InSitu Foods has done well for itself since coming to market last summer. The artisan bread maker is baking 400 loaves a night, 363 days a year, and selling it to northwest Ohio groceries and to one of Toledo's most upscale restaurants.
But President Rick Anderson sees a bigger future for the company. His goal: to enable groceries to make and bake real artisan bread from scratch -- in front of their shoppers -- using his proprietary system.
Anderson is refining just such a system, the prototype of which was developed at Radco Industries after Anderson and his wife Mary purchased the automation equipment company in 2008.
"Essentially, the challenge with bread is consistent high quality and cost," Anderson says. "The people we're talking to, the retailers, are very interested as long as those two things are in place."
The company's current conveyer system, used at an off-site baking facility, faced hurdles in meeting regulations for in-grocery use. InSitu is now developing a machine without belts that can be used as Anderson envisions. He says interest from potential customers is growing, and he believes consumers will pay groceries the extra $2 a loaf for good, home-made artisan breads.
"Most of the artisan bread in the United States is par-baked frozen," he explains. "So, you're shipping frozen, par baked bread all over the country in trucks. In theory, you lock in the quality and -- to some extent that's true -- but the reality is in the supply chain it goes through freeze/ thaw because it's not always handled properly, and frankly the taste is just not there."
Besides that, retailers are intrigued by the entertainment value of making bread in front of shoppers, he says.
The Regional Growth Partnership's
Rocket Ventures has assisted InSitu with a $50,000 Ignite! grant that the company used for R&D and market research.
Source: Rick Anderson, InSitu Foods
Writer: Gene Monteith