From Cartoon Network Manager To Baker

A Thanksgiving project turns into a breadwinning enterprise.

by Ralph McGill Jr.

September 5, 2008

K atie Melkonian credits part of the success of her bread company to her former career at the Cartoon Network.
    
"Honestly, not a day goes by that I don't use something that I learned from the Cartoon Network," she says. "Especially when you're talking branding. The folks at Turner are masterful at branding and keeping a brand strong, and that's what I'm trying to do here at Breadwinner."

    
Breadwinner Inc. is a gourmet bread baking company owned by Katie, her husband Geoff, and Geoff's sister, Wendy. The bread, which retails for $15 a loaf and weighs in at two pounds, is sold through the Internet and at several stores and restaurants around town, and via their own Sandy Springs store. Of course, what makes this story even more intriguing is that none of them were cooks or ever considered opening a bread company.
    
Melkonian's goal after graduating from Vanderbilt University was to work for Turner. Armed with a degree in organizational development and communications, she and her roommate moved to Atlanta with her sights clearly set on Turner. After a brief stint with a public relations firm, she became a TurnerTemp. "I was thrilled to be at Turner; it was why I moved here. I just moved around to different jobs, filling in wherever they needed me."
    
She eventually "floated" to the 14th floor, which was "Ted's floor," she says. "It's where all the executives are, and for a couple days I'd be working for Hank Aaron and my dad would be so excited, and then the next week I'd be working for another head of a department. But the point was I was at Turner."
    
After several months she was hired in the investor relations department and helped create the quarterly annual reports. "It wasn't my cup of tea, but it allowed me to write, and it kept me in the company," she says.
    
After the merger with AOL-Time Warner, Melkonian interviewed for a position as an assistant in the Cartoon Network. "I was willing to answer phones; I just wanted to work with the Cartoon Network because it was young and exciting."
    
She worked her way up and eventually became the senior manager for the network. "I supported the entire sales staff and did the upfront presentations that are given in front of ad agencies and major companies that are so vital to a network. Here I was surrounded by some of the most creative people in the business, and I was learning about branding, marketing, sales. I loved it."
    
Melkonian eventually left after she had her two children, Vivi, 6, and Frank, 4. But, not surprisingly, after a few years she "wanted to get her brain back. I wanted to have ownership of whatever it was I was going to do. I just kept my eyes and ears open waiting for an opportunity."
    
That opportunity came quite by accident. The trio was in Katie's kitchen on Thanksgiving 2005 and Geoff was scanning the leftovers in the refrigerator. He found two full cartons of eggs. Wendy suggested they make pumpkin bread and take it to her friend Jenny Levison, owner of Buckhead's Souper Jenny, to sell. Katie, upped the ante by saying they would make 10 loaves to sell. The weekend was spent settling on the recipe, and on Monday 10 loaves were delivered to Souper Jenny. The loaves sold in one hour. That night the trio made 10 more loaves and delivered them the next day. Again, sold out in an hour.
    
They decided to supply their Party at My Place Pumpkin bread to Souper Jenny but also to offer it as a gift item sold through the Web and by word-of-mouth. "Out of the gate we thought of it as a gift item, so we were very careful about the presentation. It comes beautifully packaged with a ribbon. And then we would just make the bread out of our kitchen."
   
 Wendy is a full-time actress, and Geoff a music producer. "We all were living these dual lives, and it was hard and challenging. Gradually Geoff spent less and less time in music."
    
The three work well together. Geoff handles the operations; Katie, who claims the CEO title, is in charge of the big picture issues along with the sales and marketing, and Wendy fills in the gaps and develops new recipes. "We wanted to grow the business very slowly and organically; no big debt," she says. The baking was done at first in the Melkonians' kitchen. The first big expenditure was a professional Hobart mixer to replace Katie's pedestrian KitchenAid. Then they rented out kitchens from various local churches before leasing a kitchen in Norcross.
    
The company is constantly coming up with new breads. "Baking is mathematical," Katie Melkonian says. "We spend months perfecting a recipe. It's a combination of being an exact science and creative."
    
When they realized their operation was ready for the next step, they looked for a warehouse close to their Sandy Springs home where they can bake, package and market their products. They found a 3,000-square-foot spot on Mount Vernon Parkway and decided to carve out about 600 square feet for a retail store. "We really wanted to have one-on-one interactions with our customers," she says.
    
The future is growth, she says, but slowly. They have doubled their business each year since they've started, and they're looking to see numbers triple this year. We are a young, family-owned niche product with a loyal customer base. Going into a place like that is not for our brand. Saying no is hard but very important."
    
They intend to keep it a family business. Their children are involved. "They're great ribbon-tiers," she says with a laugh. "And they have their own office in our building."

She adds, "We know who we are. We're a family that bakes bread made from family recipes or that we've created. We know our brand; and I learned that when I used to be at Turner."