New for you: BlaQQat Banana Bread (with a cherry on top)
New for you: BlaQQat Banana Bread (with a cherry on top)
Fantastic flavor combinations flourish in our new, locally made banana breads topped with Sigona’s preserves. Get yours for free!
Gilbert Braddy, owner of BlaQQat Baked Goods, make fresh fruit preserve-topped banana breads worthy of the palates of the 21st century.
This isn’t your grandma’s banana bread. In fact, it’s different than any other banana bread you’ve ever had. That is unless you’re lucky enough to know Gilbert Braddy. If that’s the case, you’ve likely had a sample or been asked to taste test.
Gilbert recently started his own company, BlaQQat Baked Goods, and his star product is his Sigona’s fresh fruit preserves-topped, all-natural banana bread made with batter that’s swirled with other gastronomically delightful ingredients. What’s more is we’re offering the 6 oz. breads, topped with Sigona’s very own jams, for free this week (April 18-24) with your coupon and a purchase of $30 or more! Choose from:
- Poppy seed banana bread topped with fig jam
- Roasted cashew banana bread topped with apricot jam
- Golden raisin banana bread topped with raspberry jam
Is your mouth watering like mine?
How It’s Different
Made from fresh, locally sourced ingredients with just the right amount of banana flavor – not too heavy and not too light – Gilbert says his 6 oz. loaves of BlaQQat (pronounced “Black Cat”) Baked Goods banana bread are made for palates seeking alternatives to regular ol’ banana bread.
“We like to think of the bread as making the statement, ‘It’s not your grandma’s recipe: banana bread is back, it’s better, it’s smaller so it’s almost guilt-free and it’s all new for the 21st century,’” said Gilbert. “We’ve just finalized our official logo and artwork for the 6 oz. bags with our slogan being, ‘Move over, cupcake!’”
Originally filled with fruit preserves, the latest rendition features Sigona’s fresh fruit preserves on top, giving the breads a more Danish-pastry presentation. “Now the color of the preserve can be seen through the package window, and I love how the orange-ness of the apricot is inviting and just pops in the bag,” said Gilbert.
New Local Vendor on the Block
Get your free 6 oz. loaf of Sigona's fresh fruit preserve-topped banana bread this week (April 18-24) with your coupon!
Gilbert, a longtime Redwood City resident, has always been entrepreneurial-minded. Among activities, co-owning a floral shop and developing inventions, he has even worked on a special, nontoxic concoction to help keep cut flowers alive longer. However, it was when he decided to take a baking break from inventions that his banana bread turned him into a culinary sensation, literally overnight.
“I’m not a trained baker, but I’ve tweaked my own banana bread recipe for about three years; the secret is all in the mashing,” said Gilbert. “I asked some floral customers to be taste testers, and the next day I received 50 orders. We bake for schools, fundraisers, holiday parties and the like, and now Sigona’s is our first retail store.”
As a Sigona’s shopper for 20 years, Gilbert says Sigona’s was naturally his first choice to approach with the idea of taking BlaQQat Baked Goods to the retail level.
“We are the first market to carry BlaQQat Baked Goods and are excited to add another new, local vendor to our ranks,” said John Nava, specialty foods buyer for Sigona’s. “At first bite I knew Gilbert’s banana bread would be a hit with our customers, so we discussed the option of using Sigona’s jams, which are locally made with fresh fruit and use little sugar. He took me up on it, and, well I’ll say it, the jams made the breads simply sublime.”
All in a Day’s Work
The company has come a long way since November, and Gilbert, as most small business owners, keeps himself busy wearing the hats of baker, delivery man, labeler and marketer, all while keeping up on his design work at the floral shop he co-owns with partner David Braddy.
BlaQQat (a name which came about during a game of Scrabble) has more flavor combinations on the horizon too. Think plum and poppy seed; pecans and strawberry rhubarb. The possibilities are endless!
Don’t miss out on your free loaf of BlaQQat Baked Goods banana bread this week. Remember your coupon and we’ll see you in the store!
