Gluten Free Oats®, LLC

When it appeared that there was merit to this as an actual “for profit” venture, Forrest, and his parents, Seaton and Jill, began doing research in earnest. They discovered that many people have this reaction to gluten products but there are virtually no commercial suppliers of gluten free oats. Thus, their name and niche!

The Smith’s first came to the Woming SBDC in 2005 for assistance creating a business plan and some cash flow projections. More recently it became clear that in order to allow this business to grow to its potential, the Smith’s would need to greatly expand the production facilities beyond the small scale that their garage would allow. Counselor Bruce Morse again assisted them by reviewing the business plan before they went back to the bank to seek further financing. The construction loan was funded and the Smith’s are now finishing the construction of a new 4200 square foot production and warehouse facility. In reflecting on the contribution of SBDC to GFO’s success, Seaton Smith said, “The start-up help, advice, and business connections we have gained by working with the Wyoming Small Business Development Center have been priceless.” 

The Smith’s are constantly looking at other marketing avenues.They recently completed creation of a cereal box size package. They have had their products displayed at a trade show in California that resulted in several more leads. They also desire to create as much economic support for the local area as possible. They have contracted with local farmers to grow the oats. A local agriculture business built a seed cleaning facility for cleaning the oats, a process previously done elsewhere. Local firms handle most of the Smith’s printing needs. During the growing season, the fields and harvesting equipment are inspected by the Wyoming Seed Certification Service to be sure the oats are free of cross-contamination

Seaton Smith recently resigned from his job to run GFO full-time, assisted by other family members and one full-time and one part-time paid employee. The first month that Seaton Smith began working for GFO full-time, sales doubled. In the following 2 weeks, sales doubled again! GFO is a member of the Wyoming First program and was a part of the Wyoming delegation to the Food Market International trade show in Chicago this May. If this business continues to grow at the current pace, additional jobs will also be created. Check out GFO at www.glutenfreeoats.com.

Gluten Free Oats®, LLC is the first company in the USA to offer “SAFE” oats to the celiac community. Gluten Free Oats® can be considered SAFE for people who are gluten intolerant because they are tested to be below 10 parts per million (ppm) by the University of Nebraska FARRP Laboratory.