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Company History

Katie Reilly's Irish Soda Bread Mix is Created

1997:  Celtic Passions, LLC, a privately held Limited Liability Company, was founded in September, 1997 by Joanne Manley and her mother Jo Naughton. The Company began with one product in mind, namely "Katie Reilly's Irish Soda Bread Mix."  This product, which Jo and Joanne were extremely passionate about, contained the original Irish Soda Bread recipe of Jo Naughton's mother, Katie Reilly, who came to the United States in 1909 from County Galway, Ireland.  The product was sold to Irish Gift/Food Stores and Gourmet Shops beginning on the East Coast and then into the Midwest.  Its success was achieved through marketing the product as both a gift item and a gourmet food item.

Celtic Passions Introduces Katie Reilly's Irish Soda Bread to Supermarket Bakeries:

2000: Katie Reilly's Irish Soda Bread Mix was introduced in Shop Rite Supermarkets through their co-op company Wakefern, Inc.  Celtic Passions sold Katie Reilly's Irish Soda Bread mix in its original sixteen ounce muslin bag and also in fifty pound bags for mass baking in the 200+ bakeries to which Wakefern distributes.  The introduction of Katie Reilly's Irish Soda Bread caused Wakefern's Fresh Bake Division to double their Irish soda bread sales from the previous year.  This success continued throughout the years following, with Wakefern's product orders consistently increasing by an average of 10% annually.

Celtic Passions, LLC continues to see growth by holding strong to Old Fashioned Values

2019:  The huge demand for "Katie Reilly's" continues and in order to keep up, Celtic Passions adds to their product line by offering their Irish Soda Bread as baked loaves.  This opens up many opportunities to get "Katie Reilly's" into stores across the country.

 

Over 25 years in business, Celtic Passions continues to help businesses grow their sales by continuing to deliver an age old recipe that has stood the test of time.  With an increased awareness on healthy eating, the interest in Katie Reilly's continues.  

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