What began as a small idea on the island of Rhodes, Greece, has grown into a patented food innovation now appearing in U.S. schools, stadiums, and supermarkets. Engineers Pantazis Choulis and Eleftherios Spartalis, founders of BreadKone, have spent eight years transforming a family-inspired recipe into a new category in the bakery industry.

Inspired by a century-old baking tradition from the island of Kastelorizo, the pair introduced their cone-shaped savory bread in their first Rhodes shop in 2017. Rapid success led to expansion in Athens, but the pandemic pushed them to rethink their model. With no machinery available to shape dough cones at scale, they engineered their own. Their industrial cone-shaping machine—completed and patented in 2022 in both the EU and U.S.—became the foundation for BreadKone’s next chapter.

An American visitor who tasted the product in Athens invited the founders to bring BreadKone to the United States. They arrived in New York in December 2022, where the product has quickly gained traction. Today, BreadKone is served in school districts, has debuted at Yankee Stadium, and is available at Harris Teeter supermarkets. National distributors, QSR brands, and foodservice companies are now exploring partnerships.

Building on their technology, the team also introduced the CookieKone, the world’s first industrially produced cookie cone for desserts and grab-and-go offerings—already generating strong interest from retailers.

Next, the founders plan to launch a fast-casual concept showcasing both BreadKone and CookieKone, bringing globally inspired, clean-label, handheld dining to the U.S. market.

From a single shop in Greece to innovative production in Farmingdale, NY, BreadKone continues to expand on its mission: If something doesn’t exist, create it. If the road doesn’t exist, build it.