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Gluten-Free Vegan Pretzel Goodness Photos courtesy of Greater Knead
The Greater Knead, a woman-owned baking company established 10 years ago, expanded its product lineup with the introduction of gluten-free soft pretzel nuggets, which debuted at Expo West in Anaheim, California in March following its soft launch in August 2021. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, sales for the brand plunged as bagel shops and restaurants carrying Greater Knead bagels closed or had limited hours. When the time came to expand the company’s products beyond bagels, CEO and co-founder Michelle Carfagno solicited feedback from her customers through a newsletter-distributed survey. An overwhelming majority voiced a preference for the pretzel nuggets. “We’ve gotten more attention from retailers because while [our bagels] are
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amazing and unique … there’s a lot of competition doing gluten-free bagels, and there wasn’t when I started 10 years ago,” Carfagno said. “Pretzels are kind of new [in gluten-free]; we’re one of the first to innovate with them.” In addition to being Celiac-friendly, the pretzels are made with all-natural ingredients and are Non-GMO Project verified, certified gluten-free, top 9 allergen-free, vegan and kosher. The Greater Knead’s products are self-manufactured, produced in a facility with strict policies against those top allergens to avoid crosscontamination. The nuggets are available in four varieties including Classic, Cinnamon Sugar, Everything and Spicy Buffalo, which are the flavors that made their debuts at
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Expo West. They are set to be available this summer. “I think Spicy Buffalo and Everything are definitely up-and-coming trends from what we’re seeing and what we saw at Expo West,” Carfagno said. “We’re excited that we were getting in on the ground floor with that flavor.” The suggested retail price for these pretzels is $8.49 per 4.9-oz. package. The snacks are available for purchase on the brand’s website, in the frozen aisle at Wegmans, and the Golub Corp.’s northeastern grocery chain Price Chopper. They’re coming soon to Wakefern/Shoprite stores, independent health food stores in the Northeast US and a number of other retailers including Meijer and Whole Foods. www.thegreaterknead.com