2016 Baker’s Dozen

The Innovator
Adrienne Blumthal
PieBox | Atlanta, Georgia 

Time, effort, and love go into each baker’s creation. So why not put the same care into the packaging? For Adrienne Blumthal, this thought became the concept that changed her life. She needed a sturdy and attractive way to transport the treats she’d spent hours perfecting while in pastry school. Flimsy cardboard boxes and bulky plastic containers just weren’t cutting it. When she realized how well a wine crate did the job, PieBox was born. 

Photo courtesy Adrienne Blumthal

Sturdy and more stylish than alternative carriers, each of the boxes is crafted by independent woodworkers, hand-assembled, and hand-branded. From its roots in the Blumthals’ living room and garage in 2012 to a team of about 10 people in a woodworking shop, the company has grown rapidly and offers leather carrying straps as well as CakeBox and CookieBox variations. Adrienne attributes the popularity to the essence of PieBox: pretty enough to present your pie, but simple enough not to distract from it.

What she’s up to now: Adrienne and her team at Pie Box are in full swing as they just launched a new product called BiscuitBox in collaboration with fellow Baker’s Dozen member Carrie Moore’s business Callie’s Charleston Biscuit.

The Girl Wonder
Breana “Bree” Britt
Bree’s Sweet Treats | Accokeek, Maryland

At the age of 12, Breana “Bree” Britt opened her own bakery. Now, as an 18-year-old she has accomplished more than some will in a lifetime. From the time Bree and her mother launched Bree’s Sweet Treats website in 2011 and opened the physical bakery in 2012—when Bree was 13—Bree juggled her duties as head baker with attending high school full time (and remaining an honor roll student). Bree’s ability to operate a successful business at such a young age makes her impressive, but it’s her need to take what she’s earned from the bakery and put it back into the community that makes her remarkable. When Bree was five, her father suffered a traumatic brain injury while serving in the Army during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Bree’s great-grandmothers began teaching Bree to bake as a distraction. As the daughter of a veteran, being a philanthropist is what Bree is most proud of. “It’s not about the awards or the recognition,” Bree says. “It’s about spreading love and the feeling of family to everyone who comes into the bakery and beyond. That’s always been the most important thing.” She mentors throughout town and in the bakery, and donates to The Fisher House Foundation, which provides free or low-cost lodging to veterans and military families receiving treatment at military medical centers.

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