Johnson Bros. Bakery Supply, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2019, has expanded into the frozen dessert business with soft-serve yogurt, ice cream, and toppings. A void in the market created an opportunity for the bakery supplier, which is distributing to customers across Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.

“One of the manufacturers had a distributor that pulled out of the market and that opened up an opportunity,” says CEO Kevin Johnson.

They were able to get up and running within about a month and have been steadily increasing their customer base. Johnson Bros.’ bakery customers are also getting into the yogurt business. They see it as an additional revenue stream for the summer months.

“It’s really diverse,” Johnson says. “Now we’re starting to get attention from the franchises. And the farther out we go, the more they appreciate us.”

Kevin and Blain Johnson started the company in a small warehouse in 1994 but soon signed on grocery chains. Those new customers led them to become a top baking supply company in Texas and a leading supplier to bakeries in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.

The company now includes a retail cake decorating division called Over the Top Cake Supplies and a craft brewery supplier called Brewery Direct.