WRITTEN BY PAMELA PATTON
Photo by [Peasant Life]
Entrepreneurs can start young. And there’s no better example than brothers Hunter and Gavin Green. Just 22 and 19, respectively, they are the two behind the push to get Bagel Bombs into Meijer Market Stores.
How did Bagel Bombs get started? “Our mom started a bakery in 2016, Evergreens Coffee and Bake Shop. It was off the beaten path in our little town of Oxford. After a couple of years, she had this idea for the Bagel Bombs, and they took off. They became so popular that she had to move to a bigger location right downtown,” Hunter says.
Photo by [Peasant Life]
What is a Bagel Bomb? Hunter explains, “Bagel Bombs are not made like traditional bagels in the sense that they are not boiled.
“The bagel dough is prepared, the cream cheese and other delicious ingredients are placed inside, and then the whole thing is pursed closed like an apple dumpling.”
Photo by [Peasant Life]
They're then topped with egg wash and put into the oven. Afterwards what you get is a scrumptious treat exploding with your favorite flavors. Some of the top flavors include Bacon Cheddar, Jalapeño Cheddar and Apple Cinnamon.”
Photo by [Peasant Life]
The Green family knew that if their town loved them so much, the rest of the world would too, so they set out to spread Bagel Bombs across the map. "Bagel Bombs started off in local coffee shops around the metro Detroit area. They've since gotten into other locations such as Chillbox Convenience Store and MSU Dairy Store."
Photo by [Peasant Life]
But the Green family wanted to go bigger. They took Bagel Bombs to the Making it in Michigan food show hosted by Michigan State, where more than 100 vendors offed product tastings for distributors and grocers, such as Meijer. “We had interviews with several stores, including the Meijer Market in Royal Oak. We had just started our presentation when the Detroit Market people joined it. Their interview in the same time slot had canceled, so they dropped into ours. It went really well. A few hours later, we hear an announcement that awards will be given. We didn’t think much of it. We thought it might be for cool booth or something. But then we were awarded a Golden Ticket by Meijer,” said Hunter.
The Golden Ticket guaranteed that Bagel Bombs would be at all four Meijer Market stores. Usually, local vendors must work individually with each store to pitch their products to sell at each location.
Photo by [Peasant Life]
“It’s really cool,” adds Gavin. “We’re also getting a media spotlight, a photo shoot, social posts, and even some help with our packaging. It’s super exciting!”
Bagel Bombs are sold individually in microwave-safe packaging and must be refrigerated, but consumers can freeze them too. “They need to be refrigerated because of the cream cheese,” Hunter says. “We use really simple and clean ingredients. For the bacon cheddar, you’ll only find flour, cream cheese, cheddar, cheese, bacon, yeast, salt, and egg. They’re not super processed, and we don’t do anything weird like grinding everything up into some sort of injectable paste.”
Photo by [Peasant Life]
Meijer Market will carry the three most popular flavors: Bacon Cheddar, Jalapeño Cheddar, and Apple Cinnamon.
“The Apple Cinnamon tastes just like my grandma’s apple pie. It’s the one I eat when making deliveries.”
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Hunter recently graduated from Ohio State with a degree in statistics. “I keep an eye on the finances and numbers,” while Gavin is currently a sophomore majoring in marketing at MSU. “I’m learning so much about marketing from Meijer,” he says.
And is their mom still making the Bagel Bombs? “She had to hire a few people because they make about 250 a day, and sometimes up to 500 in a day. But yeah, she’s still rockin’ it.”
Photo by [Peasant Life]
You can find Bagel Bombs at Woodward Corner Market in our deli and frozen departments!