Butterfly Bakery of Vermont buys Fat Toad Farm

Barre, Vermont, August 29, 2022 – Award-winning specialty food producers Butterfly Bakery of Vermont and Fat Toad Farm announced today the purchase of Fat Toad Farm by Butterfly Bakery of Vermont. Butterfly Bakery of Vermont will carry on the Fat Toad Farm tradition of making small-batch goat’s milk caramel sauces. Caramel production will move just 20 miles up the road from Brookfield to the Butterfly Bakery of Vermont kitchens in Barre, Vermont.

Fat Toad Farm, a family based business, was founded in 2007 by Calley Hastings, Judith Irving and Steve Reid. Using the milk from its small but growing herd, Fat Toad Farm initially specialized in making fresh goat cheese and goat’s milk caramel. Within a few years, the family decided to focus solely on caramel, as that market continued to grow nationally. In 2015, they sold their herd of 80 goats to Ayers Brook Goat Dairy in Randolph and began sourcing milk directly from the dairy. Since then Fat Toad Farm caramel sales have continued to expand and the caramel can be found in specialty food stores across the nation.

Founders Judith, Steve and Calley are excited for the next chapter of Fat Toad Farm as Claire Georges at Butterfly Bakery of Vermont takes over ownership of the business. The two companies first met 15 years ago when they had nearby booths at the Montpelier Farmers Market and have watched each other grow over the years. Both believe in the importance of the Vermont working landscape, an unwavering commitment to quality, and creating strong jobs for the local economy. “This is really the best match we could have hoped for,” said Judith. “Claire has years of experience in specialty food production, sales, shipping and customer relationships that will make this transition seamless for both past and future Fat Toad Farm customers. Both of us share a strong commitment to Vermont agriculture and its working lands. We also look forward to seeing the new directions Claire creates for Fat Toad Farm caramel.”

Butterfly Bakery of Vermont began in 2002 as a one-woman natural foods bakery in Montpelier, Vermont. Founder Claire Georges’ penchant for experimenting led her to sell a few bottles of Vermont-grown hot sauce at the Montpelier Farmers Market and then a few more and then a lot more. The popularity of Georges’ hot sauces meant that Butterfly Bakery of Vermont soon became the largest purchaser of Vermont grown chili peppers in the world. With hot sauces featured on the YouTube show Hot Ones and sold globally, Butterfly Bakery of Vermont has retained its commitment to buying 100% of their produce from farms within 200 miles of their Barre, Vermont kitchen.

“I am beyond excited to be adding Fat Toad Farm caramel sauces to the array of delicious foods that we make here in our kitchen,” said Claire Georges, adding that she plans to bring the Butterfly Bakery of Vermont culture of experimentation and innovation to the caramel sauces. “Oh, I already have a lot of limited edition flavors in mind!”