Eric Shellenback is now 63 years old, a doting father of three, and a pioneer in the gluten-free industry. But during his time at Barrington High School, when he was known as “Shelly” by his baseball teammates, gluten-free food was neither something he knew about nor thought he would one day forge a career around.

A true high school hero, Shellenback was named to the All-Century sports team at Barrington High and was drafted out of high school by the Texas Rangers in 1978. Deciding to forgo the opportunity to play professional ball, Shellenback accepted an offer to play at Southern Methodist University and later finished out his collegiate baseball career at Northwestern University.

“Professional baseball was a childhood dream,” Shellenback states. “But I recognized the importance of getting a college education, and thankfully I did.” After school, and early on in his career, Shellenback served as a division president at Häagen-Dazs where he began to consider the possibility of starting his own company.

When his daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2002, Shellenback became determined to address the lack of nutritious, tasty, high-quality, gluten-free food.

“It was always a dream of mine to start my own company,” he explains. “My experience in consumer-packaged goods in addition to my daughter’s diagnosis allowed me to see an opening in the market.”

In 2010, after 25 years of experience in consumer-packaged goods, Shellenback—backed by a private equity firm—began to look for a gluten-free company to acquire.

“My primary focus was formulation capabilities,” he recalls. “The brand name and condition of their operation was important, but not critical.”

The Grainless Baker, now known as Three Bakers, was a small gluten-free manufacturer in Pennsylvania that fit Shellenback’s key requirements: taste, texture, and nutrition. So, he bought it.

“From 2011 to 2016 we experienced explosive growth. However, over time the competitive landscape changed dramatically,” he says.

In 2016, Three Bakers faced a production quality issue that disrupted sales and resulted in the loss of loyal buyers and revenue. At the forefront of the company’s development and decision-making, Shellenback began the process of searching for a private equity firm to acquire his business.

Looking far and wide, Shellenback connected with a London firm that was looking to expand its gluten-free food investments into the United States.

Europe-based Promise Gluten Free Bakery and Rudi’s merged with Three Bakers to create a powerhouse of formulation capabilities under the healthy halo of Rudi’s.

Today, Shellenback is leading Rudi’s Rocky Mountain Bakery brand, which is focused on fiber-rich, gut-healthy bread in both gluten-free and conventional channels. While only the future knows what holds for him next, a lifetime of athletic and career successes indicates bright tomorrows ahead.