ASHLAND — The death of a child, a long-kept secret, a lack of money and education might not seem like the perfect ingredients to lead to a pretzel empire.
But for Anne Beiler, the entrepreneur behind Auntie Anne’s pretzels, that exact combination of life events led to her creation of the world’s largest hand-rolled soft pretzel franchise.
She calls the business a “miracle.”
Beiler shared her story with a crowd at the Ashland Theatre Thursday night. The event was hosted by the Ashland County Women of Achievement. That group in Ashland County aims to recognize women’s contributions to the community, and has presented awards recognizing women of achievement since 1990.
Board president Jane Roland said the group had long had a goal to bring a nationally-recognized speaker to Ashland. It used a talent agency to connect with Beiler.
“She far exceeded our expectations,” Roland said after Beiler’s speech Thursday night.
Driven by purpose
Beiler’s speech began with her upbringing as a young Amish girl in Pennsylvania. She described her life growing up, her marriage to her husband, Jonas Beiler, and the birth of her first daughter, Angela.
But Beiler’s life story took a dark turn when her daughter died at 19 months old. Afterwards, Beiler said she was invited to her pastor’s office to talk, but instead suffered sexual abuse at his hands.
“I didn’t know what that meant,” Beiler said. “I didn’t know anything about sexual abuse. I didn’t live in that world. That was shocking.
“But I remember walking out of that office and as I closed the door behind me, I stood there and I said to myself, ‘I will never tell anyone what he just did to me.’ Why? Because nobody would believe me.”
She and her husband, Jonas, moved to Texas. The move didn’t help. Beiler fell into a deep hole of depression, in large part thanks to holding onto that secret in silence. But she clung to her faith to get her through.
“One morning as I was asking (God to) deliver me from this evil, I just felt in my heart the strong urge: Get up from your knees and go tell Jonas your secret,” Beiler said.
She did. And he responded by promising he’d never judge her past — a promise Beiler said he’s kept ever since.
It was only once she began talking about her experiences that she started to feel a weight lift, she said.
She and her family moved back to Pennsylvania with “$25,” Beiler said. In 1988, Auntie Anne’s started as a market stand. Today, Auntie Anne’s has locations across all 50 states and in 26 countries.
She founded Auntie Anne’s to first be profitable, later so the profits could go back to charity. Beiler added the other purpose — her “higher calling” — was to be a light in God’s world.
According to Wikipedia, the company donated $4.5 million from 1999-2009 to local children’s hospitals through the Children’s Miracle Network. It also started a partnership with Food Donation Connection in 2011. That organization matches stores with local hunger relief organizations to donate their extra pretzel products.
Beiler emphasized the reason the business grew was because she found her purpose and valued her people.
“Purpose is an ongoing intention to accomplish a result that you desire and it always takes great determination,” she said. “I was driven by my purpose.”
She told attendees she hoped they would leave and work to find their own respective purpose, too.
Unexpected yet impactful
For sisters Michaela Brehm and Maryanne Wise, Beiler’s message had an impact.
Brehm, now retired after working as a college administrator in California, chose to attend the speech because she has a background in the business world. She started a business and sold it, but remains interested in hearing about the experiences of other business owners.
Currently, she has an interest in starting her own caregivers support ministry. She’s looking for inspiration to get it off the ground, and said Beiler’s speech helped.
Brehm appreciated Beiler’s comments about caring for the people involved. The event also helped her reflect on her own purpose. Brehm said she needs to define and refine that before moving forward with her idea.
Wise, Brehm’s sister, also has an entrepreneurial spirit. She owns Wise Communications, which trains substance use disorder counselors and prevention providers, according to its website.
Wise said Beiler’s speech wasn’t what she expected, but hearing her personal story resonated. She found it inspiring that Beiler was able to find hope and positivity despite experiencing trauma.
For Beiler, that type of feedback is common, she said. Many people who listen to her leave with a goal to take action afterwards.
As for her time in Ashland, Beiler spent most of it visiting with former Auntie Anne’s franchise owners and checking out Main Street businesses.
“I was just overtaken by the life and happiness I felt here in this town,” she said.
