O'MALIA BAGEL BUTTON SALES ZIP UP

ROSEANNE HARPER

CARMEL, Ind. -- O'Malia Food Markets here has seen fresh bagel sales take off after it brought back to earth a specialty bagel it had originally launched as an airline food-service item.

The product, called Bagel Button, is a bagel without a hole that's baked in a muffin cup.

It was initially developed by O'Malia Bakery at the request of U.S. Air Express Airlines in Indianapolis. O'Malia Bakery is the wholesale arm of the seven-unit O'Malia Food Markets.

The commuter airline, operated by U.S. Air, had asked O'Malia Bakery to develop an exclusive, high-quality product that would distinguish itself as an accompaniment to coffee and tea served on morning flights.

"We decided also to offer them in our stores, and sales have been growing every week since we introduced them," said Ron Williams, director of bakery operations for both the retailer and the wholesale bakery.

Sales have soared by 50% since the end of the first full month O'Malia offered the new product, Williams said. At this point, he said, O'Malia is selling 1,200 to 1,500 dozen Bagel Buttons a week. He declined to say what percentage of that is sold to the airline and what percentage is retailed in O'Malia Food Markets.

At 4 inches in diameter, the product is a lot larger than the average button. It also commands a hefty price -- 89 cents each -- at O'Malia's in-store bakeries. The retailer also offers regular bagels at four for $1.69.

The Bagel Button, however, is seen as a premium product by customers, Williams said. The items are packaged singly in dome containers with a 1-ounce package of cream cheese. The regular bagels, by contrast, are packaged in polybags.

"It looks like a jumbo muffin. I got the button idea because they remind me of button mushrooms in their shape," said Williams.

"They're more moist than a regular bagel. Whenever you have a product with a hole in the center, more moisture is baked out of it. Products without a hole retain their moisture longer," he added. Made from frozen, raw dough bagels, the bagel buttons are formed by bunching the dough together in a muffin cup, Williams said.