How King Arthur Baking Company navigated shifting markets for over 200 years and became a 21st-century multimedia powerhouse.
Each century presents new challenges for businesses. Some adapt and some don’t. It’s widely accepted that only around half a percent of companies have what it takes to last one hundred years.
King Arthur Flour has managed to last more than two. The company (now known as King Arthur Baking Company) is older than the New York Stock Exchange by two years.
In fact, it began when George Washington was still setting up the federal government during his first term in office.
Forging a Legacy
King Arthur was founded in 1790 in Boston, Massachusetts, by Henry Wood.
Henry Wood & Company—the precursor to the modern-day King Arthur Baking Company—was primarily an importer and supplier of high-quality English-milled flour, which was brought over to America on ships in wooden barrels.
A Shift to American Wheat
By the 1800s, fertile land became available in the Midwest, and American settlers followed. As a result, domestic wheat farming grew quickly.
With an abundant domestic supply, Wood stopped importing English wheat and switched exclusively to American-milled flour.
Eventually, the company would become known as Sands, Taylor, & Wood Company when Mark Taylor and George Sands joined the business.
Going forward, the Sands family assumed key roles in the company’s leadership and operations.
Selling King Arthur Flour in Simpler Times
From the 1800s to the 1900s King Arthur relied on print advertising to promote their flour. For instance, outdoor billboards and posters. And newspapers and magazines.
During World War II, they tucked collectible picture cards of American military ships, airplanes, and weapons in their flour bags.
Adapting to New Media
After the war, more families owned radios than cars or telephones. King Arthur was quick to use the medium to market its flour.
They sponsored radio shows where “New England’s Food Expert” Marjorie Mills served up baking tips and recipes while promoting King Arthur Flour on the air. Listeners could participate in write-in contests to win five-pound bags of flour.
Mills made personal appearances in grocery stores as part of the company’s marketing strategy to promote home baking.
By the 1950s, media boomed, particularly with the advent of television.
New shows that taught viewers how to whip up interesting dishes made cooking feel adventurous, and transformed it from a routine task into something exciting—even glamorous.
The Impact of Cultural Change on King Arthur Flour
Thanks to the G.I. Bill, a wave of newly educated veterans entered the workforce. Incomes rose and a burgeoning middle class prospered. It was a golden era of optimism and economic growth.
The Rise of Kitchen Technology
A housing boom led to cities rapidly expanding into the suburbs. New homes featuring cutting-edge technology were being built at a fast pace. These homes often came with modern kitchens equipped with the most advanced appliances such as refrigerator-freezers, electric ranges, and dishwashers.
With the emergence and widespread use of refrigerators with built-in freezers, frozen dinners hit the market. These meals were called “TV dinners” and came in cardboard packaging designed to look like a television. For many consumers who grew up with wartime rationing, these novelty products felt like a modern luxury.
There was a significant shift in marketing during this period, too, primarily aimed at women. Appliance and food brands jumped at the opportunity to promote a sleek, modern lifestyle. Their approach framed women no longer as housewives, but as masters of their home’s new modern technology who could wow their families and entertain guests.
The Decline of Home Baking
By the 1960s, reality set in. With rising costs and stagnant incomes, many families found a single salary was no longer enough to maintain the lifestyle they desired, leading to more women entering the workforce to supplement household income.
As convenience became a top priority the popularity of processed foods increased. A faster-paced lifestyle meant that families had less time to bake and cook from scratch. With two breadwinners in the household, family incomes rose, making ready-to-eat products more affordable.
Growing Health Consciousness
Over the next decade, attitudes toward health and nutrition changed dramatically, spurred on by the release of Rachel Carson’s groundbreaking book, Silent Spring, in 1962.
The book was a wake-up call that shocked the public with revelations that chemical pesticides like DDT weren’t the harmless sprays consumers had been led to believe. Rather, they were sneaking into the food chain and amassing in our bodies, wreaking havoc on our health and the environment.
Many consumers began to prioritize nutrition and health over convenience. Home cooked meals, once again, became a priority. They were eager for more wholesome safer food choices over ultra-processed, chemical-laden options. It was a pivotal influence that reshaped diets and accelerated the organic movement.
An Action Plan to Grow Their Bottom Line
Consumer sentiment towards baking seesawed with each decade, creating challenges for King Arthur. To buffer their business from future market swings and boost profits, the company settled on two key strategies:
First, they would implement a marketing plan to continually engage and educate home bakers about the nutritional benefits of using King Arthur Flour.
And second, they would expand their product line and diversify their portfolio, starting with wholesale flours and later incorporating commercial baking equipment.
King Arthur’s Premium Quality Promise
As its slogan, ‘Never Bleached, Never Bromated,’ makes clear, King Arthur Flour is a natural product.
It’s also worth noting that King Arthur pays a premium for wheat that’s higher in protein, which is vital to achieving a higher rise in baked goods.
King Arthur has always chosen a simpler, unprocessed method to develop its flour. They let their flour rest for several weeks after milling, exposing it to oxygen, which gives it the creamy, natural appearance that sets it apart. It not only tastes better, but it is also healthier and performs better.
Its competitors speed up their production to make higher profits by using harsh chemicals to bleach and age their flour. For instance, chlorine dioxide, the main ingredient in laundry bleach, and benzoyl peroxide, found in acne medicine.
Business Expansion Through A Decade of Acquisitions
In 1963, like his father and grandfather before him, Frank E. Sands II joined the family business and ultimately was named president.
At that time, the company was a profitable operation generating $3 million. It relied solely on the strong reputation and distinction of its long-standing product, King Arthur flour.
Five years in, Sands embarked on a series of acquisitions that would unfold over the coming decade and make King Arthur the largest distributor of baking supplies in New England.
Sands, Taylor & Wood acquired Joseph Middleby, a manufacturer of baking supplies, such as prepared pie fillings, in 1973.
In 1975, they acquired H.A. Johnson, a manufacturer and purveyor of baking supplies. The company produced 14 different product lines, including jams, preserves, extracts and ice-cream toppings. This acquisition alone boosted King Arthur’s sales from $12 million to $25 million within two years.
Over the years, the company began to offer more products under the King Arthur name, including baking supplies, commercial equipment and even a line of coffee.
As acquisitions grew, sales shot up to more than $40 million, and the workforce climbed from 20 to 160 employees.
King Arthur Faces Challenges of Rapid Growth
During the 1970s, corporate mergers and acquisitions surged. The period marked the rise of large conglomerates (large corporations made up of a collection of smaller, unrelated businesses across different industries, operating under a single parent company) and became known as the Merger Wave.
This was a time when U.S. antitrust laws became more lenient, greenlighting lucrative deals for conglomerates that would likely have been blocked before.
These deals grew in number and size as low-interest rates made it easy to borrow capital for leveraged buyouts.
Consequently, corporate balance sheets became burdened with vast quantities of debt.
By the late 1970s, interest rates rose, and King Arthur (like many others) found it almost impossible to pay off its expansion debt. Persistent inflation and financial pressure forced the company to change strategy.
Simplifying to Scale
In 1978, Frank E. Sands II sold off all but the core flour business. He settled a significant portion of the company’s debt and restructured the organization to refocus solely on its flagship product, King Arthur Flour.
Relocating for Renewal
Then, Frank, along with his wife and co-owner Brinna Sands, opted for a simpler life and moved the company to Norwich, Vermont.
Brinna strongly believed that to sell King Arthur Flour, the company needed to show consumers what the flour could do.
Her vision for the company would transform King Arthur from a small regional flour company to an indispensable resource for bakers worldwide.
Three viable corporate assets would play a crucial role in realizing that vision and set the stage for the tremendous success about to unfold: a monumental cookbook, a national catalog, and a website.
A Landmark Cookbook
By 1990, King Arthur simultaneously marked its 200th anniversary and hit $6 million in sales, all with just five employees.
The company’s bicentennial was marked with the release of Brinna’s inspired and encyclopedic baking book, The King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook.
Brinna created and perfected every recipe in the book, bringing everything together with a mix of science, personal stories, and helpful tips from her vast baking experience.
It would go on to receive the James Beard Foundation’s cookbook of the year award.
The Baker’s Catalogue
King Arthur had already established itself as the trusted and preferred brand for high-quality, unbleached, and additive-free flour. People loved it, and they weren’t shy about letting the company know.
Die-hard fans would write in, “I’m in Florida and can’t find King Arthur flour! Can you send me some?”
Brinna would wrap up flour in paper bags, head over to the Norwich post office, and mail it off to eager fans in Florida.
A catalogue business would formalize the process and put a system in place for continual mail-order sales.
Also, with the catalog, they could expand the company’s reach and get its flour into the hands of more loyal customers who had moved beyond their New England roots, including snowbirds who spent the winter months soaking up the sun down south.
Brinna and Frank introduced The Baker’s Catalogue in the same year as the cookbook (1990).
They brought on an award-winning journalist (PJ Hamel) to write the newly-launched catalog. She became the sixth employee of the small but growing company.
To kick things off, they sent out their very first catalogue to 10,000 existing and potential customers.
That number grew to an impressive 8 million catalogues each year, featuring everything from traditional and gluten-free flours to specialty baking ingredients and tools.
Digital Leap with a Company Website
As the World Wide Web became available to the public, the first websites for general use began to appear around 1993-1994.
Just six years after their initial catalogue mailing in 1990, King Arthur launched their first website on Christmas Day 1996. The impact was both groundbreaking and immediate.
The company was getting top hits for advice on baking, recipes, and baking products. Maybe a baker was trying to work through a new recipe, unsure of how to substitute one ingredient for another, and needed help.
King Arthur quickly became the go-to resource for bakers worldwide.
“We could tell we were on the verge of something magical. All of a sudden, it just felt like things were changing. We were becoming more than this little flour company in Vermont.”
The business grew faster in the next ten years than it had in the previous 200 years.
To keep pace, their website became increasingly more robust. They added educational posts that helped people master new techniques. A vast collection of recipes with detailed, step-by-step instructions that made complex dishes achievable. And corresponding videos that laid it all out.
It was a textbook case that showed how the web could transform a small business into a major player.
A Baking Renaissance
In 2020, the global pandemic hit. Businesses and schools were shuttered as shelter-in-place orders rolled out nationwide.
Millions found themselves confined to their homes, with time on their hands and a desire to create.
It sparked a baking renaissance.
Homebound Americans were baking at an unprecedented rate, and they needed help. By this time, King Arthur had been sharing recipes and techniques for years. It was only natural for bakers to turn to King Arthur, and they did so in droves.
The company’s baking school and retail operation were also temporarily closed due to the pandemic. King Arthur acted quickly, reallocating staff from these operations to their Baker’s Hotline, which was experiencing a 50% spike in calls.
According to Laurie Furch, who answered calls to King Arthur Baker’s Hotline for almost six years, “not only were people all learning how to bake, but Americans decided they all needed flour at the same time.”
Meeting the Surge in Demand
Demand for King Arthur products increased six times overnight.
There was a nationwide run on flour that left grocery store shelves bare. Millions of bakers were counting on King Arthur to come through.
To keep up with the onslaught of orders coming in, the company quickly ramped up production, reworked its supply chain, and partnered with a second mill to get flour out to everyone who needed it.
King Arthur was able to make the most out of unfortunate circumstances, and become a support system for their worldwide online community of bakers, that went far beyond baking.
Although the extreme spike in baking trends seen since the pandemic has eased, King Arthur reports current baking levels 25% to 30% above what they were before the pandemic.
This suggests that many of the new bakers who emerged during that time have stuck around for the long haul.
A Multifaceted Approach to Marketing
King Arthur Baking Company uses a diverse online marketing strategy that reaches millions. It leverages digital media and social platforms to build a vibrant community for both home bakers and professionals.
Influencers play a vital role in promoting the brand and attracting new customers. Their enthusiasm for baking helps engage a wider audience and generates a great deal of interest in King Arthur’s products.
The company also actively engages with its followers on social media. This two-way interaction not only builds trust but also allows bakers to share their experiences and creations.
Their YouTube channel features detailed video tutorials that make baking more accessible, each racking up hundreds of thousands of views. This is an accomplishment any company would welcome.
All these efforts come together to create a strong, passionate community centered around the love of baking.
Flourishing Beyond Flour
This scrappy little 235-year-old startup has blossomed from a small flour company in Vermont into a thriving baking empire.
The King Arthur brand now comprises bestselling cookbooks, two baking schools, a robust website packed with over 2000 recipes, 1,500 blog posts, 1,000 baking products, and substantial information about baking. In addition, it offers a podcast, a Baker’s Hotline, and much more. The brand has plans to expand its market share and open a handful of baking schools across the country in 2026.
A surprising fact, not widely known, is that King Arthur only began selling products in grocery stores outside of New England in the 1990s.
Today, their annual revenue has soared to almost $200 million, bolstered by sales to bakeries and restaurants. You can now find their products in grocery stores throughout the country.
Future Aspirations
“Our business has definitely transformed so that we can be less dependent solely on flour, but flour is in everything we do,” according to King Arthur Baking Company CEO Karen Colberg.
In the past decade, they’ve focused on innovation, for example, gluten-free products. They’ve introduced wholesome boxed mix kits that can go from box to table in about an hour, inspiring people who may not have a whole day but want fresh bread. They’ve expanded the line to include scones, cakes, cookies, and much more.
Lasting Impact
King Arthur Baking Company has been able to strike the perfect balance between its homespun New England roots and modern media.
In a world of constant change, it remains a beloved name in kitchens and a trusted resource for bakers, blending its rich history with modern media to inspire millions of bakers worldwide.
You don’t have to spend a dime to take advantage of much of King Arthur Baking Company’s readily available resources. Their content is rooted in community and generosity. And that is a truly masterful achievement that can’t be copied or manufactured. It has to be earned.
Sources
Inc: https://www.inc.com/magazine/19840301/3013.html
https://www.company-histories.com/The-King-Arthur-Flour-Company-Company-History.html
https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/king-arthur-flour-rebrand-baking-pandemic-trend/
King Arthur https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/
Burlington Free Press: https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/local/2015/08/28/king-arthur-flour-years-history/71316936/
Bit of Trivia: Surprisingly, the company only began selling products in grocery stores outside of New England in the late 1990s.
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