Photo via kalyANa Creations
Susie Roberts became a savvy home baker of gluten-free treats while trying to help her grandson, Aiden, who was on the Autism spectrum. She noticed that his condition seemed to improve when gluten was removed from his diet. But it was good timing that led to her purchase Dousman-based KalyANa Organics, a line of ready-baked and gluten-free treats and packaged mixes, from founder Robyn Wright.
In 2016, Roberts was having lunch with a friend at Good Harvest Market’s café. “It was there that I tasted the most amazing banana chocolate chip muffin, gluten or otherwise—it was better than mine!” Roberts says. She learned from a café employee that the muffins were produced by KalyANa Organics, and that Wright frequently delivered the baking mixes to nearby Healthy 4 Life, in Delafield. The store carried a variety of KalyANa products.
Roberts wanted to find out more about Wright and her baking line. A few days later, she recruited a friend to help her commit “culinary espionage,” as Roberts put it. “We went out to Healthy 4 Life to spy in her,” she laughs, “and I said to my friend, ‘I hear this lady delivers her products to this store herself. Wouldn’t it be hoot if she happened to be there while we were there trying to spy on her products?’”
Coincidentally, Wright was at the store dropping off products when Roberts had stopped by. She introduced herself, and she learned that Wright was trying to sell KalyANa. The women chatted, and Roberts asked about starting a gluten-free baking business. “I asked Robyn if she minded a little healthy competition, and she said, ‘not at all; I’m trying to get out of the gluten-free business,’” Roberts relates.
Gluten-Free Baked Goods and Mixes
Roberts purchased KalyANa in February 2017 and has built upon Wright’s original recipes. The popular banana chocolate chip muffin is available ready baked or as a mix. There’s also an apple carrot spice muffin. Roberts is also working on some new flavors. Most of the muffins are made with coconut flower, along with organically produced, gluten-free ingredients like sprouted grains, non-fumigated almond flour, arrowroot, Himalayan pink salt, gluten-free baking powder and unrefined sweeteners.
The KalyANa baking mix line also features brown butter chocolate chip cookies, brownies, deep chocolate almond flour cake, and pancake mixes in sweet potato chai, with a unique blend of spices, or power packed pancake mix, with hemp and flax. There’s also a sprouted grain pizza crust mix.
The ready baked muffins, along with the mixes, are available at all four Outpost Natural Foods locations. Mixes are also available at retail locations including Beans & Barley, Good Harvest Market and Stone Bank Farm Market.
In 2018, Roberts won the Rev-Up MKE small business competition for Near West Side entrepreneurs. Entrants pitch their businesses in a Shark Tank-like competition. The prize included $10,000 in start-up business funding; $25,000 for in-kind services such as architectural needs; financial and legal consulting; computer services; and advertising.
With the winnings, Roberts plans to move the business closer to her home in the Sherman Park neighborhood. She also grew up in the Near West Side neighborhood, which is defined by the City of Milwaukee as bound by I-43 (east), HWY 41 (west), Vliet Street and Highland Boulevard (north), I-94 (south). Roberts’ plans to open a combined commercial kitchen workspace and café/grab- and-go storefront.
Although those plans are temporarily on hold due to COVID, Roberts is looking forward to soon continuing a search for her ideal space. As one who happened to become an entrepreneur later in life, the former stay-at-home mom quotes
George Eliot. “‘It is never too late to be what you might have been.’ When most people are starting to wind down and think about retirement, I was revving up. I didn’t get the memo that I’m too old.”
For more information, visit kalyanaorganics.com.
