had to pass one more test before Raja and Balambika could deem it a success. “We formed Spread Health Foods when [a friend’s four-year-old son] Matty ate half a jar of Nutmeric at one go,” Raja recalls.

Now available online and at specialty grocers in select states, the patent-pending Nutmeric line is receiving accolades and awards, including a 2010 NASFT sofi Silver Award in the Outstanding New Product category. Other flavors include Mixed Nutmeric, a spread using mixed nuts, and Nutmeric Ultra, with 20 times more curcumin than classic Nutmeric.

Raja and Balambika’s Spread Health Foods is currently seeking funding to expand its line and availability across the U.S. Until then, Raja remains confident about his product. “In the Nutmeric series,” he declares, “we have redefined nut butters for the 21st century.” spreadhealthfoods.com —E.M.

Mary Waldner, Mary's Gone Crackers

“I started my company because after struggling with celiac disease, I knew there was a shortage of good-tasting gluten-free options. I had an intuitive flash that it was what I needed to do.”

Mary Waldner was so thrilled to understand why she’d been experiencing digestive pain and fatigue all her life that the idea of modifying her diet to accommodate celiac disease didn’t faze her. However, though Waldner was creative in the kitchen, even she occasionally found the restrictions of her 1994 diagnosis challenging, particularly at parties and restaurants where there wasn’t a dip or breadstick she could eat.

Waldner had always thought her health problems were related to what she ate. “I was already a health nut, and I ate a lot of seeds and whole grains—just not the right ones,” she says. Once she knew to stick to gluten-free grains, she knew which ones were the tastiest and most nutritious; she just needed to figure out how to put them together in a snack she could carry around with her. And so, Mary’s Gone Crackers was born.

Waldner spent about a year creating a cracker unlike anything on the market. She packaged her rice crackers—made of brown rice, quinoa, flax seeds, sesame seeds, salt and wheat-free tamari—in small bags and toted them to parties and restaurants so she wouldn’t feel deprived. Soon, her friends and fellow party-goers were asking for their own and encouraging her to publish a cracker cookbook. After so many hours in her kitchen with the recipe, Waldner knew people wouldn’t make the crackers on their own, but she also realized she had something special on her hands and, in 1999, she decided to start mass-producing the product.

It took Waldner and her husband until 2004 to learn the industry, create a business plan and determine what equipment would best suit their needs. They started with a hybrid co-packer arrangement, but in under a year, the Waldners had taken over production within the partner’s facility. They were growing quickly, and the process was more labor-intensive than the co-packer had envisioned.

A year later, Mary’s Gone Crackers moved into its current 54,000-square-foot facility. The company has seen approximately 42 percent growth each year, with the exception of the first two years when the numbers were close to double the year before. The crackers, which come in Original, Caraway, Herb, Black Pepper and Waldner’s current favorite, Onion, are available nationwide and have crossed over from strictly being a food for those with allergies to becoming a mainstream snack available in such supermarket chains as Kroger.

“It’s the gluten-free and gourmet food crowd that picks these up, but then their friends try them and love them,” explains Waldner. Mary’s Gone Crackers has expanded into Crumbs, Cookies and Sticks and Twigs, all of which are wheat-free, gluten-free, organic, vegan and kosher. marysgonecrackers.com —K.S.

Ayala Laufer-Cahana, MD, Ayala's Herbal Water

“I started my business because we’re drinking ourselves fat, and I found the perfect alternative.”

“I try very hard to practice what I preach,” says pediatrician Ayala Laufer-Cahana, inventor of Ayala’s Herbal Waters, a line of organic-certified, flavor-enhanced water. As a physician and healthy-lifestyle advocate, Laufer-Cahana wanted to offer her family and friends a delicious drink at dinner that didn’t contradict her values.

“I am especially concerned with the eating and drinking practices of kids, because childhood is when food habits form, and once formed, habits are hard to break,” Laufer-Cahana adds. So she turned to her homegrown organic herb garden and began experimenting with flavors.

“Culinary herbs are the natural way to flavor anything,” Laufer-Cahana says. “Herbs are also, to me, one of the most sensual foods, and really connect you to nature and memories.” She kept a pitcher in her refrigerator ready for her kids and their friends in place of sugary drinks. The response to her concoctions was unanimous, from visitors young and old. “[My guests] loved these drinks, came to expect them and asked for some whenever they visited.”

Realizing that she had tapped into something unique, Laufer-Cahana readily took her creation to the next level. The potential to influence a wider market in need of healthy, delicious alternatives to sugary sodas and juices—without the artificial sweetness of other zero-calorie drinks—was a no-brainer.

Despite her lack of food industry experience, Laufer-Cahana quickly wised up to the tactics of modern marketing. “We realized that our best shot was to rely on grassroots, word of mouth and a devoted fan base,” she explains. She uses social media tools such as Twitter, to not only spread the word about the Herbal Water line but also give a personality and community feel to the brand.

In six varieties, such as Lavender Mint and Lemon Verbena Geranium, Ayala’s Herbal Water is no middling flavored H₂O. This year the company introduced Sparkling Herbal Water, in Lemongrass Mint Vanilla, Cinnamon Orange Peel and Ginger Lemon Peel, all calorie-free and sold in elegant frosted glass bottles. Available to restaurants as well as retailers, 750 milliliter Sparkling Herbal Water sales have been strong, says Laufer-Cahana.

“The response is fantastic as this line fills a void in the market,” she notes. The company also provides suggested food pairings for each flavor. Currently, restaurants can purchase the beverages wholesale online, while plans for foodservice distribution are still in the works.

Though Ayala’s has plans for future growth, Laufer-Cahana is keeping her priorities in check. “We’re entrepreneurial by nature,” she explains. “A challenge is to hold back our desire to constantly create and innovate, so that we can concentrate our efforts on our core products and values.” herbalwater.com —E.M.

Eva Meszaros is associate editor of Specialty Food Magazine; Kristen Seymour is a freelance writer for Paw Nation, That’s Fit, BlogHer and Pet Home Magazine.

This article was featured in the March 2011 Issue of Specialty Food Magazine.
To see other articles in this issue, click on the following link:
March 2011 Specialty Food Magazine

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