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In 1996, Jay and Jane Bunting incorporated and with modest beginnings started work on their food business. They opened a retail spice shop in 1998 and by the end of 2001 had developed 60 proprietary spice blends and had launched their wholesale spice business. Today, they offer nearly 200 seasonings and over 150 spices and herbs.

Entrance into the grocery world came in 2004 with the winning of a competitive bid with Lund’s/Byerly’s. The results were clear after one year – the new private label spice line outsold the previous line (Spice Islands) and increased profit.

Business continued to grow into a nationwide distribution to grocers, upscale kitchen stores, gift shops, restaurants, championship golf course dining rooms and others. Today, Wayzata Bay Spice Company provides spices to more than 100 retail outlets spanning more than 30 states.

In 2007, we moved to a new processing facility to manage our expansion and give us room for growth. Our 11,000 sq. ft. facility still gives us the capacity we require for the next several years.

We stand ready to help some new customers make some money! We might be small, but we can make a huge impact.

About

We created Wayzata Bay Spice Company in Wayzata, Minnesota, because it was frustrating for us to find gourmet-quality spices and herbs. We went to local grocery stores and co-ops, but were disappointed with the quality of the spice products – especially the spice blends. Leaving the corporate world behind, we started our spice shop. As the customers and sales increased, we built a bottling area within the retail store to insure the freshness and quality of our products. When we decided to focus on wholesale, we rented offsite space. Eventually, we built our own manufacturing facility.

We deal directly with importers, exporters and specialty distributors to find spices and herbs that are clearly superior to grocery store brands. You’ll find that our wholesale prices are in line with, or below, nation-wide spice providers with products inferior to ours.

Wayzata Bay Spice Company has a business philosophy that revolves around customer satisfaction. Whether working with a private-label customer, a corporate purchasing agent or a specialty shop manager that sells the Wayzata Bay Spice Company line, our goal is to delight our customers with service and products that are clearly superior. We aim for unique and personalized when we create gifts for customers. We use spices in favors and centerpieces for special events; for sales promotions and “give-a-ways” at trade conventions; corporate gifts; and a variety of personal gifts, from wedding showers to hostess gifts. People remember a spice gift for a long time because it is unique, it usually lasts a long time and it involves four senses: taste, smell, touch and sight. We can also custom-label our products, so you have the additional opportunity to carry your own special message.

You will find our name mentioned in Professional Cooking and Professional Baking by Wayne Gisslen. These books are the most purchased cooking texts for culinary students and chefs-in-training throughout the world, and are required by Le Cordon Bleu’s cooking schools. Wayne uses our spices due to our uncompromising quality. It is clear that Wayzata Bay Spice Company products are first rate, which is reason enough to work with us for your new line of spices or your promotion. Why else have companies enjoyed working with us? In a word: expertise. When you work with Wayzata Bay Spice Company, you get much more than a company that only knows spices and food. Jane and Jay have over 50 years of business experience between them. Jane earned a B.A. in English and a Master’s degree in Psychology. She is an expert at planning promotions and creating “hooks” – connections between your event and our products. Jay has a B.A. in Business Management and a M.B.A., both with an emphasis in finance. He can assist with any financial details related to your project. Jane and Jay share the task of working with customers and creating new blends, enabling them to offer subjective support and build off of each others strengths.

We currently supply several gourmet and kitchen shops, restaurants, bakeries and country clubs in the Midwest with their products. Private-label customers include such well-know businesses as Lund Food Holdings (Lunds and Byerly’s grocery stores), Hazeltine National Golf Club, Healthy Heart Market (noted low-sodium food retailer) and Coastal Seafoods (retailer and wholesaler of the finest seafood in Minnesota). There are also dozens of retailers and business that purchase our products in the Wayzata Bay Spice Company label. All of our customers appreciate our attention to detail. We still blend by hand – literally – which gives us the ability to closely inspect quality. That’s just one more big advantage to working with a small, family-owned company.

Our Products

Wayzata Bay Spice Company was founded under several principles. Business ethics was first. Creating products in which we could be proud was second. We like to think that we’ve excelled in both areas.

To insure we are creating the finest seasonings, we start with the finest spices and herbs. Wayzata Bay uses almost forty growers, coops, exporters, importers and distributors to procure the highest-quality ingredients. Unlike many spice companies, we use the same gourmet-grade spices in our blends that we use for our individual spices and herbs. Examine our label. You won’t notice artificial flavors and colors. You won’t find words that describe laboratory-created ingredients that you can’t pronounce. You won’t see acronyms like MSG, because we don’t use it. We don’t have to: we use the finest spices and herbs in the blends that we create. You’ll taste the difference in our 100+ blends.

Much has been said lately about the amount of sodium in Americans’ diets. We couldn’t agree more, but we were saying these things over a decade ago. One difference you’ll notice about our spice blends is that there are many – about 40 – without salt. Those that have salt have just the right amount. Unlike most spice companies, we do not use salt (or sugar) as a filler. We use it as an ingredient that should have the right proportion with regard to the other ingredients in the seasoning. This makes our seasonings superior. It also means you can use less of our seasonings because there’s more flavor.

We use few allergens in our seasonings. Some ingredients, like soy sauce powder, have a flavor that’s essential to a seasoning, but it contains soy and wheat, which are allergens. We understand this is a concern, so whenever there’s room on the label, we list, in bold type, the allergens in the seasoning. This is in addition to always listing the ingredient(s) on the ingredient statement. This isn’t required by law, but we do it anyway. Our customers’ safety come first.

Speaking of safety, we were the first spice company to popularize using “seal strips” over the top of our caps. This innovative, unique way of providing tamper-resistant closures on our bottles makes our products stand out and they look much nicer than the plastic shrink bands, which oftentimes aren’t effective. Other companies have begun using seal strips, too. How does the saying go? Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery? Thanks to our competitors for once again showing that Wayzata Bay Spice Company is ahead of the curve.

When you try our spices, herbs and seasonings, you’ll taste the difference. Our products are just better. We encourage you to compare our spices with and those of any other spice company.

Wayzata Bay Spice Company: The finest spices prepared by hand. Wayzata Bay Spice Company was founded under several principles. Business ethics was first. Creating products in which we could be proud was second. We like to think that we’ve excelled in both areas.

Contact

Street Address:

Wayzata Bay Spice Company

12820 Main Street

Rogers, MN 55374

Mailing Address:

Wayzata Bay Spice Company

PO Box 334

Rogers, MN 55374

Phone: 763-428-5851

Fax: 763-428-5583

Email: wbspice@wbspice.com