Our mission statement (The Fairytale Journey) begins with "Our goal is to simplify gift-giving and spread joy through gourmet chocolate brownies." As Co-founder and the one in charge of Sales and PR, I take this statement very seriously. Nothing is better than word of mouth so I will share when I am Out & About getting more brownies into more people's mouths. I love sharing our brownies and our experiences,
Just want to make the world a sweeter place!
We are thrilled to share that you can now buy gourmet Fairytale Brownies in Original, Toffee Crunch and Cream Cheese Belgian Chocolate brownie flavors at
Farm Fresh to You inside the
Ferry Building Marketplace in San Francisco, CA.
http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/farm_fresh.php 
Farm Fresh to You store is an amazing store with local organic produce and they have a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) for those of you living in the area. We are so happy to share our locally produced family recipe of fudgy chocolate brownies as part of their gourmet grocery offerings. If you're not in the San Francisco area, don't worry! We are located in many retail locations throughout the Southwest. Visit
brownies.com, or click this link to find our other retail locations:
http://www.brownies.com/customer_service/ca_locations.aspx.
Actually these are bites of advice. Recently I talked with Jim Blasingame, The Small Business Advocate. Here is a link to the most recent interview -
http://www.smallbusinessadvocate.com/small-business-interviews/eileen-spitalny-8257We talked about how we are using social and online marketing at Fairytale Brownies.
Maybe you can apply to your own business or where you work or to attract more Facebook fans to your personal page!
Growing up in Phoenix,
"the Duck", aka Duck and Decanter (2 locations) is/was the best place to get a sandwich and sit under the trees. Now owning Fairytale Brownies, I love that they sell Fairytale Brownies so I can add that on to my Genoa or Where's the Beef sandwich. And as we are growing our wholesale outreach now you can get a brownie with your sandwich in Mill Valley or San Francisco.
Mill Valley Market which is family owned just like the Duck is an awesome sandwich, wine, cheese/chocolate shop. They are now selling our belgian chocolate brownies in 6 varieties. And as my best friend from college lives there, I will be able to get a brownie with my sandwich this summer while visiting. They are at 12 Corte Madera. And just in case I'm not full I can now get a brownie with my sandwich at the
Rincon Market in the city. Rincon is a small gourmet grocery and deli in the SOMA district at 98 Howard St (between Spear & Stuart St). Yum - Happy Summer eating!
The YOB (Your Own Business) Fair and Resource Day is designed for entrepreneurs, business owners and those thinking about starting a business. David & I were asked to speak at lunch and share our
mail order brownies story and answer questions from the attendees. We have a big appreciation for those going out on their own and want to help them succeed. And a part of being successful is being able to ask for help. So don't say you heard it here (FTB blog) but those who ask questions during our Q & A are going to get some FREE
brownies. Sampling is one of the best ways for us to spread the word and it takes courage to ask those "scary" questions when you are just starting out. So they deserve a sweet gourmet brownie reward. Registration and more information at
www.yobfair.com.
ABC 15-TV's Daphne Munro visited the Fairytale Bakery this week to film for today's Deal of the Day. If you missed the promotion for Fairytale Brownies - it aired at 5 p.m. Wednesday (click here or view at their website) -http://www.abc15.com/content/news/smartshopper/story/Deal-of-the-Day-Snap-up-this-Fairytale-treat-at-1/DJHBnmtdh0O4nhxWpF79cA.cspx
Today's deal is the
1 lb. Original or
Walnut Brownie Tray for $5.50. The trays regularly sell for $10.95.
The brownie trays are the perfect cut-and-serve option for dessert. Serve them as is, or include them in your favorite fudge brownie dessert recipe.
Because the tray covers are not mail-order friendly, they cannot be shipped. Come buy brownies TODAY, May 6! We're open until 5pm. Also, we have last minute shopping for Mother's Day and those items can be shipped or taken with you.
Another idea - next week is Teacher's and Nurses Week which the 1 lb. tray is a perfect price and sized item to hand out for those occasions! And such a deal, only $5.50 tray! Thanks again Daphne and Channel 15 ABC Crew!
My daughter Bebe is a first grader and recently her class came to learn how factories work.
They are learning to write non-fiction so we used the Bakery as a learning lab for a morning.
Every day I wear purple, brown or black so Bebe wore her "uniform" that day to school. Just like mommy. Oh yea, and of course a hairnet!
I had them start the tour through our overhead back door just like an ingredient. We showed them how we track everything... Every mail order Brownie, Sprite or Magic Morsel (our 3 sizes) has a lot code. Bebe is looking at a Magic Morsel.
At the end they got to pick their brownie flavor from our store. Yum! Then back at school they wrote about various topics - ingredients, baking, cutting, wrapping, shipping, test kitchen and toppings to name just a few. Their teacher then paired groups to write about each step back in the classroom.
Eating by George and Wyeth - "Fairytale Brownies are yummy, yummy, in my tummy. There are different kinds of brownies you can eat. George's favorite is chocolate. Wyeth's is raspberry. There are lots of kinds - chocolate, cream cheese and much, much more."
It was so wonderful to share with them that Fairytales do come true - I have known my business partnwer since I was 5 years old. Back then we got to take the tour of the Carnation Ice Cream factory here in Phoenix. I remember like it was yesterday; you got the little ice cream cup with the wooden spoon. Another yum! Who would have ever thought David and I would grow up and do this; spread joy through gourmet chocolate brownies. May all your dreams come true!
Join Fairytale Brownies at the
2nd Annual ASU Art Museum Street Party this Saturday in downtown Phoenix at 201 W. Indian School from 4pm - 10pm. You will be able to purchase our fudgy Fairytale Brownies there and 100% of the proceeds go to the Museum. The available flavors will be:
Original, Walnut, Chocolate Chip, Cream Cheese, Peanut Butter and
Toffee Crunch.
So come on down for the one-day art show, yummy food and great music.
Entry fee is $5 per person, and kids are FREE! Invite below.
Hope to see you there!
Eileen - Brownie Lover, Art Lover & Street Party Chair
I just finished reading an article summarizing a report just released from the
Center for Culinary Development (CCD) and Packaged Facts. It made me realize Fairytale customers and team members are right on the mark! The category trends include nostalgia, indulgence and flavor adventure. For nostalgia our
Toffee Crunch Brownie with rich uncoated toffee pieces baked right in is so retro and decadent! Yummy, crunch candy and uber-indulgent brownies baked from Callebaut chocolate. For indulgence our
Espresso Nib Brownie is an espresso brownie topped with crunchy cocoa nibs. Cocao Wow! And for flavor adventure our
Raspberry Swirl with our Italian puree swirled in is nicely tart and that smooth chocolate finish on the tongue. We bake with a family recipe but this is not how Nancy used to make them. Growing up, David and I ate plain and walnut. We currently bake 12 flavors and have retired many others, chocolate is like a blank canvas. Enjoy, mix and play next time you are in the kitchen or create a choose your own dozen with Fairytale Brownies that speaks of your personality and taste. View our entire Fairytale Brownies flavor lineup here (
Fairytale Brownies Flavors)!
Toffee Swirl Brownie Espresso Nib Brownie Raspberry Swirl Brownie
In 1999, Fairytale Brownies won an Innovation Small Business Person of the Year Award from the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. They called us recently to see what was going on with us and our gourmet brownies. Wow, looking back makes you realize there is always room for innovation and improvement.
Our flavor profiles are similar and goal of baking the best brownies but there was no social marketing such as this blog and no makeup artist as you can see in these photos.
It was fun to reminisce and to see how there is always room for innovation and change. Enjoy the April article and thank you to the Chamber and the city of Phoenix for continued support of our company. Have a Fairytale Day!
Fairytale Brownies' products were among the 80,000 food items sampled at NASFT's 35th Winter fancy Food Show this month at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
Although we've attended the show for many years as shoppers, this was our second year attending as an exhibitor.
Kim, David, Holly and I handed out about 5,000 brownie and brownie truffle samples during the three-day show, and displayed our line of brownies available to food service providers, retailers and catalogers.
Our new Retail Display Box for Fairytale's individually wrapped brownies was a hit with everyone who stopped by our booth. The box arrives shrink-wrapped with 12 brownies, 18 Sprites or 24 Magic Morsels inside. Retailers simply open the box, and re-adjust the lid to pop up at the back of the box. The pop up lid converts the box to a self-contained shelf display for the brownies.
Andrea and Sean, two pastry chefs at Citizen Cake in San Francisco, decorated our Fairytale Half-sheet for the show so that food buyers could see one of the many ways our brownies can be served. They decorated it with butterflies and spring purple and green.
Check our our booth in this
video clip from NASFT.
Happy New Year - which means New Year resolutions, i.e. watch the diet.
I know, I know as I have some myself. But we all need to indulge a little, too.
So, I’m so excited to share the many new retailers that now have Fairytale Brownies, Sprites or Morsels.
Add Fairytale Brownies to your “must buy” list while shopping at the new Scottsdale Oakville Grocery. Just moved into Scottsdale Quarter by H & M. Fairytale’s Sprites and Magic Morsels are available to purchase and can be found near the registers at the front of the store. Foodies like us just wrote a blog:
http://www.foodieslikeusblog.com/culinary-adventures/oakville-grocery-local-international-and-napa-valley-specialties-for-every-foodie/
Our delicious Belgian dark chocolate treats can also be found at Phoenix Urban Grocery and Wine Bar downtown, Tempe Farmer’s Market in the freezer case and Luci’s Healthy Marketplace and Coffee Bar in central Phoenix.
Shoppers can choose from a variety of flavors – Original, Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Cream Cheese, Peanut Butter, Toffee Crunch and Walnut.
Other retail locations in the Phoenix area include all of AJ’s Fine Foods, Duck & Decanter and Whole Foods. – Click here for our complete retail list –
Live in Phoenix and looking for some fun and free food, live music and fun stuff for kids?
Visit the Certified Local Fall Festival this Saturday at Duck & Decanter in Phoenix -
http://localfirstaz.com/fall-festival/index.php This link has the listing of all the local businesses participating and the band schedule.
Fairytale Brownies will be handing out brownie samples all day. Yum with a bit of Four Peaks!
Live in the Bay Area and hankering for some free fudgy brownies?
Go visit the following Bay Area Costco stores.
We will be sampling Walnut Fairytale Brownies for 6 hours - yummy!
And pick up a tray on your way out!
Here is our store listing -
http://www.brownies.com/includes/downloads/costco2.pdf
Although The 2nd Annual Farmer Chef Connection Conference took place a couple of weeks ago, I can still taste the delightful creations Valley chefs prepared with local ingredients. The butternut squash galette with mizuna created by Chrysa of Rancho Pinot with Maya's produce, The Meat Shop pork with AZ Tepary beans creation by Claudio from Prado. It was all delicious and magical because of the collaboration and passion in the room.The conference, held at the Intercontinental Montelucia Resort in Scottsdale, was sponsored by Edible Phoenix and Slow Food Phoenix. The afternoon event included a panel discussion, structured networking ("speed dating" for farmers and chefs) and ended with the local food and wine reception.
I was one of the five panelists – all of us are members of Les Dames D’Escoffier Phoenix. The panel, including Maya Dailey of Maya’s Farm, Deborah Knight of Mosaic Restaurant, Eugenia Theodosopoulos of Essence Bakery and Gwen Ashley Waters of Pen & Fork Communications shared our insights on how farmers and chefs can work together to grow customers. Marketing Your Sustainable Advantage was the name of the panel discussion. I represented the "Eater" - the loyal customer for your local establishment or CSA. I talked about how not just taste is so important to me but also consistency in the product and experience. And give me something different, unique or if it is a burger that it is the best grass fed burger in town. Food with meaning or a story. It was an awesome afternoon. It is exciting to feel the momentum growing in Arizona of knowing where our food comes from and the partnerships being created. As a local food manufacturer we of course shared our brownies at the reception. This photo shows the program on my desk with a cocoa pod I have acquired and some local tepary beans.
Last Sunday, Fairytale Brownies was part of Whole Foods Local Vendor Day.
There was a dozen of us sprinkled throughout the store, fun to just sample your way through the store. Every vendor had a great story about their delicious product.
We are a new vendor in Arizona Whole Foods stores, there are 7 locations in Phoenix and Tucson. We are selling our fudgy Original and Walnut wrapped brownies and the 1 lb. trays for snacking and hostess gifts.
While sampling I looked down the register row and this poster was hanging.
Bit embarrassing but fun to share with everyone back at the bakeryand of course mom and dad.
Whole Foods is a great supporter of local products across the country.
Remember, local is always in season!
One of my favorite websites, epicurious.com, had the cutest booth at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market Wednesday. Looked like a farmer’s market stall – part of their Greenmarket Tour. This visit was like going full circle for me – David and I started Fairytale Brownies by selling at Farmer’s Markets. Town & Country on Wednesdays, Borgota on Fridays and Vincent’s on Saturdays.
(Sparkin Productions photo)
I brought them a sample of our product and got to meet the editor, Tanya, and Heather (who had eaten our brownies at the NYC Chocolate Show and loved them!). Sampling has always been the best way for us to make new friends and customers.
I took home some tamales and homemade ice cream as it was only 112 degrees out!! Both were yummy!!!
Check out their website, www.epicurious.com for great recipes and tips on cooking and of course check out our website, www.brownies.com if you are looking for things to create with our brownies. Sampling was – and still is – the best way to introduce our brownies to someone new.
Happy Summer!
I have been asked to be on a panel on Wednesday, July 8
for NAWBO Phoenix (National Association of Women Business Owners).
It is a luncheon event at the Phoenix Country Club at 11am.
I invite you to come with your questions or ideas. There will be a panel of 4 -
Terri Bowersock of Terri's Consignment Furniture, Cynthia Drasler who was frustrated with cleaning products and their chemicals making her kids sick so she started her own clean company, Kim Babjak who can help you sell anything and sell it big - national tv or internationally and myself.
Come get some advice and ask some tough questions - why? how?
More info at
www.nawbophx.org
I was recently invited to be a brownie judge by my friend Barbara Fenzl. She is a renowned cooking school owner and cookbook author. Her husband is assistant to Arizona AG Terry Goddard. Last week, Barbara, Terry Goddard, broadcaster Pat McMahon and myself judged 23 brownierecipes baked by AG office employees. Was lots of fun!
We decided on 3 category winners - fudgiest chocolate brownie, layer bar brownie and most creative recipe and presentation. Check 'em out!
The AG Bag I am holding is an "imitation Ladmo Bag." For native Pheonicians, this bag holds many memories from the "Wallace and Ladmo Show." This bag went to raffle prize winners, not everyone wanted to bake.
Judge Pat McMahon was multiple characters on that show - Gerald, Captain Super and Maude. I watched every morning growing up here in Phoenix. The AG Bags had some Fairytale Brownies inside. So, of course I'm hoping they will taste, enjoy, then go to brownies.com and send some brownies - you know we ship worldwide!
That's an RSS feed. Just click on it to receive content updates.
Powered by Compendium Blogware