King Arthur Baking Co. has decided to discontinue direct-to-consumer sales from its Norwich facility starting in June 2024, which company officials expect will affect 19 jobs.

The Norwich-based company, formerly known as King Arthur Flour, has gradually outsourced direct-to-consumer sales to third parties outside Vermont since 2014, Carey Underwood, the company’s director of mission partnerships and programs, said in an email to VTDigger. Space constraints, staffing challenges, rising costs and the time it takes the Vermont operation to deliver to customers all contributed to the change.

In 2014, Underwood said, all packages were shipped from Vermont. By 2022, that figure was down to 21%, Underwood said.

Underwood said 19 employees are being directly affected by the change. The employees are being given 14 months to find another job within King Arthur, get more training or get more education to fill a new role at the company or elsewhere. The company has been employee-owned since 2004 and has 370 employee-owners, Underwood said.

“Our employee-owners who work in fulfillment at King Arthur have set the quality expectations and served as an inspiration for our current and future third-party logistics partners,” Underwood said. “Our hope is that they feel very proud of the significant contribution they have made to King Arthur over many years.”

Ann Andreosatos, vice president of human resources at King Arthur Baking, did not respond to a voicemail message asking for an interview.

King Arthur has a long history. The company was founded in Boston in 1790, the first flour company in the United States, and the first food company in New England, according to a history on the company’s website.

It moved to Norwich in the 1980s and opened the King Arthur Flour Bakery and Baking Education Center near Interstate 91 in 2000, according to its website. It supplies flour, ingredients, baking mixes, cookbooks and baked goods. Its website features recipes and advice for bakers, such as “Things bakers know: You should never cover rising bread with a towel.”

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