The Baker's Catalogue

How the catalog started: Demand from outside of its market for products from parent company King Arthur Flour, coupled with the company’s commitment to the American tradition of home baking, provided the impetus for the introduction of The Baker’s Catalogue in 1990. “Calls were increasing from people who had previously lived in the New England area,” says Steve Voigt, president of King Arthur Flour, a 213-year-old company. “They’d ask us to send them some flour. It didn’t take too long to see there was a business there.” Grew up in: Westport, CT Education: After receiving bachelor’s degrees in mathematical economics and German, Voigt

Challenge: How to ship low-cost, high-weight items from the U.S. Northeast to customers all over the country without having customers balk at spending more on shipping than they did on the products themselves. Solution: Charge customers only what you pay for the actual shipping and handling charges, and make the ordering process transparent enough so customers know it. The Baker’s Catalogue, based in Norwich, VT, sells flour, yeast, baking utensils, cookbooks, salts, sugars and other baking essentials. Many of its products are in lower price points, such as five-pound bags of bread flour for $3.50 each. Undoubtedly, telling a customer who