I’ve been a fan of Dave’s Killer Bread ever since I first saw it in the grocery store several years back. I’m a sucker for good/interesting packaging/branding and I am all for natural and healthy food options. After buying and consuming my first loaf I was hooked; why eat bread if it’s not Dave’s? It was good and I felt good eating it. But, as much of a fan of packaging/branding as I am I failed to ever read the story of Dave, which was printed directly on the label, so I was pretty surprised when I came across a link which lead me to this video on their website:

http://www.daveskillerbread.com/daves-story/video.html

Dave was a drug user and armed robber who went from being a 15 year alumni of the Snake River Correctional Institute in Ontario, Oregon to becoming the President of Dave’s Killer Bread, a company pulling in $36 million annually, in just 6 years. With the help of his family he pretty much built the business from the ground up and thanks to his hiring 1/3rd of his work force from ex-cons, like himself, plus other great social and environmental initiatives he was just awarded the 2011 Oregon Ethics in Business award. He has certainly gotten a lot of media attention not only because people love a rags to riches, pull yourself up by your own bootstraps sort of tale but I also think reporters and columnists are drawn to the easy play on words that can be conjured from baking bread and creating a successful business. Either way it really is a great story and some great bread and it’s always good to continue to find things that inspire you.  Dave was certainly able to inspire himself to “rise” above his “seedy” past and turn a “crusty” business into a lot of “dough”….yeah, sorry.