Bar Keepers Friend Team Talk with Christina Roark

March 22, 2023

Bar Keepers Friend Team Talk is a chance to get to know us—one team member at a time. It’s a glimpse behind the curtain. In this series, we ask individual teammates questions designed to share insights into the BKF family and reveal a little about the people behind the brand.

Christina Roark has been with Bar Keepers Friend for 25 years; her current position is Controller & VP Of Digital Marketing.

Bar Keepers Friend Team Talk with Christina Roark

Why do you work at BKF?

I love the brand and the people. It’s not only a family-owned business for me; it is family. I’ve always loved accounting, and Bar Keepers Friend invested in me and my accounting education, my BS, and my MBA. When a company invests in people, it builds loyalty.

The other thing is I always knew how good the product was. My grandma always had a can under the sink.

What’s something about BKF that most people don’t know?

A lot of people don’t know about all of our products. We have ten, and they’re all just good as the original.

In case you missed it, IBJ (Indiana Business Journal) recently did a nice piece about the company Made in Indiana: Bar Keepers Friend made by Servaas Laboratories Inc.

How do you use BKF products at home?

My favorite is the Cookware Cleanser , it’s like the original powder on steroids! I’ve used it on burnt all-clad cookware, stainless steel, and even on my kitchen and bathroom sinks. I use MORE Spray & Foam a lot. I like that it will stick to a vertical surface and that I can hold the can upside down, and I use it with a Magic Eraser on glass shower doors.

What are your hobbies and Interests?

Live music and going to concerts are my favorite. I discovered Chris Daughtry on American Idol and fell in love with his music and started following him on his concert trail. I saw him in Indy, Kansas City, and Louisville, and then I met other girls following him, too, so we became friends. Then I even saw him on a small stage at Birdies!

I love my grandbabies, Xavier and Kai, and my chihuahua Levi. My stress reliever is true crime, and I’m intrigued by the history of 9/11.

What would you like to add?

In 2008 Paul (Paul SerVaas, president of SerVaas Laboratories, the parent company of Bar Keepers Friend) and Matt (Matt Selig, Bar Keepers Friend’s CFO) asked me if I had a Twitter account and If I could help promote Bar Keepers Friend. At the time, I was focused on accounting and college. So, I spent evenings and weekends searching for Bar Keepers Friend on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Bar Keepers Friend had always been marketed by word-of-mouth. We tried a TV ad once, but that wasn’t us. Anyway, I was amazed at what I found on the internet from our loyal customers. I remember reaching out to one lady who shared before and after photos of her stained bathtub. I wanted her permission to share the photos on our website. She told me she’d tried everything and that she’s given up trying to clean her tub. She said her tub embarrassed her. Someone told her about Bar Keepers Friend. So, she spent $1.50, and it worked. When I spoke to her, you could hear the emotion in her voice. She was nearly in tears of joy, going from embarrassment to pride in her tub. I wanted to be part of this, so that’s why there’s an accountant on the marketing team!

Working for Bar Keepers Friend makes me feel like I’m part of something that’s doing good in the world. I can’t say enough about how proud I am of our accounting and marketing teams. I’m excited to see what the future holds for Bar Keepers Friend.

About the Author

Randy Clark is a speaker, coach, and author. He publishes a weekly blog at Randy Clark Leadership.com. Randy is passionate about social media, leadership development, and flower gardening. He’s a beer geek and on weekends (after COVID-19) he can be found fronting the Rock & Roll band Under the Radar. He’s the proud father of two educators; he has four amazing grandchildren and a wife who dedicates her time to helping others. Randy is the author of the Amazon bestseller The New Manager’s Workbook a crash course in effective management.