Bakery named for Grateful Dead song rolls out first packaged product as part of retail push

Ella and Logan Holland of Sugar Magnolia Breads and Baked Goods, which has kicked off online sales of the company’s chocolate snack Brownie Bark. (Photos courtesy of Sugar Magnolia)

A fledgling local bakery is growing its business beyond farmer’s markets and custom cakes.

Sugar Magnolia Breads and Baked Goods officially rolled out its new Brownie Bark product this week, using the gluten-free chocolate snack as its first foray into shelf-stable items suited to online sales and retail shelves to complement its fresh-made cakes, donuts and breads.

“We wanted to have something that made sense to sell online,” said Logan Holland of Sugar Magnolia. “We don’t need to be married to one type of thing in the bakery, and we want to have multiple channels to be successful.”

Launched earlier this year, Sugar Magnolia is owned by Logan’s wife Ella Holland, who handles the baking while he oversees marketing and sales as chief business officer.

The Brownie Bark is a crispy snack similar in taste and texture to a corner-piece brownie. The company sells its version of the chocolate treat on its website in a 14-ounce bag for $14, or a two-pack for $26.

Holland said the bag size was decided on as a way to further advertise the product and the price was set to help mitigate the sting of shipping it to customers.

“We knew our first batch would be friends and family, so we’re giving them that really big bag in their home or office that’s like a little billboard,” he said. “At the $14 price point, it’s easier to take that hit on shipping.”

The business also unveiled on its online store a 5-ounce bag of peppermint-flavored Brownie Bark, which is expected to be the first of a series of seasonal takes on the snack.

Sugar Magnolia got its start this spring, after Ella left a job in the nonprofit sector to pursue her interest in baking. Logan works in startup banking, in addition to his role at the bakery.

The company is based at Hatch, a food-and-beverage business incubator in South Richmond. The Sugar Magnolia name is a reference to a Grateful Dead song.

Brownie Bark is a gluten-free chocolate snack by Sugar Magnolia, which also makes cakes and other baked goods.

Logan said Brownie Bark was inspired by a friend’s complaints about the availability of good gluten-free sweet snacks. He said they tested 30 varieties of gluten-free flour to home in on the current recipe.

Brownie Bark will operate as a standalone brand under the Sugar Magnolia banner and is expected to help expand the company’s wholesale business. The idea is that as a shelf-stable product it will be an easier sell to store owners than fresh baked goods, though Sugar Magnolia hopes Brownie Bark will open up opportunities to offer other products too.

‘It’s a good shelf-life product,” Logan said. “It’s a good doorway to, “Hey, do you need fresh bread?’”

Sugar Magnolia’s freshly made products are currently offered by local shop Yellow Umbrella Provisions and online produce seller Seasonal Roots. Logan said they hope to have Brownie Bark in more than 100 stores in the Richmond region by the end of 2025, and they are targeting neighborhood markets, hotels and coffee shops.

He said the plan is to continue to sell products at local farmer’s markets as Sugar Magnolia expands its retail footprint. The bakery makes and sells custom cakes for weddings in addition to other baked goods like cupcakes and pastries.