Life Beyond Wheat’s Kristin Meyer, with sons Owen and Logan at Wisconsin’s Celiac & Food Alergy Expo 2009 held in Rothschild. |
Life Beyond Wheat bakery growing Nov. 3, 2009 Just over a year after relocating into a former downtown nightclub, a gluten-free bakery hopes to add a second distributor and expand into markets across the Midwest.
Life Beyond Wheat, owned by Lynn Jiter and Kristin Meyer, expanded into the former Edison Club in September, 2008.
“We are continuing to grow,” Meyer said. “We’re hopefully going to be able to add another distributor very soon to serve the surrounding states, including Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.”
Life Beyond Wheat is not a retail bakery, Jiter and Meyer stressed. Its products are available through its retail outlet at Natural Living Health Food Store, which is expanding its gluten-free section.
The business was started in Jiter’s kitchen in 2006 as a way to serve people suffering from Celiac Disease, an autoimmune disorder characterized by intolerance to gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. The disease is considered obscure, with a general lack of awareness often leading to misdiagnosis or no diagnosis at all.
As awareness of the disease has grown, more and more people are adapting to a gluten-free diet, hence “Life Beyond Wheat.”
Using recipes developed by Jiter and Meyer, the bakery offers a delicious lineup of products ranging from cakes and breads to cookie dough, baking mixes and even pizza.
For years, the pair developed their business out of their small commercial kitchen, bringing increased awareness of Celiac Disease at the same time.
In summer, 2008 they reached an agreement with the city of Antigo to expand into the former Edison Club, which includes a large commercial kitchen plus plenty of storage space. The muncipality purchased the idled club and sold it to the women though a lease-purchase arrangement.
Since then, they have hired a distributor, Soderholm Wholesale Foods of Sun Prairie, to serve their markets across Wisconsin as well as Chicago and Rockford, Ill. and Minneapolis, freeing Jiter from many of her on-the-road duties. Now, a second distributor may soon bring the products to more customers than ever.
“We’re developing an increased presence at health fairs and expos, seeing more and more awareness of Celiac Disease and a higher demand for our products,” Jiter said. “People are calling us asking to carry our products.”
Life Beyond Wheat was most recently one of the featured businesses at Wisconsin’s Celiac and Food Allergy Expo 2009 in Rothschild. It was one of 60 vendors that served over 1,000 participants.
“It was the number one expo I have ever attended,” Jiter said.
There have been hiccups, Jiter and Meyer said, and growth has been slower than first hoped due in part to the national economic meltdown. They are hoping those conditions are easing, adding to the potential for growth across the Midwest.
“We’d like to be able to build more accounts in those other states and be settled with a distributor over the next few months,” Meyer said.
Jiter said another goal continues to be an increased awareness of Celiac Disease, which can be debilitating to sufferers. She is involved in several support organizations, including a Wausau-based group that meets the first Monday of the month. That group is led by Jennifer Knauf, who can be reached by e-mail at jknauf@charter.net for information.
Jiter also leads a discussion every second Monday at Natural Living in Antigo, sharing recipes and answering questions. The store offers 5 percent off gluten-free products every Monday as well.
“When we are at expos, we often talk to people from Madison or Milwaukee who say they go through Antigo on their way north,” Meyer said. “We always encourage them to stop at Natural Living to pick up our products at very reasonable prices.”
A year after the expansion, Jiter and Meyer said they are continuing to spread the word about Celiac Disease and Life Beyond Wheat’s gluten-free products. As any baker knows, making good bread takes time and effort, just like growing a business.
“We’re here to stay,” Jiter said.’’
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