The Rural We: Tom Bannister
The creator of Tom's Perfect 10 Granola credits family, COVID-19, and the region for his journey to becoming a granola maker.
New York Magazine called Toms Perfect 10 “the granola of our times,” but granola connoisseur and part-time Litchfield County resident Tom Bannister didn’t start out as a granola master. Originally from the U.K., he moved to New York 20 years ago, working in film sales and distribution. When YouTube came on the scene, Bannister started a production company and spent about a decade as a producer in new media, then became a creative director at an ad agency. The rise of the influencer in media led him to making his own granola as content on Instagram, and resulted in creating Tom’s Perfect 10 Granola, using locally sourced ingredients. “I never imagined I’d be doing this,” he says. “But i’s great to be able to put something out that people enjoy.”
By the time I had kids, I was no longer flying around the world to film festivals. I was at home with the children and started making granola recipes with them. It proved to be popular content on Instagram. I have strong opinions on granola, but I was learning as I went along. I got a lot of advice through DMs and from bakers, and got better at it. I would get stopped on the street a lot from people asking about granolas. It was kind of strange.
Then, Covid. I was marooned in New York with my wife and kids (the third was on the way). The only thing that was really functioning was the food industry. On my Instagram feed I asked people, “Do you want to buy my granola?” The result was a wait list of 18,000 names. I had to fulfill all of that. So I got a commercial kitchen, a food license, and insurance.
I officially launched the business in October 2020. I was going to do six flavors in six months. People just kept buying, and here I am, 22 months later focusing on granola full time. I provide a score card with each sale of granola — that’s the reason for the name Tom’s Perfect 10. I’ve received thousands of responses, and that’s really helped me improve the recipes. We do monthly flavors, unless one is rated highly. In all, we’ve done 22 flavors, and have brought back two.
I’ve learned a hell of a lot about granola and have massive respect for people in the industry. It’s nice to be making my own product under my own name and getting real-world feedback. But it’s physically grueling, labor-intensive work. I have production partners in Brooklyn and North Carolina who help make the granola each month. We’re beginning to put it in specialty stores. Right now, besides online, it’s available at Q Farms and Cornwall Bridge Gardens in Sharon.
This whole thing came about by having a family and the changes that happened because of that, but Tom’s Perfect 10 Granola would never have happened without Covid. Also, being in the Litchfield Hills, with the country markets, all the local produce and maple syrup farms, tied together really well. We’ve lived in New York a long time, and the last two years were our first time outside of the city. Making granola kind of matched the lifestyle we have when we’re here.
