Dawn’s goal: to inspire bakery success every day. Boston is the home to its new Digital Innovation Hub, which is leading the efforts and developing digital solutions for Dawn’s bakery customers.
We connected with James Frawley, Analytics Manager, of Dawn Food's team to get an inside look at the company's day-to-day operations.
Interested in working here? Check out all of the job openings at Dawn Foods!
Quick Hit Company Details
- Year Founded: Company: 1920. Digital Innovation Hub: early 2020
- Number of employees: 17
- Industry: Bakery
Can you share the details on what Dawn Foods does?
Dawn Foods is a global bakery manufacturer and ingredients supplier based in Jackson, Mich. Dawn makes many different kinds of products, including donut mixes, cake mixes icings and fillings to sell to bakeries, who then use Dawn products in their own baked goods to sell to customers. The company serves a variety of bakeries from local shops to franchised stores and even supermarkets.
Who are some of your customers?
You know that bakery down the street, the one with those desserts you could literally eat everyday? Most likely them. We also provide ingredients and services to bakery manufacturers, food service providers, and in-store bakeries.
What are your company’s core values or how would you best describe the culture and working environment at Dawn Foods?
Our core values are behaviors present in every day interaction: Passion, Integrity, Relationships, Progress, and Optimism. Our corporate culture is shaped by Dawn’s Circle of Excellence, a symbol that shows our commitment to our People, Products, and Customers. It conveys our passion for bakery, our products’ role in creating smiles around the world, and what our customers can expect from partnering with Dawn. Working at Dawn feels like working at my family’s business: we all look out for each other.
Is there anything that you’d like to share in terms of promoting diversity across your company and hiring practices?
Our Dawn Digital team is the best example of this: 17 team members with diverse backgrounds, ages, and races. It enriches us everyday, fortifies our thinking process, and provides creative problem solving. With People at the top of the Circle of Excellence, Dawn views hiring and supporting our diverse talent as a core priority.
From a big picture point of view, what experience or traits do you typically look for when interviewing and hiring new employees into Dawn Foods?
For me, it’s passion. I’ve worked in the B2B eCommerce space for some time now, and the most important thing to remember is that we’re not just suppliers. We’re partners to all of our bakeries. Their businesses and livelihoods depend on us providing world-class products and services. I can teach you any of the technology I use on a daily basis, but being passionate about delivering for the customer will make you successful.
What’s the best way to get a job at Dawn Foods?
We have a robust hiring process. You can see all our job openings at dawnfoods.com and, specifically for our Dawn Digital Innovation Hub, we promote our job openings in Venture Fizz and other Boston outlets. Apply to one of those roles or if you don’t find one that matches up with your skills and experience, just reach out to us and ask! We are always seeking diverse People with expertise, who like collaboration and have passion for bakery. Just reach out!
What can someone expect during the interview process?
I honestly loved my interview. Everyone was incredibly supportive and I felt they spent a lot of time really getting to know me, and not just my work.
What can people expect over the course of their career at Dawn Foods?
There is a lot of opportunity for growth, and the company does a lot in that respect for its team members through training and seminars. We emphasize personal and professional development through our goal setting process and work closely with our teams to be sure we are setting ourselves up for success.
What types of activities are employees involved in at or outside the office?
About 90% of the Dawn Digital team was hired during 2020 and in the middle of the pandemic, we are all working from home, and haven’t met in person. We have a biweekly call set up, with 5 randomly selected team members who share their work or personal wins. Although these calls usually turn into our favorite activity - GIF wars!
Share one or more random fun facts
- We are a 100+ year old company - for the past 66 years, owned by the same family!
- We created the 1st industrial donut mix in 1920.
- We love donuts, we sell around 225 million pounds a year. Each pound produces 12 donuts. That is 2,700,000,000 donuts a year!
Rapid Fire Questions
What’s on tap?
Luckily Trillium delivers!
Star Wars or Star Trek?
Starbucks
iPhone or Android?
Android
Favorite employee perk?
That 6 pound bucket of Nutella, if someone wanted to send me one.
Coffee - hot or iced?
Iced
Wake up before the alarm or hit the snooze button?
Before the alarm
What super hero could you see working at Dawn Foods?
Neo
What music is playing in your office?
SiriusXM 80’s on 8 has been getting me through the pandemic
View from your office
