Martin’s Super Markets now stocking Amish Pretzel Co. products
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Frozen pretzel maker Amish Pretzel Co. has inked a deal to stock its products at all SpartanNash-owned Martin’s Super Markets throughout the Midwest.
Created by the founders of Elkhart-based Ben’s Soft Pretzels, Amish Pretzel Co. was founded to meet a need in the frozen pretzel space.
“Ben’s is a fresh soft pretzel company and every time we sold at Notre Dame, Purdue, IU, Lucas Oil, Gainbridge, a lot of consumers would say they wanted a frozen pretzel that’s not horrible,” Ben’s Soft Pretzels co-founder Brian Krider told Inside INdiana Business. “So we said to ourselves, ‘If we can make the world’s best fresh soft pretzel, we’ve got to be able to make the world’s best frozen pretzel.'”
Krider highlights why the partnership with Martin’s works for the Amish Pretzel Co. brand.
The team went to work and created a clean-label product aligned with the founders’ Amish roots. Inspired by the traditional baking methods of the Amish community, the company offers a range of frozen snacks that are egg-free, dairy-free and nut-free.
The frozen soft pretzels and pretzel bites contain wheat and gluten, but are free of any harsh preservatives, Krider said.
“We don’t use lye, which is something that 99.9% of other pretzel companies use to darken their pretzel. We use a baking soda concentrate, which helps give it a browner shade, but also makes a sweeter product,” he added. “This has been market driven by the consumer who wants to have a Ben’s Soft Pretzel at three o’clock in the morning at home.”
Launched in 2022, Amish Pretzel Co. got its start in the fundraising space when a fundraising company reached out to see if the company would be interested in creating a frozen product for fundraisers. Once the product was created, they expanded to wholesale food distribution with Gordon Food Service.
Krider said Tiffany Watts, the company’s vice president who helped secure the deal with the University of Notre Dame for sporting events, was also instrumental in making the switch to retail.
“Martin’s has been a regional, legendary brand here in northern Indiana for years, and we’ve just always been in awe of Martin’s being a local institution, kind of what we feel with our Ben’s brand,” Krider said. “Martin’s was one of the first places that we really wanted to get our product into.”
While the Amish Pretzel Co. brand is different from Ben’s Soft Pretzel, Krider said both products have a similar taste profile. Pretzel fans can find the company’s six-pack frozen pretzel and 30-pieces pretzel bites in the frozen food section of all Martin’s Super Markets.
“We just love being a part of the Indiana business scene and we try to do everything we can to put the consumer first,” Krider said. “Everything we do is really to try to bring a new experience to the consumer that might be willing to spend their hard earned money on a pretzel. We want them to look at us as that opportunity to have some excitement and happiness.”
Martin’s Super Markets has more than a dozen Indiana locations.