Rosalyn and Blair Hyslop. Image: Submitted
Blair and Rosalyn Hyslop, co-CEOs and co-owners of Mrs. Dunster’s, will launch the North Atlantic Baking Company after completing the acquisition of the assets of Burlington, Vermont-based Koffee Cup Bakery.
North Atlantic Baking Company will operate as a sister company to Mrs. Dunster’s. The Hyslops will act as co-CEOs of the new company while remaining in their same roles at Mrs. Dunster’s. Mrs. Dunster’s CFO Bob Nice will also add the North Atlantic Baking Company to his portfolio.
Blair Hyslop says it was a relatively quick decision to purchase the Koffee Cup’s assets after they went into receivership about one month ago.
“We always talked about geographical expansion as someday being a possibility, but we consciously decided to just focus in our own backyard,” he said in an interview. “This feels right in that sense because it’s been on the list for a long time.”
On Thursday, North Atlantic Baking Company was notified they are the preferred purchaser of the Koffee Cup. They will be moving quickly to conclude negotiations with the hope of restarting operations soon.
Mrs. Dunster’s will continue to be based in Sussex, while the North Atlantic Baking Company will be based in Burlington.
“We have different partners in both businesses, and we wanted to have focus and didn’t want Mrs. Dunster’s management team to be distracted by this,” said Blair. “Conversely, down here [in Vermont], there is an amazing group of people that are capable, know their customers, know their vendors, and how their plants work so they don’t need people from Canada telling them what to do. They just need some strong leadership and direction.”
As part of the acquisition, the North Atlantic Baking Company has bought three bakeries that operated under Koffee Kup’s operations: the Koffee Kup Bakery in Burlington, Vermont; The Vermont Bread Company in Brattleboro, Vermont; and The Superior Bakery in North Grosvenordale, Connecticut.
PODCAST: Blair And Rosalyn Hyslop On Making An Iconic Maritime Brand Even Bigger
The Hyslops intend on operating the Koffee Kup and the Vermont Bread Company as brands under North Atlantic Baking Company and will be meeting with potential third parties to sell the Superior Bakery in Connecticut.
The Koffee Kup, like Mrs. Dunster’s, is popular for its donuts and rolls. They later expanded into bread and English muffins following their acquisition of the Vermont Bread Company. Their products are sold in stores across New England.
“As you walk through their bakeries and you see their equipment, it’s very similar [to Mrs. Dunster’s],” said Blair. “We see the customers are very similar, we see a lot of the same challenges and opportunities. It’s very safe for us and they’re very comfortable with their business model. It’s exactly what we do every day. So now we’re going to do it with two more bakeries and a few thousand more stores but it’s the same business.”
The new company will retain most of the Koffee Cup and Vermont Bread Company’s staff. They are hoping to rehire employees that were out of work following the Koffee Cup’s closure.
“We have a core team that is going to be coming back,” said Rosalyn. “Our hope is … to provide jobs for employees that don’t have work right now and to get them back to work quickly.”
With the assets of the new company and Mrs. Dunster’s, the Hyslops will have the potential to distribute products to more than 4,000 stores. “Basically, every store from Bridgeport, Connecticut to Bathurst, New Brunswick and from Burlington, Vermont to Glace Bay, Nova Scotia,” they said in a release.
For now, however, the Hyslops will focus on getting their U.S.-based business running. Down the road, they are hopeful to bring their U.S.-based products to Canada and vice versa.
“Our first goal is to get back the customers we had a few weeks ago and then we’ll work on those bigger ideas down the line,” said Blair. “But there’s no question that there are opportunities for us to bring these brands into Maine and the Maritimes and for us to be able to, through the North Atlantic Baking Company, bring Mrs. Dunster’s products into New England.”
The Hyslops purchased Mrs. Dunster’s in 2014 and have since found great success in growing their product line, expanding their reach, and acquiring other companies like Kredl’s Corner Market in Hampton and McBuns Bakery in Moncton.
“We always talk about how we always wanted to own our own business and that has gone beyond anything we expected,” said Rosalyn. “All these wonderful opportunities are presenting themselves and we’re just excited to be part of that and to also hopefully make a difference in the lives of the people in the communities where we’re going to be doing business.”
Liam Floyd is a reporter with Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
