Killer Instincts About Killer Bread

CAROL ANGRISANI

DAVE DAHL — A FORMER METH ADDICT who spent 15 years in and out of prison for armed robbery, burglary and other crimes — didn't exactly get a warm reception at his first vendor meeting with Fred Meyer Inc.

An image of Dave Dahl playing the guitar appears on all packaging.

In addition to his criminal background, his product was “Dave's Killer Bread” — which has an image of himself muscled up and long-haired on the front of the package.

Fred Meyer turned him down.

“They didn't like the whole idea of an ex-con pictured on the package of a loaf of bread,” Dahl told SN. “I was too edgy for them.”

Indeed, Dahl often needs to explain the organic, whole-grain bread's “killer” namesake. No, Dahl did not kill anyone. He said the bread is called “killer” because it's not just healthy, but also so tasty, it's “killer.”

After bread lovers got a taste of his bread at grassroots sampling events, many started talking about it — and asking their local Fred Meyer to carry it.

“There was a groundswell of interest,” he said.

Within a year, Fred Meyer called Dave and told him they wanted his bread.

“They actually came to me,” Dahl said.

That was about five years ago. Today, Dave's Killer Bread is sold not only at Fred Meyer, but also Safeway, Costco, Whole Foods and other food stores in Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

Dahl recognizes that to be successful at retail, the company needs to be on the forefront of new technologies. That's why the company is testing shelf tags with QR codes. Food store shoppers who snap a photo of the QR code with their smart phone can view a video about the bread.

Dahl has been making the bread since 2005. After serving his last stint in prison, he got off drugs and worked to turn his life around. That happened when his brother Glenn let him rejoin the family baking business, NatureBake, in Milwaukie, Ore.

“I was finished with the whole drug and prison thing,” he said.

He started out by filling in for absent bakers and de-panning bread loaves.

Soon, Glenn tasked him to create a new whole-grain bread recipe. Dahl got to work to create healthy bread that tasted good.

It wasn't long before Blues, named for its blue corn crust, was born. The bread now comes in 15 varieties, including “21 Whole Grains Killer light,” “robust raisin” and “Killer sin Dawg.”