Made in the Valley: Svenhard's Swedish Bakery

EXETER, Calif. (KFSN) -- Sweet smells of cinnamon and sugar constantly fill Svenhard's Swedish Bakery as trays of sweet breakfast treats are baked to perfection.

"My favorite is the breakfast claw," CEO Michelle Svenhard Barnett said. "I love the filling."

Svenhard Barnett knows a thing or two about the popular treats. Her great grandmother's recipe and her grandfather's business drive are the roots of the company.

"My grandfather, David Svenhard, was one of those children and he started Svenhard's Bakery there and really enjoyed it," Svenhard Barnett said. "But he felt like America was the land of opportunity so he said, 'You know what, I'm going to sell everything. I have and move to America.'"

Those old recipes launched their success in the Bay Area.

"It'll go down the line, we'll add shortening and then we'll build a later structure in the dough so that the rolls will have good eating structure," said Tommy Hampton, who is Svenhard's manufacturing practices director.

Employees work fast here, panning 90 cinnamon rolls in a minute. From the makeup room, these cinnamon rolls will then we steamed and heated to just the right size.

In 2015, the company moved from Oakland to Exeter. They employ About 190 people to make the pastries.

"We're actually the number one employee in Exeter and number three in Tulare county," Svenhard Barnett said.

More than a dozen employees have been with the company for more than 20 years, and Hampton has been running operations there for 44 years.

"Actually the shortening helps with the skin," he said.

The facility makes all of their recipes from scratch and many are household favorites like the breakfast claws.

"We have a total of about 17 varieties, and we send them all over the nation primarily," Svenhard Barnett explained. "We're in the 17 western states with store delivery and then we're in Sam's and Costco nationwide."

The Svenhard's say they're proud of their success and the way their business has grown in Exeter.

"We decided to move the whole operation down here," Svenhard Barnett exclaimed. "We love the Valley, we love this area."

It's a little bit of old world goodness in every bite, made right here in the Valley.