Baker plans big growth for his company’s soft pretzels
Gary Gottenbusch took a big risk when he left his family’s business, borrowed a lot of money and set out to make the best German-style soft pretzels he could.
But when a pretzel company from Germany offered to buy his young venture, he had clear validation that he was doing it right.
“I was shocked and surprised,” he said. “It was not in my plan.”
But it was a very good offer.
“They tried our pretzels in a blind taste test,” he added. “They couldn’t believe ours were from the United States.”
Now, Gottenbusch is the president of his company, Pretzel Baron, and directing operations at its Springdale plant. But the company is owned by Valora Group of Germany.
Valora’s purchase provides access to a growing U.S. market for soft pretzels and “pretzel products.” Valora has the technical know-how and the capital to expand his business rapidly. And Gottenbusch is still carrying out the mission he started at Pretzel Baron.
“I want to elevate the level of quality of soft pretzels in the U.S.,” he said.
Gottenbusch is the latest in a family line of bakers. His father, Wilhelm, founded Servatii Pastry Shop & Deli in Cincinnati in 1963, and family members in at least two generations before Wilhelm owned bakeries in Germany.
Gary Gottenbusch went to Germany to learn baking, doing an apprenticeship at a 150-year-old bakery in Muenster, where he was entranced by the pretzel. He spent 35 years at Servatii, some of it perfecting that company’s pretzels, which have grown in popularity. For example, Servatii sells 50,000 pretzel sticks on Christmas Eve.
But Gary Gottenbusch wanted to take pretzels further.
The name of his company was inspired by Cincinnati’s craft-beer festival. “Bockfest has a Beer Baron’s Ball, and I thought if there are beer barons, there ought to be a Pretzel Baron,” he said. He opened the Springdale plant in January 2015.
From artisanal-pretzel stores with exotic flavors to pretzel buns at fast-food restaurants, pretzels are having a moment.
“I want to be the pretzel the artisan stores compare themselves to,” Gottenbusch said. As for fast-food pretzel buns, “those are great for bringing attention to pretzels, but they aren’t pretzels.”
The Springdale plant is capable of making 50 million soft pretzels a year.
“You can’t just buy a pretzel (production) line off the shelf,” said Gottenbusch, so his company has put together its equipment. “Baking is boring. It’s all about consistency.”
Although Pretzel Baron makes nothing but pretzels, it can make them in a variety of sizes and configurations, from sticks to huge twists. It can make the “arms” skinnier and crunchier, or double-twist the pretzel to get a fatter, softer “belly.” Gottenbusch knows how to make the pretzel burst open, exposing a white spot.
But his pretzels never contain anything but flour, yeast, salt and water. He does not use dough conditioners or chemical additions. The pretzels get a bath in caustic soda, which creates the shine and the sharp pretzel taste.
In the wake of the purchase by Valora, a business team is being assembled. New chief financial officer Brian Tooley, a Procter & Gamble veteran with other manufacturing experience, said it’s a great opportunity for him.
“It’s a passionate owner, not the standard corporate setting,” he said. “We get to create our own manufacturing style, our own culture.”
Gottenbusch thinks the surprise German purchase is the best thing that could have happened.
“They can help me take it to the next level. They have the technical knowledge and business expertise,” he said. “And we’re kindred spirits. They really love making pretzels.”