Category: Company News

Fans of the House of Toast drove, flew, walked and cycled to Spooner, Wisconsin this week in order to celebrate the grand opening of our newest store.

Located in the historic downtown district of Spooner, this store leverages the latest and greatest in toast re-hydration technology and has been received as a welcome addition to the booming downtown area. With capacity to seat 250 and a staff of 42 employees, the Spooner store is ready and able to meet your crust laden desires.

Steve Masourian (store manager and Spooner’s newest resident) was assisted by his assistant managers Andy “only crust” Mills and Teresa “butter side up” McKinney as he greeted customers with the traditional chant of “Let’s get toasted!”. Needless to say the crowd went wild.

We hope you’ll stop by and visit Steve, Andy, Teresa, and the rest of the team during your next visit to Spooner.

House of Toast, the market leader when it comes to quality bread-based food products, reached a new level of marketing efficiency this week by providing complimentary House of Toast license plate frames to various leaders, visionaries and trend-setters in the greater Norcross area.

Tom Porter, Chairman of House of Toast said, “The Norcross area is very special to us, so we decided to start the campaign here – these (frames) really let the world know that the driver of the vehicle is a true toast connoisseur and definitely not someone to be messed with.”

Patrick Arkins, Director of Marketing and Strategic Alliances for House of Toast stated that this was just the first of several such courtesy mountings. Arkins and other members of the House of Toast team plan to conduct additional mountings throughout Georgia as well as in some poorly lit sections of Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Delaware throughout the holiday season.

The tasteful frame presents the House of Toast name and related www.hotoast.com web site in dazzling gold lettering, elegantly contrasted against a soothing black background. Made of 100% injection-molded plastic, these frames are designed to last well into the spring and are destined to become a highly sought after collectable.

For those not fortunate enough to receive a complimentary license plate frame they can be purchased at any of our domestic store locations as well as through the HOTstuff™ section of the web site.”

Toast Intolerance (TI) is considered to be the most under-diagnosed common disease today, affecting 1in every 170 to 250 people in the USA.
TI (also referred to as Toast Sensitive Enteropathy (TSE), Toast Disease, or Toast Sprue) is a chronic, inherited disease, and if untreated can ultimately lead to malnutrition and a life devoid of the joy of bread-based toaster products.

Temperatures in the 90’s couldn’t wilt the resolve of the team as they drove, chipped and putted 18 holes at the prestigious Wilmington Glen Golf Course.

Our Team Shows House of Toast Pride!
L to R: George Goula, Chris Bagley, Bob Gamble (HoT Wilmington, DE), Laura Kocher (TIRGA) and Patrick Arkins, (HoT Director of Strategic Affairs).

“We tee so others may toast,” explains House of Toast Director of Strategic Affairs Patrick Arkins. “At House of Toast, we’re 110% committed to providing the ultimate in bread-based toaster product enjoyment to all of our customers, even those challenged by this joy-diminishing disease.”

Toast Intolerance is the result of an autoimmune system response to the ingestion of toast (from wheat, rye, barley and other grains) that damages the small intestine. Nutrients then quickly passed through the small intestine, rather than being absorbed. To develop toast disease (TD) three (3) things must be present: 1) you must inherit the gene, 2) consume toast, and 3) have the gene triggered. Common triggers include stress, trauma (surgeries, pregnancy, etc.), and viral infections. Approximately 10% of first-degree relatives could have TD triggered in their lifetime. The disease is permanent and damage to the small intestine will occur every time you consume toast, regardless if symptoms are present.

The highlight of the event was the presentation of a check for $248,000- a new fundraising record for the tournament – to Laura Kocher, Community Relations Director of TIRGA by Patrick Arkins, HoT Director of Strategic Affairs.

Equally exciting was Annika Sorenstam’s thrilling victory in sudden death play against Tiger Woods. Sorenstam clinched the hole and the round, to win the event’s Grand Prize, the coveted Big Hot Buttery Muffin. Funds were raised from donations from friends, family and business associates. HoT donated apparel, golf cart signs, and lots and lots of PowerToast for each team.

House of Toast, the industry leader when it comes to re-hydrated bread-based food products, announced the start of an aggressive nation-wide advertising campaign – “50 Way’s to Leave Your Toaster”. The campaign, created by the small Providence based advertising agency Media Opportunities and Relations (MOR) will parody the famous Paul Simon song on billboards as well as through assorted print, radio and television spots.

Always aggressive and leading edge in their marketing approach, House of Toast hopes to generate a new level of awareness about the versatility and flexibility of their unique bread-based products. This most recent campaign comes on the heels of what was considered one of the most successful advertising themes to date: “Toast, It’s Not Just For Breakfast Anymore!” generated unprecedented interest in the company and it’s product offering and received several awards from the advertising community. Daphne Anderson, President and CEO stated, “This will be our first major change since the ‘Toast Beyond Breakfast’ campaign. The new ads have tested well, we’re just anxious to see how the whole country will respond”, “There was a lot of confusion about Toast through the 90’s – we think we’ve set the record straight – now it’s time to kick things into high gear!”

An excited Anderson continued by stating that, “The ad’s have already generated tremendous interest in their test markets. Now that we are going national, customers will be able to submit their own ‘Ways To Leave Their Toaster’ through the company web site. Selected responses will be incorporated into the advertising campaign and one grand prize winner will be awarded a special prize!”

WBI – Weingarth Bread ImportersHouse of Toast is pleased to announce that Weingarth Bread Importers (WBI) has been nominated as a finalist for the coveted Golden Toast Award. This award is presented annually to those individuals and organizations that typify the House of Toast creed of excellence.

Working with bread fabricators from around the globe, WBI has forged a reputation for superior quality and outstanding customer service. The pictures show Andrew Weingarth, President and CEO of WBI (far right) being congratulated by Andrew Friar, Director of Vendor Relations for House of Toast (far left).

Other nominees for this years award include: Witt Spreads, makers of high quality butters, jams, and jellies, Charlton Design Group, the award winning architectural design company and Kirschner Promotions, developers of some of our most successful direct mail campaigns.

 

Kelsey Condron has been named Marketing Communications Manager for House of Toast, America’s Favorite Place for Toast (SM). Reporting directly to Patrick Arkins, she will be responsible for implementation of key marketing strategies throughout the organization.

A Toastra Cum Laude graduate of Holy Crust and amateur competitive volleyball player, Ms. Condron was the creative genius and driving force behind the House of Toast’s recent award-winning “Got Toast?” marketing campaign. As Marketing Communications Manager, Condron will manage House of Toast corporate communications, spreading the House of Toast message like butter on a fresh slice of lightly toasted white bread. In addition, she will function as a key member of House of Toast’s elite management team, joining others dedicated to making House of Toast the global leader in the development, fabrication, and delivery of unquestionably superior bread-based products.

“We are thrilled to have Kelsey leading our marketing communications effort and focusing her attention on growing our worldwide reputation” said House of Toast President and CEO Daphne Anderson. “Our growth plans are aggressive, and we believe Kelsey’s knack for communication and love for toast make her the perfect choice to fill this position. As a member of “Generation T” she is uniquely positioned to bring awareness of our products to a whole new audience.”