Maybe you've sampled products from the popular organic and whole grain brand
Dave's Killer Bread and wondered how it got its catchy name. You may have even heard that
Dave Dahl , the bakery's founder, spent 15 years in prison. But what did Dahl do to
end up there? And how was he able to start a multi-million-dollar company afterward?
Dave Dahl grew up around his father's bakery,
NatureBake. According to the Dave's Killer Bread website, it was ahead of its time in the 1980s,
creating handmade organic and sprouted grain loaves. By his teen years, however,
Dahl said he was not interested in following in his father's footsteps. He began using drugs,
dropped out of high school, and turned to a life of petty crime. Dahl ended up spending the next 15
years in and out of prisons around the country for various offenses, including home burglary.
In between his crimes and sentences, he worked with his brother Glenn at the family bakery.
After being released from prison in the early 2000s, Dave Dahl rejoined his brother at the
bakery. It was there that he developed a cornmeal-encrusted bread that he took
to Portland-area farmers markets. He called it "Dave's Killer Bread," and thus a brand was born.
"Do we need more bread?"
"Right"
"I mean, and you said 'yes.'"
"But we needed better bread."
Dave Dahl has never shied away from his history as an ex-con. The brand owes its success not only
to its flavorful organic loaves, but also to Dahl sharing his honest story of struggle and
rehabilitation. When Dave's Killer Bread launched, the packaging featured a drawing of Dave,
the word "killer" splashed across the front, and his story printed on the back. Despite the
team's concerns that Dahl's checkered past might be a turnoff, consumers embraced both
the bread and his rehabilitation story, focusing instead on the positive aspects.
The enterprise continued to grow from about 25 employees to 300. Dave's
brother Glenn had always hired felons, since he understood the challenges of
finding employment after incarceration. The Dave's Killer Bread website states,
"We have witnessed first-hand that someone's past does not define their future,
and that sometimes giving someone a chance is all they need to become a Good Seed."
They eventually realized that about a third of their staff were ex-cons,
and have since continued the tradition. In 2012,
they sold more than half of the company so that it could continue to expand. Dave stepped down
from his role in the business about a year later, but that wasn't the end of his work.
As one might imagine, Dahl remembered the employment difficulties he faced
as a documented convict all too well, even after he managed to sell Dave's
Killer Bread for $275 million in 2015. So in 2020, Dahl invested $250,000
into Nucleos , a start-up dedicated to providing credentialed education and training programs
to those incarcerated by the American Criminal Justice System. Dahl explained,
"Nucleos gives people a chance to do what I've done in prison,
and I want to help put other people in that direction."
The idea was inspired by a drafting class he took in prison,
which drew him to the realization that he could build a life beyond what he had before.
"The same things that I learned in drafting, I was able to take
to the street with me, and I created Dave's Killer Bread using the same principles."
The branding for Dave's Killer Bread stayed true to this story as well. In 2017,
the company partnered with San Quentin State Prison to launch the Second Chance Project.
Dan Letchinger , Dave's Killer Bread's vice-president of marketing, told Baking Business,
"I've seen first-hand the ability of people — my
co-workers — to turn their lives around with a second chance."
The program's stated purpose is to provide people with the training and
resources needed to make that turn around and avoid relapsing into criminal behavior.
In a stunt to raise further awareness, Dave's Killer Bread also prepared a prison-themed pop up
in Toronto, in which visitors could hear inmates tell their stories via prison-style phones.
Though some questioned the idea, the proceeds went to two local organizations that brought the arts
to impoverished neighborhoods and transitioned recently released men back into their communities.
At any rate, it appears that even without his direct presence, Dahl's legacy at Dave's Killer
Bread pushes the company to pursue reform measures within the industrial incarceration complex.
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, please call the Substance Abuse
and Mental Health Administration's 24/7 National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP. That's 1-800-662-4357.