King Arthur Baking: how a Boston flour company became an employee-owned Norwich institution
Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
King Arthur Baking Company traces its history to 1790, when Henry Wood began importing English flour in Boston. That makes it one of the oldest companies in the United States. The King Arthur name came along in the 1890s.
The Vermont chapter began with Frank and Brinna Sands. Frank, a descendant of the founding family, and Brinna moved the small family business to Norwich in the 1980s. At the time it sold mostly unbleached all-purpose flour to New England grocery stores.
Employee owners
Starting in 1996, the Sands began selling the company to its employees through an employee stock ownership plan. By 2004 it was 100 percent employee-owned, and it remains so. King Arthur has since become one of the most recognized examples of employee ownership in the country, and it is a certified B Corporation.
The company changed its name from King Arthur Flour to King Arthur Baking Company in 2020, reflecting a business that now includes mixes, tools, a large recipe website and a baking education program.
The Norwich campus
On Route 5 in Norwich, the company runs a flagship store, bakery and cafe, and its Baking School, where home bakers take classes in bread, pastry and pizza. It has become a regular stop for Upper Valley residents and for visitors coming off Interstate 91 near Hanover.
During the early months of the pandemic in 2020, when home baking surged, King Arthur was among the companies that could not keep flour on shelves, and it moved quickly to add milling capacity through its partners.
For Norwich, the company is a major employer in a small town, and one where the people working the cafe counter share in the business.
