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So much has happend since my last email, I decided the simplest way to start was with a timeline, so this is what has been going on since you last heard from me…

March 11 – The last Granny Lala email was sent

March 12 – Granny Lala joined the growing number of Washington’s unemployed.

March 26 – signed 14 month lease on a 2600sqft commercial kitchen space in South Tacoma Special thanks to everyone who helped move and install equipment! Lindsay, Robbie, Joe, Josh, Raymond, Kurt, Sierra, Dylan, My Dad

April 15 – Licensed by WA Dept of Ag for wholesale food production – (This happened so fast I wasn’t prepared to begin baking. Usually it takes 4-6 weeks, but I was approved in just 10 days!)

April 27 – First batch of samples delivered

May 9 – First order delivered to Woody’s on The Water in Tacoma

May 24 – First weekly account delivered to Mud Bay Coffee Company in Olympia

May 29 – First specialty account delivered to Garlic Jim’s in Tacoma

June 1 – First Health Food Store Delivery to McGregor’s in Tacoma

June 13 – First Sample Saturday event at GF Joe’s in Tumwater

Sales have doubled every week since May 24th!

What else has Granny been doing besides baking, packaging, delivering? Lots of marketing and networking… a press release was recently sent to the local press (if you have any contacts, please feel free to let them know you would like to see them publish info about Granny Lala.) You can read the press release for yourself on Granny’s Blog… Yes! Granny has a blog! And you can follow Granny on Twitter and please become a fan of Granny Lala on Facebook!

So, what is on the horizon for Granny Lala? Since my first non-Tacoma accounts are in the Olympia/Lacey/Tumwater & Yelm areas I will continue to build my market there to help cover the cost of delivery. I am also building my Tacoma/Puyallup/Lakewood/UP area accounts. If you have specific contact information for an owner or manager who you have spoken to about carrying Granny’s products please let me know by sending their company name, contact name, phone number and email address. I will follow up on the contact you have made on my behalf.

I will be expanding to the North soon, but I need to be careful at this stage of my start up that I don’t grow too quickly. It is very important to me that the quality of my products never suffer because I have spread myself too thin. If you are looking for my products North of Tacoma, please be patient, they will be up there soon. Keep an eye on the retail outlets page of my website as it is frequently updated as new retailers are added.

I have recently met several wonderful caterers at the South Sound chapter of the National Association of Catering Executives. If you have any special events and that require an extra level of care due to dietary restrictions please consider a NACE member, and be sure to ask for a Granny Lala special order cake or dessert for your event. I will be speaking to them about dietary restrictions at their September chapter meeting.

My motivation and inspiration: I must admit I was pretty nervous when I signed my lease without any customers lined up in advance. Due to the nature of my products, I could not sell them without samples and I could not bake samples until I was licensed, which of course required a facility. Within about an hour of placing the sign on the door (thank you to Signs by Tomorrow for making such a lovely sign and to Sonja at Snakebite Graphics for designing it), a young man with a huge grin walked up to me and pointed at the sign and asked if that was me. I said yes…. He said, “You are my new best friend. I was diagnosed two months ago and was thinking I was going to starve. Thank you for opening your bakery.”

A lovely photographer, Kim Halinen, (check out her website) that I met through the Puyallup Celiac Meet up Group contacted me last month and said it’s almost my daughter Katie’s birthday and she has so many allergies that she has never had a birthday cake. She saw one in the Curious George book and really wants one this year. Can you help us? Katie’s list of allergens included not only gluten, dairy, soy, eggs, tree nut, peanuts and several other items, but members of her family had additional allergies including rice (a fairly routine substitution for gluten flours). I developed a recipe for a chocolate quinoa cake, we now call a Katie Cake, that was so well received by both those with and without dietary restrictions that I get regular requests for it.

At the GF Joe’s Sample Saturday, I met a little girl about four years old who appeared to be very happy and healthy, all smiles and full of energy. Just after she left the store I was told that three months ago she was carried in to the store recently released from Children’s hospital and too weak to walk, still on oxygen. She had just been diagnosed with Celiac Disease. In only three months of a gluten free diet she had made an amazing recovery.

These are the reasons that I bake gluten and allergen free… for the health of it!

grannylala@grannylala.com

253-961-4928

www.grannylala.com

“Gritty”, “flavorless” and “disappointing” are three words used by those on Gluten Free Diets when asked what causes them to stray.  However, change is afoot thanks to the creative baking talents of Lara Weihs, owner of Granny Lala’s Gluten Free Wholesale Bakery. In the past, people with dietary restrictions due to wheat allergies and other disorders were faced with great difficulty when attempting to meet the needs of their diets. Eating products that contain gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley, can cause a range of health issues for those with a wheat allergy or other condition such as Celiac Disease.  Lara is one of these individuals. Her refusal to accept a tasteless future led her on a path to discovering ways to avoid foods that affected her allergies while maintaining great taste.

In May of 2009 Granny Lala’s officially opened for business.  Working from her commercial kitchen space in Tacoma, Lara perfected the art of baking gluten free goodies.  The facility is a dedicated gluten free kitchen to avoid cross contamination.  When Lara felt her brownies, muffins and cakes were of the highest quality and flavor, she hit the road in search of restaurants, coffee houses and tea rooms willing to accommodate the needs of their customers who have dietary restrictions. Lara has been met with some initial apprehension from buyers given gluten free’s tasteless reputation. Once buyers taste a brownie or muffin they are pleasantly surprised and enthusiastic about carrying the Granny Lala’s gluten free line.

                Granny Lala’s products can now be purchased at Mud Bay Coffee Company in Olympia and in Tacoma at McGregor’s Natural & Organic Foods. Restaurants such as Woody’s on The Water and the Tacoma Garlic Jim’s Gourmet Pizza also carry Granny Lala’s products. Garlic Jim’s features gluten free brownie pizza.

The wholesale aspect of the business provides Lara the opportunity to have her products readily available throughout the King, Pierce and Thurston county areas. Partnering with others in the grocery and restaurant industries creates a wide reach that cannot be met with a single retail location. Granny Lala’s mission is to offer tasty treats for those with dietary restrictions. As Lara plans forward for the future of Granny Lala’s she envisions a time when those with dietary restrictions will have easy access to baked goods they can enjoy.

She cautions that gluten free does not equal fat or calorie free. Brownies, cakes and muffins from Granny Lala’s should be eaten in moderation. “They are a special treat, just like their traditional recipe counterparts.” Lara insists

When asked what is in items such as her moist and delicious carrot cake, Lara replies simply, “Nothing but goodness.”  Her warmth certainly reveals itself in her baked goods. Lara is a real granny to her two-year old granddaughter, Brooklynn who also doubles as her official taster. Lara is a Washington native hailing from Sequim and currently residing in Spanaway. Her husband and children also serve on the board of taste testers.

More information, history and ingredient information can be found at www.grannylala.com. Lara can be reached directly by phone or email at (253) 961-4928 or grannylala@grannylala.com. Resources and more information on gluten free foods can be found at www.gluten.net

Granny Lala’s Gluten Free Wholesale Bakery products can also be found at the following area retailers:

Mud Bay Coffee Company

1600 Cooper Point Road SW

Suite 630

Olympia WA 98502

360-754-6222

McGregor’s Natural & Organic Foods

8431 Pacific Avenue

Tacoma WA 98444

253-267-5497

Tacoma Garlic Jim’s Gourmet Pizza

3602 6th Ave

Suite 103

Tacoma WA 98406
Tel: 253-286-JIMS (5467)

Woody’s on The Water  

1715 Dock Street
Tacoma WA 98402
(253) 272-1433

G.F. Joe’s Foods

5739 Littlerock Rd SW Ste 103 ·

Tumwater WA 98512

(360) 628-8010

Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters

516 Capitol Way S.  

Olympia WA 98501

(360) 786-6717

Olympia Food Co-Op

3111 Pacific Avenue E.

Olympia WA 98501

(360) 956-1086

Yelm Food Co-Op

404 1^st Street South

Yelm WA 98597

(360) 400-2210

There are some great websites with recipes. One that I subscribe to is the gluten free club. www.glutenfreeclub.com They send daily GF recipes by email. The only thing is that most of them are just gluten free, and still include other allergens. My best suggestion is to keep things very simple and avoid all processed foods as ingredients are often disguised. Soy and dairy have many names as additives. Here is a great article about finding soy in foods. http://www.thewholesoystory.com/WHERE_THE_SOYS_ARE.pdf  Also The Gluten Intolerance Group of North America is headquartered right here in Washington. They have a great website www.gluten.net I’m not sure where you live but there are celiac groups on www.meetup.com if there isn’t one in your area you could always start one. I want to stress that I am not a doctor or dietitian, I’m just a Granny, but here are a few things that I have learned that may be helpful as you are trying things to see what he tolerates. Peanuts are legumes and so are soy, many people who have trouble with soy, also have difficulty with peanuts and vice versa. Some people who cannot tolerate dairy products do just fine with goat milk, other do not. Many people like to substitute with rice milk, be sure you read the labels very carefully because many rice milks have soy lecithin in them… in fact many products have soy lecithin in it, including most chocolate (and anything with chocolate in it.) There is one company that I have found that has an allergen free chocolate chip (that is quite yummy!) I use them in many of my recipes. www.enjoylifefoods.com.  They also have many other gluten & allergen products and are very good at clearly marking their ingredients. As a special treat I really enjoy a scoop of Coconut Bliss (ice cream made from coconut milk). I have found it at most health food stores, but have also found it at Fred Meyer and QFC… In fact both Fred Meyer and QFC have pretty good Gluten free sections. Another thing to keep in mind is that gluten is found in Wheat, Rye and Barley. Oats are not naturally glutinous in their pure form, but they are often processed with wheat and therefore most oats on the market have been cross contaminated. Bob’s Red Mill has certified gluten free oats and many other great products (not all are gluten free though so read the label carefully) www.bobsredmill.com also many people who have trouble with wheat also have a hard time with spelt, so I would be very careful if you decide to introduce it to his diet. I wish I could tell you where you could get my muffins, cookies, brownies and cakes, but I am waiting for my food processing license from the state. Be sure to check back on my web site and as soon as I am in production all my retail outlets will be listed. My goal until then is to generate as much interest as possible I my products so if there is a store, restaurant or coffee shop, hospital or school cafeteria that you would like to see my products in, please be sure to tell them about me.

Gluten-Free Products Growth Feeds American Appetite

March 12, 2009

For an American general population loaded with health problems but limited on health care, adopting a gluten-free diet is becoming an increasingly popular solution to alleviate complications from the numerous medical maladies associated with wheat and gluten consumption. As a result, the market for gluten-free food and beverage products grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28 percent from 2004 to 2008, to finish with almost $1.6 billion in retail sales last year, according to market research publisher Packaged Facts in the brand-new report, “The Gluten-Free Food and Beverage Market: Trends and Developments Worldwide, 2nd Edition.”

Packaged Facts projects that ensuing years will experience double-digit growth due to an overwhelming number of positive factors, the most important of which is the existence of more gluten-free products in stores through both product introduction and the conversion of existing products to gluten-free status. By 2012 the market is expected to reach about $2.6 billion in sales.

Medical problems associated with gluten include autism, multiple sclerosis (MS), gluten allergy, various types of gluten-sensitivities, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), repetitive strain or stress injury (RSI), and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

However, the chronic inflammatory disorder of the small intestine known as celiac disease is the problem most notoriously associated with gluten consumption. The increased diagnosis of celiac disease has been a catalyst and driving force in the gluten-free food and beverage market, rescuing it from being generally regarded as a mere fad popular within the health-conscious populace.

“Evidence shows that the patients that comprise the celiac community are not willing to be passive sufferers. Their passion to live a full life without gluten must be considered one of the most powerful driving forces in the market,” says Tatjana Meerman, publisher of Packaged Facts. “The fact that approximately 3 million Americans suffer from celiac disease does not mean that only they are buying gluten-free. Those others suffering maladies relieved by going gluten-free and their ensuing mobilization and activism have focused a great deal of attention on gluten-free eating.”

To meet consumer demand, more than 225 marketers introduced new gluten-free products into the United States in 2008. From supermarkets with private label brands to single product-line specialty marketers, every conceivable type of food and beverage marketer in the United States introduced new products into the market last year.

Find this article at:

http://www.progressivegrocer.com/progressivegrocer/content_display/supermarket-industry-news/e3i781c3e0a48f6c1c2ef79100163697756 

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