I attended a presentation last night (November 10) given by Mark Ballard, President and co-founder of a local company called Sugardaddys. Mark is the operational and marketing brains behind the venture. His partner, Tom Finney, is the cook (and what a cook!).
Sugardaddys makes and sells luxury brownies and ‘blondies’. They are amazingly good. But they didn’t just set off to become a little bakery here in Columbus, Ohio. They’ve carefully planned to take the world by storm. And they’ve had remarkable success. They’ve been featured in national publications like InStyle, American Lifestyle, even Readers’ Digest and have been on TV shows from Ellen, to where I first heard of them, Bobby Flay’s “Throw Down” on the Food Network. And they’ve been open for only five years.
How did they do it? Mark talked about their detailed plan and it was clear that this was not just some dreamer, but someone who really understands business. They planned for a full three years before opening their doors and built a company that can scale up very big, very quickly. Mark’s background is fashion, including time as a VP at Ann Taylor and in senior positions at The Gap and Victoria’s Secret. Not only did they plan for a remarkably tasty brownie, but they obsessed over the full customer experience, over packaging, and over processes. And from the moment they opened their doors, they knew how they wanted to promote their product.
I’m very impressed with Mark’s drive and enthusiasm. He know how critical the quality of product and presentation is. They’ve sworn never to disappoint a customer. And he knows that his growth is dependent on acquiring new customers AND on keeping them. He’s unapologetic about the price of his product – it is a luxury, but an affordable indulgence. And they’re continually looking for ways to expand their product offering, yet not to stray away from their core product: brownies. I urge you to try them out – nothing is preserved or frozen. “Oven To Door In 24″ is their registered trademark. I ate one of their Tahiti Blondes at the event. The first bite and I thought, “yeah, this is pretty good,” but by the time I’d finished the little sample it was clear that it wasn’t just pretty good, but an amazing confection. No single flavor overwhelmed another, a combination of toasted coconut, white AND dark chocolate, cashews and pineapple, all in a buttery light brownie. When I need to send gifts, I’ll be sending some of these!
There is room for improvement. I’m not terribly impressed by their web site – it’s more than a little confusing to figure out how to place an order, and the design isn’t that exciting. And they’re about to start a planned expansion with new storefronts. I’ll be interested to see them develop and grow.
But I won’t forget their lesson: preparation and clear strategies with deep knowledge and understanding of a selected market with top notch marketing can take a small idea and yield big results. If they can do it with brownies, imagine what you can do with your business?
