MassDevelopment

Walpole Nut-Free Bakery Moves Operations, Doubles Workforce With MassDevelopment Loan


May 6, 2014


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Kelsey Abbruzzese, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2086 & 617-448-9077 (cell)
kabbruzzese@massdevelopment.com
Maura Duggan, Fancypants Baking Co., 508-660-1140
maura@fancypantsbakery.com

MassDevelopment has issued a $327,000 loan to Fancypants Baking Company, a Walpole bakery specializing in nut-free baked goods. Fancypants Baking will use loan funds to move its operation to a new 15,000-square-foot facility and purchase new equipment. The upgraded facility will provide Fancypants with space to grow its business in response to strong growth in recent years, and double its payroll to 46 employees over the next several years. To see a video of the new space, visit https://www.dropbox.com/s/917lr4bo76uhp1j/Fancypants_2013_720p_5mbps.mp4.

“Fancypants Baking’s new facility will allow it to expand efficiently,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Marty Jones. “We are pleased to offer this loan to Fancypants so it may sweeten employment opportunities and taste buds in Massachusetts.”

Fancypants Baking Company offers a unique combination of handcrafted, all-natural, and nut-free baked goods. Fancypants Baking was founded in 2004 as the nation’s first nut-free decorated cookie bakery by husband and wife Justin Housman and Maura Duggan. Housman and Duggan started the company in their Boston apartment to make sure that everyone, including those with nut allergies, could enjoy baked goods. In 2005, the company moved to its current 4,500-square-foot location in Walpole. Fancypants Baking sells its cookies online to private customers and businesses and to specialty shops and large retailers such as Whole Foods Markets, Super Target stores, and Roche Bros. supermarkets. The company received its kosher certification in 2013 and is seeking to certify several products as non-GMO in 2014.

“Building a new facility would not have been possible without MassDevelopment,” said Maura Duggan, President of Fancypants Baking Company. “This loan has made our dream come true! We are so excited to grow our business and to have a positive impact on our local community.”

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2013, MassDevelopment financed or managed 350 projects generating investment of more than $2.4 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are projected to create more than 7,000 jobs and build or rehabilitate 800 residential units.