Overview

About Kodiak

Kodiak is one of the fastest-growing food companies disrupting the industry with its better-for-you breakfast and snacking options. Nestled among the Wasatch Mountains of Park City, UT, Kodiak’s journey began by restoring the tradition of whole grain flapjacks while adding protein to fuel folks' adventures.

Kodiak’s collaborative and entrepreneurial culture reflects its mission inside and outside the workplace. This commitment has made Kodiak both a beloved consumer brand and an award-winning employer.

The Challenge

Keeping culture strong in a growing, hybrid workplace

As Kodiak has grown and expanded into a hybrid workplace, they wanted to preserve their close-knit culture and reinforce their Kodiak Code values daily. While traditional recognition from leaders was appreciated, employees craved real-time, peer-driven appreciation that celebrated not just results but also how the work was done.

Leadership wanted recognition to be approachable, educate new hires on company values, connect remote and in-office teams, and inspire more participation.

“The emphasis that Kodiak puts on people and employees first is really unique. We're always looking for opportunities to acknowledge the important and special and above and beyond work that our coworkers are doing.”
Cassidy Barsdoff, Director, Project Management Office

The Solution

Real-time recognition that builds trust and strengthens teamwork

Awardco provides Kodiak with an easy-to-use, highly visible recognition platform where employees award “Kodiak Kudos” points and engage through a fully customized, branded interface. Every peer-to-peer and manager recognition is tied to a Kodiak Code value, which are prominently displayed throughout the office.

The most frequently recognized value, #beartogether, highlights how recognition fosters teamwork. This approach keeps values top of mind and embedded in daily work, builds trust, and strengthens collaboration. It also gives leadership greater visibility into the contributions of their dispersed workforce, helping them engage meaningfully with every employee.

“Whether it’s recognizing a peer or a member of our team, it's so simple and intuitive.”
Cassidy Barsdoff, Director, Project Management Office

“Awardco makes it really easy to select colleagues that you want to recognize, whether it's one, whether it's multiple. Recognition helps build trust with teammates and leaders.”
Brett Miller, VP of Creative

Through the direct Slack integration, recognitions automatically populate in a dedicated channel, allowing their 100% hybrid workforce (40% fully remote) to see and celebrate each other’s wins across the country. It’s one of their most popular channels, and team members often encore their peer’s recognitions with comments and emojis. Recognitions can also be sent out from within Slack, allowing employees to shout out great work in the moment right when it happens with just a few simple clicks.

“This integration to our Slack channel… makes it very easy and seamless. There’s this running log of all of these shout outs, which I think is really powerful.’”
Zach Makoutz, Sr. Manager, Category Sales Product

Kodiak offers five distinct recognition programs, including both monetary and non-monetary awards as well as automated birthdays and anniversary milestones. They also use Awardco points for ad-hoc celebrations, such as their annual peer-nominated Kodiak Awards dinner. A custom rewards catalogue ensures employees can choose rewards they truly value, with options ranging from eGift cards and local Utah gift cards to travel and unique experiences. This freedom of choice fuels program participation.

The Results

A recognition culture that drives performance

Kodiak’s recognition program has become a cornerstone of their culture:‍

• Exceptional Engagement: Over 96% login rate, with above-benchmark engagement scores that leaders say directly correlate to business success. Peer-to-peer recognition accounts for over 50% of all recognitions, demonstrating a natural culture of recognition. Kodiak was also named one of Inc.’s 2025 Best Workplaces.
• Culture Flywheel: Kodiak’s recognition program creates a flywheel effect: when an employee receives recognition from a peer, they become 3X more likely to send recognition themselves (internal analysis of Kodiak platform data).
  
• Retention: Overall turnover remains low.

“Recognition just reminds you that no, you are seen. Your work is not for nothing. You are appreciated. It feels great and helps you stay motivated, even when things are tough.”
Zach Makoutz, Sr. Manager, Category Sales Product

“There's plenty of research that shows the compounding impact of how when other people can see recognition, it creates that snowball effect. And so it just makes people work better together. They feel more as part of the team."
Zach Makoutz, Sr. Manager, Category Sales Product

Recognition has become a daily ritual—seen, celebrated, and shared—fueling Kodiak’s momentum as not just a great place to work, but one of the best in the country.

“It's really important for relationship building and strengthening. Having this platform that makes it super easy to recognize is what sets Kodiak apart from the rest."
Cassidy Barsdoff, Director, Project Management Office

Get a demo today to see how recognition can transform your own organization.