As seen in NPA East Retailer Spotlight: Q&A with Michael Smulders
By Paul Kushner
Executive Director, NPA East
Michael is the owner of a retail store, Garden of Light in Avon Connecticut, and the Bakery on Main Street, a purveyor of premium gluten-free granola products in East Hartford, Connecticut.
When did you start Garden of Light and why?
As a 30-year vegetarian myself, I've understood the importance and challenge of eating & staying healthy for a long time, and it's one of the main reasons I opened my first store, Garden of Light, on Main Street in Glastonbury, Connecticut in 1992. In 2000, I opened my second store in Avon, and my brother Tim has done a great job of managing and growing the business every year since then, even during these tough times. I wish I could say the same for my original store, but after Whole Foods opened a store less than a quarter of a mile away, I was forced to close the location in July, 2010. It was particularly hard because I had met so many good friends over the years, but I'm proud of what we did.
What motivated you to start Bakery On Main? Tell us more about this business. How does it compare to your retail store? What's more satisfying for you?
I was baking when I opened my first store in 1992, so I've always been very involved in gluten-free and vegetarian cooking. Within two years, I had already moved to a larger location in town to expand my bakery. I hired some outstanding local and regional vegan chefs and continued to develop a variety of specialty foods. My retail business was very satisfying over the years, especially because our customers trusted our advice, and we took that very seriously. But I have to say, the feedback from my bakery customers was immediate, and I like that. Late in 2003, after trying a great tasting granola recipe one of my bakers was working on, I walked through my store and gathered ingredients and baked the first batch that day. It took almost two years to find gluten-free sources for all the ingredients and find a place where we could make the product without risk of cross-contamination. But it was worth it. We currently make all of our gluten-free granola products in a 34,000 square foot manufacturing facility with state of the art quality controls and in-house gluten testing on every batch. We're just a few miles down the road from the original bakery and the plant maintains the small bakery quality by continuing to bake in small batches.
What is different and/or the same between your businesses?
The biggest difference is that I have much less daily contact with my customers in my bakery versus being in my store seven days a week - which is also one of the things I really like about the bakery: I don't have to be there seven days a week! I also really enjoy developing new products .It gives me a great deal of personal satisfaction.
Do you have a formal or informal business plan for BOM? What have been the key element(s) that have helped drive your success?
Listening closely to my customers and really understanding that anything I make has to be gluten-free and taste great. Healthy is nice but they won't eat what they don't like - at least not a second time.
Over the years, what's been the best business decision you've made, either intentionally or not? What's the worst?
I guess my worst decision was by default, not design. During the 1990's when most stores were really expanding their prepared foods business, I held off, and I think I could have done very well if I had jumped in with both feet.
Do you get involved in community / local events, either at your store or manufacturing facility?
Absolutely. I'm very active within the gluten-free community, including the various support groups, websites, blogs, clubs, local events - wherever I can get involved. Gluten-free customers tend to be very motivated.
As an independent Health Food store owner for almost 20 years, what advice do you have for anyone thinking about opening up their first health foods store??
(Laughter!) It's a tough market, and you need to know it. Get involved locally. Find a specific niche that you do better than anyone else. Fully use social media. Keep learning.
How important are your employees to your overall success? What kind of staff environment do you foster to keep employees once you've invested the time and money to train them?
Having the right people in place is essential for both of my businesses, especially when it comes to my retail store. Customers want to be helped, not sold, and my brother does a great job of listening to our customers and helping them choose the best products.
What are the biggest challenges ahead in growing your Bakery on Main business?
My biggest challenge is to keep developing great tasting new products. It takes at least a few months from idea to finished product, and I'm constantly talking to my customers about what they want, what they like and what we can do better. That work never stops but it's what I enjoy the most.
Do you attend any of the industry trade show?
I used to attend the various trade shows on a regular basis, with Expo West being my favorite show, but they can be very expensive. I'm glad that Expo East is back in Baltimore again but I hope it hasn't lost too much momentum since it went to Boston. I thought that was a mistake.
What are your predictions on upcoming trends in products, business growth, and climate overall?
I didn't see anything truly unique at Expo West, but I'm focusing my efforts on the basics: creating the best-tasting gluten-free products I can and staying focused on what I do best. If you're a retailer or manufacturer, you need to focus on being an expert at whatever niche you know.