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2008 Innovator of the Year – The Grainless Bakery, Inc.
Necessity is the mother of invention—the adage plays well in this story of a husband and wife, taking their 25 years of baking experience, and applying it to new ways to improve the health of their family.
The Grainless Baker, Inc. is a company devoted to manufacturing foods that are gluten-free, and thus able to be enjoyed by individuals with celiac disease. Those afflicted with this aliment cannot eat any food that contains wheat, rye or barley, grains that are typically in bakery products. Founded in 2004 by Dan and Jane Trygar, The Grainless Baker manufactures breads, pastries, cookies and other food products from their own gluten-free recipes.
The Grainless Baker is one of only a handful of food manufacturers in the United States making this type of product, and some of the foods made in their Wayne County facility are not produced anywhere else in the world.
Their non-traditional product requires non-traditional equipment, and The Grainless Baker employs a Canadian-based firm to modify equipment suitable for their production process.
Other partners are university researchers and hospitals where new food sources are being explored and refined that would be tolerated by those with celiac disease.
In 2008, The Grainless Baker constructed a 4,000 SF facility on J & J Road in Hamlin. The facility includes a small retail space for walk-in customers. Current employment is 16.
The Grainless Baker distributes its products to retail locations through New York, New Jersey and the New England area, and just recently began global distribution. The company has experienced significant sales growth since moving into the Hamlin facility, and expects that growth to continue. Mr. Trygar attributes this to an un-met market demand and his belief that celiac disease is under-diagnosed. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, more than 2 million people in the United States have celiac disease, or about 1 in 133 people.
Talking with Mr. Trygar, you soon realize that you are worlds away from simply baking a loaf of bread—chemistry, research, new foods, modified equipment, affiliations with hospitals and health organizations are all part of his challenging work. The Grainless Baker evolved from the desire to improve one family’s life, and has been selected the 2008 Innovator of the Year because the business improves the health and quality of life of countless others.
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