Today we’d like to introduce you to Mitch VanPutten.
Hi Mitch, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
A little less than 20 years ago, our family was close friends with another family from Church. Through many different circumstances, that family moved to the Chicago Suburbs area … and stayed for about 10 years, then came back to Holland. While away, they fell in love with a small pretzel company. As they we returning to the area, we got together and they floated the idea on starting a pretzel company here in the West Michigan area. So, we did. Two families, just having fun with it and learning as we went. A few years ago, our family took over 100% and continue to lead the charge today.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Ha, ya not a smooth road. We sold our 1st pretzel in April 2019, on National Pretzel Day. Less than 1 year later the global pandemic hit. We honestly thought our very small business would not survive, but then found out we were considered a food / bakery type of business and ok’d to continue operations. We worked hard to get online ordering up and running, did some marketing and began selling 1 night a week out of our Commercial Kitchen. The community was amazingly supportive and our business actually grew over the next year. From there we started popping up at the Holland Farmers Markets and providing pretzels for many different types of catered events. The team continues to learn, while focusing on quality, customer service and integrity. As a result, we have continued to grow.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
What do you do? We hand make and bake high quality, artisan pretzels for pop up events like farmers markets and for catered orders like business lunches and wedding late night snakes.
What do you specialize in? We specialize in creating fun and spreading joy with our pretzels. Our pretzels are great tasting and some have ingredients stuffed inside, like cheeses and meats. Some of our favorites include the traditional salt pretzels, the cinnamon sugar pretzel. the turkey bacon cheddar pretzel and the breakfast pretzel, which includes eggs, cheese, peppers, onions, sausage and gravy.
What are you most proud of? From the very start, we committed to treating everyone with respect and grace, while never compromising on our integrity. People are more important than our profits.
What sets you apart from others? We operate our own way, while focusing on a number of key components. Among the most important are people, along with quality and taste. Our goal is that our pretzel is the best tasting and most amazing pretzel you have every had.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Do you have any advice for those who are just starting out? Our advice would be to decide what is important to you and don’t compromise. Then, balance that conviction with an ability to set your pride aside and listen to your teammates. Finally, and equally important, “Have fun!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.knotspotpretzel.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knotspotpretzel
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theknotspot
