January 2004
New Digs
Bear Naked quickly outgrows their 500-square-foot commercial cookie kitchen, so they move into a 5,000-square-foot commercial brownie kitchen and launch two new granola flavors: Apple Spice and High Protein. Kelly continues to produce her products by hand, now with the help of 12 kitchen staff. At this point, she's producing over 3,500 lbs. of granola per day, using the same small-batch process that she used in her home kitchen.

No longer able to make the 500 deliveries per week, Bear Naked starts to use distributors to help get product in the hands of retailers in the Northeast.

May 2004
Angels Invest
Somebody had to pay for the company's rapid growth; until now, it had been zero-percent-interest credit cards and a small loan from their local bank. With debt of over $100,000 and aspirations to take Bear Naked national, Brendan and Kelly look to friends and family to invest in their company. After successfully raising funds, they begin to build the team they need in order to accomplish their lofty goals.

August 2004
Business with Pleasure
Brendan and Kelly decide in the summer of 2004 to hire even more friends from Darien High School, all of whom contribute to the sales and marketing function. They also hire Brendan's college roommate to handle operations and finance. At this point, everyone in the company is under 26 years old. With eight people milling about and pallets of oats and honey lining the halls, the 800 square-foot office the company had moved into just one year before isn't feeling too roomy. Bear Naked moves one more time, to offices in their hometown of Darien.

By the end of 2004, Bear Naked has 20 full-time employees and is distributing product to over 2,000 retailers in 25 states.

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