Mel-O-Cream Donuts International finds innovation at IBIE

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Mel-O-Cream Donuts International finds innovation at IBIE

8 Dec 2022

Joanie Spencer

Since 2008, Joanie Spencer has covered the retail and wholesale sides of the baking industry.
Serving associations such as the American Society of Baking (ASB) and BEMA, Joanie is also in demand as an industry presenter on bakery operations and trends. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from Rockhurst University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.

When she’s not running or playing soccer, Joanie spends her time with her husband and 11-year-old son.

SPRINGFIELD, IL — For a new leadership team at a 90-year-old company, there’s no better place to shop for innovation than the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE), held Sept. 18-21 in Las Vegas.

The leadership at Mel-O-Cream Donuts International — Eric Larson, president and CEO; Chad Larson, VP and COO; and Chris Larson, VP and secretary — perused the aisles of the Western Hemisphere’s largest bakery show to seek the latest innovations that can help propel its operation into the future.

Overall labor shortages in the American workforce due in part to the pandemic have hit both commercial and instore bakeries. It leaves baking companies trying to help their workforce strapped customers overcome those shortages while simultaneously figuring out how to operate efficiently with staff deficiencies of their own.

“We wanted to look at what equipment’s out there that can streamline our process and make employees’ — and our customers’ — jobs easier and make the product better,” Chris said.

One of Mel-O-Cream’s biggest sellers is a filled Bizmark, currently a labor intensive, semi-manual process of “punching” the dough.

“At IBIE, we found several companies who offer that solution and were reasonably priced, considering the automation that’s involved,” Chad said. “The labor market has tightened, and this is a skilled position, where the people who do it are not easily replaceable.”

This story has been adapted from the 2022 Innovations Annual issue of Commercial Baking. Read the full story in the digital edition here.

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