SAN FRANCISCO, CA
San Francisco-based Marlo’s Bakeshop is introducing a new variety of its signature soft-baked biscotti for Holiday 2015: Chocolate Pumpkin Pie.
I spoke with company CEO and Founder Marlo Gertz about Marlo’s Bakeshop, this new product and all things biscotti.
Marlo’s Bakeshop started in 2012 when Marlo finished a professional pastry program at Tante Marie’s cooking school in San Francisco. She told me that she was originally working in software and was feeling unfulfilled when she realized that she had an amazing and addictive family recipe from her grandmother that she could produce and sell as a business.
“Growing up, my grandmother would bake several batches at a time and then ship the cookies in old Dansk butter cookie tins to everyone in my family all over the country,” Marlo shared. “We never knew when they were coming, so receiving a tin became a delightful, delicious surprise.”
After her grandmother developed arthritis in her hands, she shared the recipe that she had kept secret for more than 50 years with Marlo and her sister.
“Once I had this recipe and my pastry education I thought, ‘Why not?’ and spent the next year handing out samples, garnering feedback from strangers and friends while developing the packaging concept,” she told me.
From that early beginning, Marlo’s Bakeshop has grown and is continuing to grow with the addition of this new Chocolate Pumpkin Pie flavor. This non-GMO, all-natural offering is dairy & nut-free and handcrafted without any artificial ingredients or preservatives.
When asked about the inspiration behind this new flavor, Marlo told me, “I wanted our first limited-edition holiday flavor to evoke the fond memories I have, growing up in chilly East Coast winters, warmed by a mug of tea or cocoa and enveloped by the intoxicating smell of holiday pies baking.”
She added, “Pumpkin pie was always one of my favorites and adding dark chocolate to that flavor profile seemed like a no-brainer. The fact that this flavor pairs so beautifully with coffee, tea and chai is just a bonus.”
This seasonal item will be available in stores from September through the end of the year and are available to retailers for pre-order by contacting Marlo's Bakeshop for pricing, distribution information and estimated shipping dates.
Looking to the future, Marlo tells me that the company is currently doing R&D on some exciting new products while working to bring its signature line to more people throughout the country.
