I started Olivia's Croutons in April of 1991. Our son David was almost two and daughter Olivia was three. We started in our own kitchen with the Butter & Garlic flavor, sold in brown bags hand stamped with rubber stamps. Twenty bags was a big order and it took quite a long time to hand cut each loaf and bake them in our conventional oven.

By August of that year we were dealing with about six stores, and had just signed our first "really big store". We did a demo and sold 200 bags of croutons in three days. This was a monumental step. We installed our first Blodgett convection oven in our kitchen and we created a semi automatic cutter to help on the cutting end. Now we could really make croutons!

Since that point we have grown steadily. We started adding out of town UPS ship orders and we realized we really had no limitations. In April of 1993 we moved out of our kitchen and into a 400 square foot commercial kitchen that we had built in the basement of our home. In the spring of 1997 we added a gas flush packaging machine. With our new longer shelf life we were now able to sell our product through distributors, a whole new market for us. The new growth forced a move in July of 1999, when we purchased a perfect little building in the next town. This is where we are now pumping out oodles and oodles of those tasty little morsels. We've also added Tostini to our product line. Savory little toasts, ideal for hors d'oeuvres or plain old snacking.

We are continuing to have fun, meeting new vendors and exploring new markets. I really enjoy what I do. I like making a product that people really love to eat and one that is unique to the market place. This product brought me into the food and grocery business. It has proven to be an education. I pride myself on being an honest, hard working, uncomplicated person. It is only logical that we would produce a wholesome, all natural, uncomplicated product. As a family we enjoy these tasty treats and we hope you will be fond of them too.

Francie (Olivia's Mom)

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