Have you ever been to brownie heaven? Fourteen members of the Social Enterprise Club spent the day there a couple of weeks ago when we took a field trip to the Greyston Bakery.
The Yonkers bakery makes the brownies used in Ben & Jerry's irresistible Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream. When we arrived, all we could smell was the intoxicating aroma of freshly baked chocolate brownies. We took a brief tour of the facilities and saw how over 11,000 pounds of brownies are baked each day. We also watched a video clip from a 60 Minutes episode featuring the Greyston Bakery. The video described Greyston's social mission and its overwhelming success since it was founded by Bernie Glassman, a Jewish aerospace engineer turned Buddhist priest and social activist.
The state-of-the-art production facility was designed by Maya Lin, architect of the Vietnam War Memorial, and has revitalized the downtrodden area from both an architectural and social mission perspective. As we sampled giant platefuls of Greyston's new triple chocolate brownies, Greyston's CEO, Julius Walls, Jr. (pictured, middle) talked about the challenges of running a successful gourmet wholesale-retail bakery and serving as a role model for other socially conscious businesses.
As Mr. Walls explained, Greyston Bakery's profits support the community development work of the Greyston Foundation, which includes housing, child care, and health care. As part of its important social mission, Greyston actively recruits from and provides an opportunity to Yonkers' hard-to-employ population. Every other Wednesday is "open call" day. Anyone can walk in and apply for a position on the production line. Greyston gives these individuals an opportunity to join its apprenticeship program if they are selected through its randomized lottery system. This hands-on training and work experience provides individuals a chance to become productive members of the community once again.
Mr. Walls also shared with us one of his initial hurdles involving the bakery's first shipment to Ben & Jerry's. Greyston was originally expected to deliver extra thin brownies for Ben & Jerry's new line of ice cream sandwiches. The shipment arrived, but the brownies completely stuck together, forming a massive 50-pound block. Trying to pull them apart resulted in lots of brownie bits. Luckily, this potential operational nightmare had a happy ending. Ben & Jerry's simply mixed the brownie bits into chocolate ice cream and voilà!- the serendipitous invention of Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream.
They say that timing is everything. Greyston learned this lesson recently when QVC showcased Greyston brownies on television. The spot was originally scheduled to air in December but was pushed into January. As a result, sales were less than expected because people were thinking more about gym memberships and diets than chocolate indulgence. Apparently, the QVC phone lines were busy filling orders for "some grapefruit guy." In response to a student's question about the impact of the social mission on sales, Mr. Walls explained that the social mission can help open doors, but it cannot keep the door open if the value is not there. Mr. Walls noted that not everyone who tastes the brownies, blondies, and cakes even knows about Greyston's social mission.
A selection of Greyston's delectable goods is served in some of New York City's finest restaurants that pass off these desserts as their own. He said that the key to a sustained social mission is sustained profitability, which ultimately means a quality product. Zagat's Marketplace Survey rated Greyston 28 out of 30, a distinction held by only four other bakeries. Not only is Greyston the sole supplier of brownie and blondie bits incorporated into Ben & Jerry's super premium ice creams, but it was also hired by Haagen-Dazs to produce a new line of brownies later this year. Clearly, Greyston is doing an amazing job.
SEC members learned many lessons about the challenges faced by a company balancing a strong social mission with strict profit goals. Trip participants agreed that the Greyston Bakery has many of the fundamental ingredients for a successful social enterprise. To show our enthusiastic support for its mission, many of us purchased armfuls of delights like the decadent Triple Chocolate Mousse, Carrot, and Lotus in Mud cakes before we left.
If you would like to check them out, visit www.greystonbakery.com.
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