IOWA CITY, IA – March 13, 2013 –Anna Sobaski, Founder and President of Breads From Anna recently announced her selection as one of twenty global women owned businesses to be a part of Wal-Mart’s new “Empowering Women Together” initiative. The program, promoted on-line only, launched this week and is currently highlighted on the front page of walmart.com. The initiative was designed by Walmart to give shoppers the opportunity to buy unique and interesting products while supporting small women-owned businesses around the world. Breads From Anna was one of only six U.S. suppliers selected to participate in the program. “We were delighted to be selected for this program because we believe it gives consumers around the world and in remote markets, who are suffering with food allergies and intolerances, access to our products,” Sobaski said. “The global incidence of childhood and adult food allergies and intolerances continues to rise, so there is a real need for allergen free, nutritious food alternatives.”
Breads From Anna recently posted record sales for the 4th quarter of 2012. In 2012, her business enjoyed expansion into new products, distribution channels, and geographic markets. “We were one of the first to enter the gluten free market and our consumers and retail partners have been quite loyal and continue to support us and spread the word,” Sobaski said. Responding to customer demand, Breads From Anna quickly expanded from only one gluten-free bread mix into a complete line of gluten and allergen-free mixes, including breads, quick breads, crusts and pie pastries, muffin and pancake mixes, and brownies. “We have baking mix solutions for the top eight USDA allergies,” said Sobaski. The top eight allergies include dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish. “Plus, we find a growing number of customers with rice allergies, so we provide rice-free mixes as well.”
In addition to expanding its retail partners and geographic market presence, Breads From Anna also launched a new line of Black Bean Brownie mix. “It’s quickly becoming a very popular item with our customers. I call it our anti-obesity brownie. It tastes very rich, is really filling, and has lower sugar, and is packed with protein and fiber: much more than you would find in the typical brownie,” said Sobaski.
Sobaski’s business was launched out of a strong personal desire to make tasty and nutritious gluten and allergen-free breads. “I was diagnosed with both Celiac Disease and Type 1 Diabetes, so I was very familiar with the problems those with food allergies and intolerances have. There just weren’t gluten-free options on the market at that time and giving up bread was a lot to ask someone!” Sobaski completed the Chefs Training Program in New York City at The Natural Gourmet Cookery School Institute for Food and Health, which equipped her with the know-how and training to develop more complex, highly nutritious and tasty products.
“Our customers have serious food allergies and intolerances. If you have a gluten or other allergy and mistakenly ingest a product with even a trace of that item in it, you can have a severe reaction.” As a result, to more strictly control her manufacturing, Sobaski moved her production to a new Iowa City facility in 2010, which is also USDA certified and Kosher. She believes this new facility and the clean operations helped in her being selected for Walmart.com’s new program. “In the selection process we underwent a thorough business, manufacturing, and ethical audit. It felt a bit like David and Goliath, but we passed because over the years we’ve put strict controls in place.”
Breads From Anna products are endorsed by the leading national food allergy authorities, including the Celiac Disease Foundation, the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center, and the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research, and Columbia University Dietitians, among others.
A video provided by Walmart about the new program can be found at http://youtu.be/3nurtX5l-OQ
About Breads From Anna
Breads From Anna, an Iowa City, Iowa headquartered business, provides gluten- and allergen-free baking mixes to consumers around the world through the company website and over a hundred national and international retail partners. Breads From Anna mixes are known for being free from common allergens and having superior taste and nutritional content. Additional information about Breads from Anna can be found by visiting www.breadsfromanna.com and on Face book at http//facebook.com/breadsfromanna. Breads from Anna mixes can be purchased directly on www.breadsfromanna.com.
About Anna Sobaski
Chef Anna Sobaski is the Founder and President of Breads From Anna, a leading gluten and allergen-free baking mix company. She is an expert in the area of gluten and allergen-free living and a graduate of the premier institute for learning about food as medicine; the Natural Gourmet Cookery School Institute for Food and Health in New York City. Anna demonstrates her passion for helping people enjoy a gluten and allergen-free lifestyle by continuing to develop mixes and recipes and traveling the country teaching gluten and allergen-free cooking classes and workshops. She has been featured in many of the industry’s premier magazines and is a sought-after speaker at conferences, support groups, and health food stores. For more information, visit www.breadsfromanna.com.
