By Jeff Martin
Listening to Zachary Bohn tell it, it would appear as if Western New Yorkers – and the world – want the word “mini” in their food offerings.
Crunch Rolls have achieved a global availability that is the envy of other like-minded snack offerings, and its owners, Zachary and his father Mark Bohn, want to take that next step. At a recent meeting of the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency, the Original Crunch Roll Factory LLC secured a $400,000 loan, with $225,000 earmarked for new equipment and $175,000 allocated for working capital.
It was the culmination of a lot of hard work and vision for the Westfield-based company.
was originally created for the family restaurant in Buffalo. When the restaurant
was operating, Bohn was 22 and studying management at Canisius College
when he had what he called “a light bulb moment”.
“This was just about taking it to that next level,” Bohn said by phone recently.
Founded in 2016, Crunch Rolls products are currently available in select grocery stores, retail outlets, college campuses, and amusement parks primarily located in the northeastern United States. The Crunch Rolls come in various flavors, such as Buffalo style chicken, mac and cheese, banana pepper, steak and cheese, pepperoni pizza, breakfast scrambled egg with sausage and corned beef Reuben.
Their products can be found on Caribbean Cruise lines and each and every military base throughout the world.
At 27 years old, Bohn was born and raised in Rochester. The product was originally created for the family restaurant in Buffalo. When the restaurant was operating, Bohn was 22 and studying management at Canisius College when he had what he called “a light bulb moment”.
“I just wanted to run with it, and I did”, he said. “Several years later and here we are. It’s exciting.”
Crunch Roll was the first company to begin operations in Chautauqua County through Fredonia’s StartUp NY program. Bohn was drawn to Westfield because of the concentrated effort between Fredonia and the IDA, as well as availability of property.
To capitalize on opportunities with national retailers, the Bohn’s recognized the need for additional equipment. Bohn said the expansion and the funds to do it with will allow them to open more and more doors and continue their sales growth throughout the country.
The father and son duo want to diversify their product range and introduce what might seem contrary to a concept in the snack food arena: mini.
Bohn chuckled a bit when reminded of the common man’s appetite in the U.S.
“Customers have been asking for it,” he said. “Hard to believe but it’s true. That snack size is attractive.”
The expansion will increase employment numbers at the facility from its current 38 employees to 46. Even before the new expansion began, the company has been making a dent in repayments. Only $200,000 remain of the original loan. That’s good business practice: a quick start right out of the gate.
Bohn said the expansion will be more of a “rolling” quality and will begin in January.