WRITTEN BY PAMELA PATTON
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 kind of 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.
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. 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.”
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."
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.
“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!”