Sixty years ago, Joseph Mikalauskas noticed something was missing in his adopted hometown of Winnipeg—a place to buy fresh, quality rye bread.
The Lithuanian immigrant had aspired to run his own business, so when the opportunity arose to purchase a small corner bakery, he seized it—his lack of baking experience notwithstanding. He hired two bakers and his son-in-law, Alphonse, and opened Natural Bakery for business in 1957.
Today, Mikalauskas’ legacy lives on. With grandsons Rennie and Danny Balciunas at the helm, and a great-granddaughter learning the ropes, Natural Bakery is a thriving four-generation family business.
Growing together
“In 2007, my grandparents had passed on, as had my dad, and my brother and I took a leap of faith and we built a new plant here in Winnipeg,” said Rennie, the company’s president. “We went from a small 5,000-square-foot facility to an over 20,000-square-foot facility.”
Natural Bakery has been supplying Co-op Food Stores throughout Western Canada with freshly baked bread for over 25 years now, and Balciunas credits part of his company’s growth to their strong relationship with Co-op.
“As Co-op expanded into Winnipeg, our business grew exponentially. We’ve had a very good relationship with the Co-op team.”
It’s a relationship he views as mutually beneficial. “We’re giving them a quality product they can lay on their shelves and hopefully we’re bringing customers into their stores who are looking for our product, but also purchasing other products as well.”
Dan Collier, director of fresh food at Federated Co-operatives Limited, echoes this sentiment.
“Rennie, his family, and his staff have always been fantastic to work with—very professional and willing to grow our mutual business together,” he said, adding that the company bakes the number-one selling rye bread in Co-op stores.
European tastes, local ingredients
The company bakes a variety of rye breads today, including sourdough. Largely influenced by eastern and western European ryes, the varieties maintain Mikalauskas’ vision of offering a number of breads to reflect the wide ethnic diversity he saw in Winnipeg.
Natural Bakery’s flagship loaf, Canadian Rye, is a light variety that was developed during the company’s early days by Mikalauskas and his wife Jadvyga—an experiment that involved taste testing amongst family, friends and customers.
“All of our breads are hearth-style, meaning that we don’t bake in a pan,” said Balciunas, adding that that the majority of their ingredients are Canadian sourced. “We bake fresh, around-the-clock, so we ensure our customers get the freshest loaf of bread we can put out there.”
Balciunas said he appreciates Co-op’s business model. “We like the concept of Co-op,” he said, noting their support of local producers and the benefits of member-ownership. “They’re great fans of our product and have helped open doors for us—and that’s key in our business.”