10/20/2009 Sac City mom's business
rises with tasty beer bread
The Daily Times Herald this morning prepared the bread from The Beer Bread Company and some of Amanda Lynch’s BLT dip. The verdict was unanimous in the office: the slightly sweet and robust bread was a hit.
Sac City mom and entrepreneur Amanda Lynch is making a name for herself in the Midwest with a beer bread mix she developed. She’s hit numerous shows in recent years and is taking her business up a notch with newly designed packaging and an updated Web site that will soon allow customers to buy online.
SAC CITY - In the fall of 2004 a young mother in Sac City took the entrepreneurial plunge, turning her home bread and baking passion to a business, with a location just off U.S. Highway 20 and an ambitious marketing and sales schedule.
Amanda Lynch, 32, a Sac City native and president and founder of The Beer Bread Company (beerbreadcompany.com), is one busy Iowan. In addition to churning out bread and dip mixes, Lynch and her husband, Chad, an employee of Evapco, are raising five daughters - all under age 9.
The Beer Bread Company finds itself at something of a crossroads. After smashing success at food and craft shows around the Midwest, Lynch is now moving her product into more stores (including The Apothecary in Carroll). Lynch is employing 10 people part-time and producing 3,000 to 5,000 packages of beer bread mix.
"I know I've got a good thing here," Lynch said. "It's convenience, and people want convenience."
The company bills its products as quick and tasty, just the right solutions for busy moms like Lynch who are on the go. The home-baked bread takes just a can of beer or other carbonated beverage.
"Once you taste it, you're hooked," said Shirley Phillips, executive director of Sac Economic and Tourism Development.
One customer who was in the business during a Daily Times Herald interview earlier this week said the beer bread she made was a real hit at a party for the recent Iowa-Iowa State football game.
For her part, Lynch is looking to move into more stores and her Web site is being upgraded to allow purchases directly over the Internet.
That Web-site shopping cart is expected to be up and running quickly.
"I'm hoping within the next week," Lynch said.
YouTube videos are planned soon as well.
In addition to the beer bread mix (retailing for $5), the company offers a variety of mixes at various prices: Zesty Garlic Dip, BLT Dip, Fiesta Dip, Zippy Horseradish, Spinach Dip, Cranberry Walnut Cheese Spread, Pineapple Pecan Cheese Spread, Sweet Pepper Cheese Spread, Chinaberry Crunch Cheese Ball Mix and Sweet and Smokey Spinach Dip Mix.
Lynch, a 1995 Sac City High School graduate, has always enjoyed cooking.
Hee mother, Sally Wallerstedt, operated the former S&L Kitchen in Sac City.
"My mom is a good cook," Lynch said.
Lynch, who worked with medical records and doing in-home respite care before going full-time with The Beer Bread Company, said she hopes to someday involve her five daughters - Macy, 8; Mia, 7: Ella, 5; Sophie, 3; and Lilah, 2.
As it stands, the family lives close to The Beer Bread Company, 101 Mauer Ave., in Sac City, formerly an auto-repair operation owned by the late Jerry Phillips. Lynch leases space there from Shirley Phillips, who assists with public relations and other aspects of the business.
Since founding the business with the help of her friend Janet Austin (who is still involved in the process) Lynch has been a regular on the craft-and-food show circuit, trekking around the Midwest, from Missouri to South Dakota to Illinois to Minneapolis and all across Iowa with a trailer of beer bread and other products.
She has a full schedule through the holidays but is eyeing the Internet and arrangements with stores so she can spend less time as a road warrior and more at home with her young daughters as well as in the creative process developing new mixes and products.
"That's completely what I have in mind," Lynch said.
