Often dubbed a “baker’s paradise,” King Arthur Baking’s campus in Norwich has long inspired pilgrimages and pit stops from gluten enthusiasts near and far.
Now the fast-growing Vermont flour company, fueled by its pandemic success, thinks it has found the recipe to replicate its brick-and-mortar experience nationwide.
The company will open its second retail store and baking school later this year in the Old Town district of Alexandria, Virginia, offering specialty flours and baking lessons similar to those available at its Vermont flagship.
The move represents a gambit of sorts by King Arthur to broaden its reach while maintaining the mystique that surrounds its storied brand.
It continues a remarkable run of growth for the employee-owned company, whose history dates back to the 18th century. Following a boom in home baking during the COVID-19 pandemic, King Arthur has continued its rise. The company sold more than $300 million worth of flour last year, surpassing Gold Medal, a General Mills label, to become the best-selling brand of flour in the United States, according to data from the market research firm Circana.
Not long ago, the idea that King Arthur could ascend the flour throne seemed “unachievable,” Chief Marketing Officer Bill Tine said.
King Arthur has grown in part by helping more people learn to enjoy baking, through its advice hotline, podcast and more. The company also operates a second in-person school in Skagit Valley, Washington.
King Arthur’s reputation as an authority on the art and science of baking helps market its premium-priced products. New retail outposts could help reinforce that image — or they could dilute the company’s brand.
Like a patient baker, the company has approached its ambitions slowly and methodically, with a bit of controlled experimentation.
Before settling on Alexandria, King Arthur opened a series of temporary retail stores around the country, in cities such as Boston, Denver and Fairfax, Virginia. The trial runs helped prove that the brand would generate interest beyond Vermont. The stores “have been jam packed,” Tine said.
They also gave the company confidence that it could attract the baking experts needed to uphold King Arthur’s reputation. Tine said employees need to be able to answer customers’ questions about how, for instance, black cocoa can affect a brownie.
The new store and baking school will open on King Street in Old Town Alexandria, a cobblestoned commercial district. It will feature an 18-person classroom and a community room to host baking-themed birthday parties. But it won’t include a cafe and bakery, Tine said; that remains exclusive to the Norwich flagship.
King Arthur expects to announce at least one more permanent, out-of-state location in the months ahead. If all goes well, Tine said, the company will continue adding stores at a similar pace in the years to come.
“The goal is not higher sales,” Tine maintained. “The goal is baking.”
