Golden Girl Granola is a woman-owned, family-run business based in Shirley, Massachusetts that crafts the best-tasting artisan granola in New England. We bake and sell loose granola in 10-oz bags and 2-oz snack packs, along with chewy granola bars. We take great pride in the integrity of our granola by using only the highest quality natural ingredients and perfecting them into culinary marvels. Our granola comes in eight head-over-heels delicious flavors that include Bluesberry, Chocolate Decadence, Creative Cranberry, Forest Maple, Home Sweet Honey, Original, Pumpkin Harvest (seasonal) and Truly Tropical. Golden Girl Granola is an all-natural, whole-grain granola that is dairy-free, cholesterol-free, casein-free, trans-fat free, wheat-free and has no preservatives, artificial color or flavor. Our many loyal customers tell us it’s the best granola they’ve ever tasted, and we agree!
Our mission at Golden Girl Granola is to provide a natural, healthy and deliciously crunchy product of the highest quality to our customers.
We promise to provide a granola that:
– uses the finest, all-natural ingredients
– is locally produced, with locally-sourced ingredients, whenever possible
– is hand-crafted in small, artisan batches with the utmost care
– is wheat-free and is produced in a gluten-free kitchen
– is whole-grain and healthful
– is beyond delicious!
The O’Kelly Family attended their first farmers’ market in Carlisle, MA in the summer of 2007 to sell home-fried doughnuts. It took them only four hours to realize they needed a product with a longer shelf-life. They went home, and Jacquie brainstormed and scoured recipes until she came up with the idea of making granola. The next week they arrived at the market with six varieties of homemade granola, decorated with images of a little girl with pigtails whom they called, “The Golden Girl,” inspired by Jacquie’s childhood idol, Pippi Longstocking.
The summer markets expanded over the next two years to include more towns, to which the family brought Catherine’s baked breads, cookies, and scones, all made in the O’Kelly’s home kitchen. In addition to baked goods, they sold Deborah’s hand-sewn aprons. On Halloween night in preparation for the last market of the 2009 summer season, the O’Kelly’s oven exploded in flames from overbaking and Deborah decided it was time to move production into a commercial kitchen.
Deborah worked on plans to move the business, and in May of 2010 Golden Girl Granola moved into its first commercial kitchen. The O’Kellys started to bake pies, in addition to all of their other baked goods, and handmade 50 pies every Friday for the Saturday morning markets. By the end of the season they began to have big plans for the granola that continued to get rave reviews from everyone who tasted it.
In 2011 the O’Kellys decided to focus exclusively on making granola and developed new packaging for the large bags and a new smaller-sized snack pack. They were able to hire their very first employee to help bake. By May, they were on the shelves of Whole Foods in Bedford, MA. Golden Girl Granola was already beginning to outgrow its shared kitchen, and Deborah decided again that it was time to invest in the company’s own space and equipment.
Golden Girl Granola moved into its own kitchen at Phoenix Park in January of 2012 with a newly purchased oven that quadrupled production. They hired and trained a second baker and kitchen manager. By the end of the year, Golden Girl was in twenty specialty stores, six Whole Foods Markets, and had begun to sell online through their website. Golden Girl began to develop recipes for using the granola as a topping on and ingredient in other dishes, which they presented in a booklet at in-store demos.
In 2013 Golden Girl Granola started selling to Hannaford Supermarket and by the following year were in every one of their Massachusetts stores. They began the process of redesigning their logo and packaging for pre-printed bags and crafting the background story behind “Gigi,” the little pig-tailed girl who had been on their package since the very beginning. Golden Girl launched their first annual Blogger Recipe Challenge in 2015, receiving fifty original recipes from bloggers all over the country competing for First Place to win more of the coveted granola they had all given rave reviews.
Today, Golden Girl Granola still stays true to its community roots by devoting lots of time to meet and speak directly with customers at in-store demos and by donating granola to charitable and family-friendly events such as Boston’s Annual Walk for Children’s Hospital. We are delighted for the opportunity this year to meet all of you at the Boston Local Food Fest in September!
Go Golden Girl!
Saw GGG at a tasting at Whole Foods in Hingham today. Politely declined a taste, but bought a bag for my kids.
Opened the bag (Original flavor) tonight while making dinner and tasted it. I’m not a granola lover, but this stuff is delicious. Not too sweet, very crunchy, just a little hint of salt. Love it! Going to have to go fetch the kids their own bag…
Our entire family loves your Granola. For snacks, breakfast, in class
or on-the-road it is delicious with milk or just dry out of the bag.
I picked up a bag of your original granola at Whole Foods this morning and
I have to say it’s the best granola I’ve ever had. Can’t wait to get home and let my kids try it, if there is any left by then (Btw, my kids loved the granola, most of the bag made its way home).
It was definitely the best granola I’ve had. Even my wife and daughter, who normally aren’t granola fans at all,
tried some and thought it was grand! Looking forward to working my way through the varieties you offer and settling on a favorite. Thanks for a great tasty product – and local on top of it!
This is the best granola I have tasted in a long time. Great job keep the granola coming!
Love the picture your daughter drew for the packaging.
This is by far the best granola ever. So fresh, crisp and perfectly seasoned.
I finally have my boys eating plain yogurt with the help of this natural granola. YUMMY!
My girlfriend mailed me some of your Granola from Boston.
I was never a big fan of granola… thought it was overrated until I tried yours. I ate the 3 serving package of the Forest Maple non-stop.
Just wanted to let you guys know that your granola lives up to the slogan.
It really is beyond delicious. Have a great day!
I recently attended the Taste of Nashoba.
You were great to share a sample of your granola. I just had it atop of some greek yogurt and pink apple cut up and mixed in.
I intended to just ‘taste’ the Bluesberry, but it was so delicious, I found myself
eating it right out of the bag while working on my blog! It’s addictive, but in a really good way!
The Golden Girl Granola that you sent was a huge hit
in the artist dressing rooms as well as the VIP area. I can attest that everyone really enjoyed it! In fact, I have become addicted!
Okay, I love you girls, however…I just couldn’t stop! Definitely right out of the bag
is perfectly delicious. I cannot give you a favorite as I found each variety to be a unique and flavorful, tasty blend, without being overly sweet.
My workplace just started carrying your granola and within 1 hour, all the bags had been snatched up
and hoarded away by people! I was lucky to grab a bag of the maple and it was, hands-down, the best granola I have ever had (and I eat a LOT of granola. Mix it into my yogurt every morning)!
I am 100% hooked on this granola. It is amazing! And, I love the recipe book –
few in there I want to try this weekend! Thank you again.
I love your granola so much. My husband bought me a package
of your Home Sweet Honey for my birthday a few weeks ago. I was happy!
Just picked up some of your creative cranberry at Union Coffee. It is awesome.
Crunchy yet almost melts in your mouth. We are moving our offices to the same industrial park you are in…so I look forward to buying gallons!
What I liked best about this granola is that it wasn’t heavy or hard;
it was perfectly crispy. The texture was excellent and the favor was top notch. It really is the best granola I’ve ever had, and I don’t say that lightly.
I have been buying your granola at Hannafords Lancaster St, Leominster.
I’m absolutely hooked! Best granola around.
I wanted to say I’m such a HUGE fan of your blueberry granola ever since
I got to try some. I’ll be the best walking advertisement ever in Indy…an enthusiast!
That granola is deeelish! We can’t stop eating the blueberry!
Golden Girl is so far better than anything around here!
Absolutely delicious and non-GMO!
I love it in my morning yogurt.
I tried your granola at River Street. LOVED the chocolate mix.
Bought a bag right on the spot.
I bought it at the wine expo and just love it!
It is the most delicious granola I have tasted.
Not too sweet, lots of interesting fruits and nuts.
The (heavily honey-covered) Truly Tropical is now firmly
implanted in my office snack drawer.
Thank you for an excellent product and for
making known that the canola oil is non-GMO. I will promote widely!
Thanks for coming to speak to our class.
Your granola is delicious.
An up-and-coming, high-quality, New England
granola in a variety of great flavors…
It’s the tastiest granola I’ve ever eaten.
I recently had your product at a charity event
and fell in love!
Thanks! Great product!
Best granola ever!