Friday Food Insider: A behind the scenes look at the world of Grandy Organics and its granola creations

Photo / Alexis Wells In the baking line at Grandy Organics in Hiram, long and wide ovens toast the granola as workers monitor temperature and color to ensure every batch comes out golden and evenly crisp.

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By Alexis Wells

Outside the Grandy Organics granola factory in Hiram, the morning air is thick with the sweet, comforting smell of honey, signaling that something delicious is in the works.

Step inside, and you're instantly immersed in a Willy Wonka-like world with a wholesome twist.

The factory floor is organized into different sections, each with its own purpose.

In the mixing area, giant stainless-steel machines blend oats with nuts, seeds, honey and maple syrup. You can hear the hum of mixers and conveyor belts as ingredients are transported between stations.

Photo / Alexis Wells

Granola being hoisted onto a machine that breaks it up into smaller pieces to prepare it for packaging.

Up ahead is the baking line, where long, wide ovens toast the granola as workers monitor temperature and color to ensure every batch comes out golden and evenly crisp.

Next is the cooling and breaking station, where sheets of freshly baked granola are cooled and then broken into clusters. Conveyor belts move the granola along while machines and people check for quality.

Nearby, packaging machines fill bags or boxes with measured amounts of granola, seal them, print the labels and send them down the line for boxing.

Photo / Alexis Wells

Pictured is the factory production line where granola gets packaged.

Workers in hats and gloves ensure that everything stays clean as machines hum, bags crinkle and timers beep.

New products and machines

Grandy Organics, a small-batch manufacturer with 41 employees, led by owner and 2024 Mainebiz Business Leader of the Year honoree Aaron Anker, is expanding its offerings with a new line of granola clusters.

File Photo / Tim Greenway

Aaron Anker

The ancient grains feature organic ingredients like buckwheat, quinoa, amaranth, pumpkin seeds and cinnamon, while the dark chocolate peanut butter clusters contain roasted peanuts and organic dark chocolate with gluten-free oats.

Attessa Bradley, the company's chief marketing officer, said it's taken three years to perfect the snacks with the right size, crunch and taste.

"It’s incredibly rewarding to finally succeed and see these new products hitting shelves,” she added. “These new snackable clusters represent the next phase of growth for Grandy — bringing our handcrafted quality and organic ingredients to a format that fits today’s snacking lifestyle.”

The new products are sold at select retail stores throughout New England.

Production partner

On the production side, Grandy Organics has partnered with a Maine-based equipment design and fabrication team to engineer a fully custom cluster-forming system for its new ancient grain and peanut butter dark chocolate cluster granolas.

Robert Maxwell, the company's chief operating officer, explained that once installed, granola sheets will be hand-loaded from oven trays into a large stainless-steel hopper.

Its four-sided pyramid shape will naturally funnel the granola to a precision aperture at the base, where a series of counter-rotating, food-grade wheels equipped with tines will gently pull and fracture the sheet into uniform, bite-sized clusters.

"The tine spacing and wheel speed have been precisely calibrated to deliver the exact crunchy, snackable break pattern our customers want — preserving every organic ancient grain, nut and seed while keeping the line ergonomic for our team and fully compliant with USDA organic standards," Maxwell said.

The equipment is in the final stages of fabrication.

Telling the story

To get the word out about its creations, Grandy Organics posts on social media platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and LinkedIn. It also sends products to influencers to taste and share on their own platforms.

"At Grandy Organics, we have a really special story to share from our organic ingredients to our solar-powered facility, and of course, the wonderful small-town Maine community that we call home," said Helen Ruhlin, the company's social media and content manager. "Social media allows us not only to talk about our values but also to show them."

Holiday vibes

With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, Friday Food Insider will take a short break next week. We’ll return on Dec. 5 with plenty of festive food coverage. In the meantime, we’d like to know: What seasonal Maine-made treats do you look forward to most? Contact Alexis Wells at awells@mainebiz.biz.

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