Starting a trend in fast food products is easier said than done. We have seen wraps, flat bread and handy fruit cups with dip, but will they stay? In order for any new item to compete it must be original, tasty and convenient. Welcome Bantam Bagels. The size of donut holes, these little homemade New York bites are filled with a variety of cremes and spices. If this catches on, donuts could become a second-place competitor in fast-food breakfast treats. Now available at Starbucks locations around the country, the testing ground has never been better.
The story is that Nick and Elyse Oleksak of Brooklyn, New York are not unlike thousands of young couples that seek the world of entrepreneurship. While working career positions at Morgan Stanley, their lives could have been secure and comfortable. However, they wanted more creativity in their lives and starting a homemade bagel business seemed a good way to start. They lived and breathed bagels, baking up as many as 1,000 per day in their tiny Brooklyn apartment.
Brainstorming constantly on how to improve their products and to create that special niche in the bagel world, suddenly came to Nick one night. They could take the bagel dough, stuff it with delectable fillings and roll them up into convenient donut hole sized finger foods.
They started testing different recipes and once perfected started shipping free samples around the city. Nick and Elyse were pumped. Opening a retail shop in Manhattan was the next big step and Elyse quit her job to devote all of her time to baking, marketing and having a baby. In 4 short months, the couple received an order that rocked their world. QVC placed an order for 100,000 bagels. After crossing that hurdle, there was no turning back.
It had been 4 years since selling their first New York homemade bagel and business was good for a mom and pop organization. It was time for the next move. They prepared for months after being accepted to appear on Shark Tank and their homework paid off. The investors loved Bantam Bagels. In addition, the one investor that they were hoping to impress was Lori Grenier of QVC that offered the couple $275,000 for 25% of their company.
Bantam Bagels is becoming a household name, especially since landing Starbucks as a national client. The investment helped in setting up a production facility where these great balls can now be found in grocery stores, coffee shops, online stores and of course, their Manhattan bagel shop. Flavors like Veggie Cream Cheese, Classic Onion, Cinnamon Bun, Hot Pretzel, and a host of others will delight you with that first cup of coffee in the morning and leave you wanting to try them all. For a complete list of products: www.bantambagels.com.
Tireless research, experimentation, hard work and an unstoppable will has made Bantam Bagels one of the fastest growing fast-food breakfast products in the country. A $13 million empire today, the American Dream is still alive and well.
Bantam Bagels-AAPJ 12-2018 release
