Is America ready for a redesigned bagel? That's what
Boston-based SJR Foods Inc.'s Larry Baras is hoping as he works
to widen distribution of his appropriately named UnHoley
Bagels--holeless bagels with the cream cheese already inside
them.
"It was not anything close to a stroke of genius--it was a
stroke of being a complete klutz," says Baras, who dreamed up
the idea for UnHoley Bagels after one too many messy attempts to
apply cream cheese to bagels while driving. "I said, `There
has to be a better way.' " That better way is now being
sold through convenience stores and grocers primarily in the
Eastern region of the country. "It's becoming the bagel of
choice in the freezer section," says Baras, noting 1997 sales
projections of $10 million.
Holeless bagels are not, however, the only delicacy overturning
today's breakfast tables. Despite their image as sugar-laden,
calorie-oozing, guilt-inducing menaces to society, donuts have
reportedly snuck onto the menus of several tony restaurants of
late. The twist? Through exotic ingredients and presentation,
donuts are being transformed into upscale gourmet desserts.
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Skeptical? We swear it's the truth--the hole truth.