Fortunato Brothers Bakery has been making cannoli in Brooklyn since 1976, producing around 300,000 a year using the same recipe and process.
But preserving tradition comes with significant costs, including fluctuating ingredient prices,equipment expenses, and $90,000 a year to insure the century-old building.
Correspondent Kathleen Elkins explores how co-owner Biagio Fortunato maintains the bakery’s commitment to quality while navigating rising costs, and why the family refuses to cut corners.
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How does a 50 year old Brooklyn bakery make 300,000 cannolis a year? At Fortunato Brothers Bakery, the family still uses the same recipe and process it has followed since the bakery opened in 1976. That means making the shells by hand, tying them around wooden dowels, frying them, and filling them with imported Italian ricotta. It’s a labor intensive process and it isn’t cheap. Ingredients like butter, sugar, eggs, flour and ricotta can fluctuate sharply in price. The bakery also spends 10s of thousands of dollars. On equipment and about $90,000 a year on insurance for its 100 year old building. But co-owner Biagio Fortunato says the bakery won’t cut corners or sacrifice quality to raise margins. That commitment has helped keep customers coming back for five decades and preserved a business his father and uncle started after immigrating from Naples. Read more small business stories like this and subscribe to our small business newsletter at Business Insider.