St. Paul, MN – Pan-O-Gold Baking Company, St. Cloud, MN, was honored by the Minnesota Grocers Association with its 2011 Outstanding Vendor Award. Accepting the award on behalf of Pan-O-Gold Baking Company was Howard “Robin” Alton III, President and Chief Executive Officer. This award is given to those who show innovation in customer
support, excellence in customer service as well as involvement in the Minnesota Grocers Association (MGA). The award was presented on July 31, 2011 at the MGA Annual Convention in Brainerd, MN which was attended by over 300 members of the Minnesota retail food industry.
Pan-O-Gold Baking Company is a family-owned company with a rich history that dates back to the 1800’s. The bakery at the headquarters in St. Cloud, Minnesota, known as the “Lakeland Bakery,” has baked continuously on the same site for over 100 years. Starting as a small retail bakery, Pan-O-Gold has since grown into one of the leading wholesale bakeries in the country employing over 1,000 people. Its state-of-the-art bakeries make the finest wholesale and retail breads, buns, bagels, muffins, donuts, and rolls for grocers, restaurants, supermarkets and distributors all over the Midwest – a trade territory that includes 9 states. Pan-O-Gold sells its products under many different brand names including Country Hearth and Village Hearth and also provides a full line of private label breads and bun products to supermarkets in the upper Midwest.
Howard “Robin” Alton III, President and Chief Executive Officer began working at Pan-OGold in Minneapolis in 1975 and later became a licensed attorney. Robin has worked in all aspects of the bakery business including manufacturing, transport and delivery, sales, management and administration, before being named President of Pan-O-Gold in 1990. Robin lives in Wayzata with his wife, Lisa, and has three children.
Pan-O-Gold Baking Company’s dedication to and support of the Minnesota Grocers Association is unmistakable. They act as the voice for the industry’s vendor community, working diligently to support their retail partners on issues that are important to the industry.
The MGA is a state trade association representing the food retail industry since 1897. We have over 200 retail members with nearly 1,100 stores statewide, as well as approximately 100 distributors and manufacturers. Our member companies employ over 125,000 union and non-union Minnesotans. We actively advance the common interest of all those engaged in any aspect of the retail food industry as a leader and advocate in government affairs.
Source: Minnesota Grocers Association