FARGO — Ed Schafer knows a small one thing about North Dakota grassroots entrepreneurship. The previous governor’s father, Harold, turned his fledgling flooring wax company, Gold Seal Co., from a battling $900-a-calendar year business enterprise into a $50 million-a-calendar year juggernaut in the 1950s, when $50 million was serious funds.

So it truly is substantial praise when Schafer says Velva’s Dorothy “Dot” Henke, founder of nationwide snack behemoth Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels, reminds him of his father.

“It’s a definitely homegrown enterprise. She did not write some code. She didn’t go wanting for investors or grants from the commerce office to appear up with the following big matter, with the idea of scoring significant,” Schafer stated. “She began by earning a products in her kitchen for her family as a treat, and she grew to become incredibly successful by tough operate and willpower. She, like my dad, had a product or service that men and women beloved and basically went and knocked on doorways to market it. It is a enjoyable story.”

It’s also a successful one particular. Snack meals large

Hershey Co. not long ago finalized the acquisition of Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels

, along with a single of Dot’s producing companions, for $1.2 billion.

In acquiring the firm, Hershey mentioned Dot’s is the quickest-rising U.S. pretzel manufacturer between models with additional than $10 million in annual U.S. retail revenue. Hershey explained Dot’s represented 55% of development in the pretzel category above the past year. The estimated mixture internet profits for Dot’s and the manufacturing lover was around $275 million for the 12 months that finished September 2021.

And all of it stemmed from Henke tinkering in her kitchen area a little a lot more than a 10 years back to make a delicious snack that she at some point shared with friends and family.

Her amazing story epitomizing American entrepreneurship, ending in a billion-greenback sale that built nationwide news, is why Forum editors deemed Henke The Forum’s Area Man or woman of the Calendar year for 2021.

The once-a-year designation since 2006 is bestowed on a person who experienced an plain impact on the local community in the previous 12 months, sparked adjustments and/or affected discussion.

Henke declined comment for this story, citing an…