As I was channel surfing the other night I caught QVC and was somewhat surprised to find they are already selling holiday tree ornaments, in August?? Wow, I thought to myself, but then soon realized that we're beginning to gear up at the brownie factory, so believe it or not, the holiday season is just around the corner. . . . .
We've begun the recruiting/hiring process for the various departments, and expect a container of Callebaut Belgian Chocolate to arrive sometime next week. We purchase an entire container full just to meet season forecast, this comes directly from the Callebaut chocolate plant in Belgium. It's very exciting as we get rolling into season, and we're hoping for a great one this year.
Among our new product offerings for the Fall and coming holidays is the Candy Cane Truffle - a decadent peppermint brownie morsel coated in dark Belgian chocolate, with just a sprinkle of all natural candy cane on top - YUM! After working hard in our brownie test kitchen, this gourmet brownie truffle emerged as a sure winner for the holidays. How can you go wrong when giving gourmet chocolate gifts, especially when they're Fairytale Brownies, the best brownies around. We look forward to making the coming season scrumptious!
Fairytale Brownies was recently featured on the Food Networks' Show "Unwrapped" during a segment called Comfy Foods. Though the episode focused on our wonderful gourmet brownies as the perfect comfort food, viewers also noticed the cleanliness of the facility where we produce the best brownies around.
Behind the scenes our teams work hard to maintain a spotless facility they can be proud of, it's something we have made a priority since day one and I am happy to say it shows! We are regularly inspected by the local health deparment and consistently receive Gold ratings. We are also inspected by AIB International and have received Superior ratings on our Food Safety Audits.
Our gourmet chocolate brownies make the perfect gift for any occasion, and rest assured they are produced in a facility that is properly maintained and regularly inspected for Food Safety adherence.
My name is Kim Silva, Operations Team Leader for Fairytale Brownies. Throughout my many years with Fairytale Brownies, I have spent time working in various capacities throughout the organization, learning along the way what it takes to make a company great. It's been awesome to watch Fairytale Brownies grow from a small start-up, where we peddled our gourmet brownies at street fairs and farmer's markets, to a successful mail order business with thousands of customers across the globe. I currently oversee Operations, which includes Production, Fulfillment, Human Resources and Customer Service.
My husband and I are getting ready for our annual road trip through New Mexico and Southwest Texas. We typically go every year to get our annual supply of green chile from the Franzoy farm in Hatch, NM and to visit our favorite spots along the way, many of them well known foodie favorites. It's a great way to make friends on the road, and to create life long raving fans! I've already had a few of these gourmet gurus contact me to make sure I don't forget the fudgy chocolate brownies.
This year I am even more excited to be able to take samples of our new Fairytale Cookies (Pecan Caramel and Double Chocolate). These precious little cookie gems will be making their debut in early September, so it's perfect timing to be able to introduce our family and friends to the newest gourmet treats from Fairytale Brownies. We just received our packaging materials and the bakery is beginning first days of production, working out any last minute kinks in the cookie process. In fact, we're already working on some new cookie flavors that we're hoping to introduce in early Spring. . . . Of course, we're also thinking of other special bakery treats we can add to our line, including new flavors of brownies and truffles. What a joy to be part of the newest gourmet endeavors for Fairytale Brownies!
As I sat at my desk working this week, I remembered that my niece has a birthday coming up and will be turning 3 years old. I have been racking my brain trying to think of what I might send, which may seem odd to most of you considering I work for the best gourmet brownie company around. Call me crazy, but it did slip my mind . . . sending brownies that is. I think it might be because I get so caught up in the daily operations and future initiatives of the company, I just plain forgot that I am a customer too!
My niece is having a small party over the weekend so I decided to ship her a
Birthday Morsel 24 to share with her little pals. How lucky am I . . .since I waited so long to think of what to send, I also happened to luck out in that we also have expedited shipping available, so her fudgy chocolate brownie treats will arrive just in the nick of time. The size of our
Magic Morsel brownies are perfect for little ones - I'm sure they will be the hit of the party.
Enjoy your
Fairytale Brownies, and Happy Birthday, Little Fia!!
It might not seem like the holiday season is just around the corner, especially considering the extremely high temperatures in Arizona right now, but peak season for Fairytale Brownies is coming and plans are already being set for the upcoming holidays.
We're in the final stages of putting together our staffing plans and projections for the coming holidays and will be bringing on temporary seasonal staff beginning in late August. We typically stagger the teams for each department. Our brownie bakers will be coming first, followed by some of our CSRs, gift packers and data entry teams. We will have a few rounds of hiring up through November. We are lucky enough to have most of the same team members return year after year, but we also have to source new team members as our volumes continue to increase each season. By the time it's all said and done in December, we'll have brought on 100+ additional temporary team members to help us bake and ship delicious gourmet brownies to customers all over the world!
If you are interested in temporary seasonal employment, or any other available positions with Fairytale Brownies, you can download an application at
www.brownies.com or send resumes to
careers@brownies.com. We also accept applications in our Retail Store Monday through Friday from 8am - 3pm. For more detailed information on the various positions, requirements and start dates, contact Janet at 602-489-5154 or via email at
janet@brownies.com.
I just returned from a visit home for the 4th of July holiday where we had a great family reunion. Part of the weekend long festivities included a dessert competition, so I put my thinking cap on and decided to use some of our Fairytale Cookie samples to make ice cream sandwiches - a simple treat for a hot Summer day! The cookies will not make their official debut until this Fall, but we had so many samples from the various tests we've been conducting, I just knew I could use them somehow for the competition.
Apart from the ice cream melting before I could finish the entire project, they came out absolutely delectable! I took 3rd place with my entry, which I thought was commendable considering I didn't exactly make the ice cream, and the team here made the cookie samples for me. Either way, Fairytale Cookies made awesome ice cream sandwiches!
I'm usually not sure what to send my dad for Father's Day, sort of been there done that, so it always leaves me guessing. No matter what I choose to give him, there are always Fairytale Brownies to accompany whatever I send. If not, I get the inevitable phone call asking "where are the brownies, did you send me the ones with nuts"? Other than the fact he thinks Fairytale Brownies are awesome and delicious, I know he is extremely grateful that I have been able to make a long lasting and very rewarding career from doing the "brownie thing".
I recall fondly the day I graduated from Arizona State University, it's one of the few times I've seen my dad with a tear in his eye - a mix of pure joy along with a little apprehension. As most parents do, he worried about what I would do with my life and whether or not I would be able to survive on my own. "Selling brownies" he would comment with a puzzled look on his face . . . but after almost 17 years, I'm still doing the "brownie thing" and couldn't be happier!
This year he'll get his box of fudgy chocolate brownies, along with a few other treats to make his day special. I guess you could say Fairytale Brownies are the gift that has kept on giving as far as my dad is concerned.
Be sure to check out www.brownies.com, we have great gift options for Father's Day that are sure to make a lasting impression with your dad too!
When you think of decadent gourmet brownies, Fairytale Brownies immediately comes to mind, now you'll be saying the same about cookies! The deadline is just around the corner and we're baking test batch after test batch to get the new Fairytale Cookie line launched. The official launch is this coming September, but the recipes need to be finalized for our annual Spring catalog photo shoot in June.
We are planning to introduce four flavors of cookies this Fall:
- Blondie with chocolate chips & white chocolate chips
- Blondie with pecans & caramel
- Dark Chocolate with double chocolate chips
- Dark Chocolate with white chocolate chips & walnuts
So far, my favorites are turning out to be the Dark Chocolate with double chocolate chips and the Blondie with pecans & caramel, which someone likened to pecan pie - yum!
Our staff has had the arduous task of sampling the cookies, mistakes and all. . . . They just love when we are introducing new products, it's so exciting for everyone at Fairytale Brownies to play a part in the process - especially the tasting process!
Not only will we have our decadent fudge brownies for you to choose from, now we'll have delicious cookies too. Just add milk (or Fairytale Coffee or Cocoa) and you'll have the perfect gourmet treat!
The temperatures in Arizona are definitely creeping up, which means summer is upon us! You might be wondering how we can ship fudgy chocolate brownies when it gets so hot. . . . . .
This is something we have dealt with since the beginning of the business, being that we are based in one of the hottest areas of the country and we are dealing with chocolate. Needless to say, we have experimented with various options over the many years and we have found some methods that work very well. We currently use foam insulation (or insulated airliners), along with reusable freezer packs in every shipment. This method keeps the brownies intact while in transit. We also ship standard delivery Monday - Wednesday, with expedited service available for overnight and two day delivery. We avoid shipping anything that might sit in a carrier hub over a weekend or for any extended period of time. We take great care to ensure the brownies will arrive in perfect condition.
We sometimes receive concerns over the product arriving a little warm or somewhat soft from the heat, or concerns that the freezer packs are no longer frozen solid. The brownies themselves have not been compromised and can be put directly into the refrigerator or freezer to get chilled. The freezer packs are meant to stay cold for the majority of time the brownies are in transit, but may not arrive frozen. These can be put back into the freezer and reused later on. If for any reason someone is not satisfied with their gourmet brownies, we offer our One Pure Promise, an unconditional guarantee of 100% satisfaction. Simply contact our customer service team at 1-800-531-5209 and they will do whatever it takes to make it right!
In 1952 the IAAP (International Association of Administrative Professionals) began honoring administrative professionals by sponsoring Administrative Professionals Week and Administrative Professionals Day, which is now considered one of the largest celebrated workplace events outside of major holidays. It is always the last full week in April, so this year it begins on April 19th, with Administrative Professionals Day falling on Wednesday, April 21st.
The name was changed from Professional Secretaries Week and Professionals Secretaries Day in the year 2000 in order to keep up with changing job duties and increased areas of responsibilities. Today, there are millions of administrative professionals and support staff working across the world.
Fairytale Brownies have always been very popular during this time of year, whether it be as thank you gifts or as delicious gourmet brownie treats used for office celebrations. Our line of thank you gift boxes are the perfect way to say thanks to those who help you get the job done! Check out www.brownies.com to order your gourmet brownies today, they're sure the be a hit with your entire staff.
We are very excited at
Fairytale Brownies to announce that our entire line of gourmet brownie products will now be produced using unbleached flour. We are slowly introducing these products into the pipeline and expect complete conversion as of May 1, 2010.
In the store there are typically two varieties of flour, bleached and unbleached. Bleached flour is whiter, has finer grains and contains edible bleaching agents to make it appear whiter and age quicker, resulting in a softer texture. Unbleached flour is less white and is bleached naturally, sometimes appearing more yellowish or brown. It also takes longer to age. There is actually no harm in using bleached flour, and for certain products it may produce a better result (like in yeast breads or popovers). For our purposes it does not affect the product in any way that is noticeable to the consumer. Making the switch falls in line with our goal to produce gourmet brownie products using all natural ingredients.
We currently carry a few products for
Whole Foods that are already produced using unbleached flour, but our overall goal was to convert the entire line of gourmet brownies. So, after much testing to ensure the change would not effect the gourmet brownies we have become so famous for, we are ready to make the switch!
Find out more about Fairytale Brownies at
brownies.com!
Today we had our monthly Team Leader meeting at Fairytale Brownies and we were tasked with making some decisions about a few new products we have been testing. Including different flavors of our brownie truffles, different toppings for the brownies, along with some of the initial brownie cookie samples. We've still got a little work to do on the cookies, but we're really close to finalizing something super delicious!
What a great job, tasting the best brownies around and getting to help create new chocolate treats for all to enjoy - coming your way this Fall!
This coming season we are planning to introduce NEW Fairytale Brownie Cookies! We are deep in the process of working on various recipes for these products, which can be easier said than done. . . .especially since this is not another gourmet brownie flavor, but a different baked good all together.
Many people don't realize that it can take up to a year or more to introduce a new product as there are numerous factors to consider when developing and testing new items. We must first come up with the idea of what we want to introduce - this is mostly based on customer feedback and current industry trends, but it must also fit our brand. Once we have figured out what we want to introduce, we then have to source the ingredients; making sure they are natural, kosher, readily available and meet our overall cost objectives. We must also take into consideration whether or not the product can be easily and efficiently produced using existing equipment.
Once we have figured out the actual item, recipe development can finally begin. We have a test kitchen on site at Fairytale Brownies Bakery in Phoenix and we utilize the services of Stephanie Green from Nutrition Studio, she is an R&D specialist in the baked goods industry. We'll go back and forth tasting, testing and tweaking the recipes until we come up with the perfect item. At this point the next phase of testing begins, which involves shelf-life, storage and ship-ability of the product. Ship-ability is important because we are in the mail order business, so if the item is not going to arrive in perfect condition, we can't introduce it. This could very well send us back to the kitchen for more recipe tweaking.
During the time the actual product itself is being finalized, our design team is working on packaging and the marketing team is working on how it will be sold and configured into our gift line.
All of this must take place prior to our Fall catalog photo shoot, which occurs annually in May. If we miss this deadline, the product will likely be delayed until the following Spring. As you can tell, the deadline for the coming 2010 Fall season is fast approaching so I must rush back to the test kitchen, a batch of chocolate brownie cookies is hot out of the oven and needs some tasting!
The holiday season is upon us at Fairytale Brownies and we're geared up and ready to ship delicious gourmet brownies to lucky recipients all over the world! It's an exciting time that we all look forward to every year.
Our Shipping Team is busy at work building beautiful gifts and packing thousands of decadent brownies for shipment each day. Our teams are working extra long hours to make sure the orders get out the door and delivered in time for people to enjoy this holiday season. We typically hire over one hundred seasonal team members to help us get through the peak. Seasonal team members help out in every department, along with our regular staff, who plan year round to make the holidays a successful time at Fairytale Brownies - we couldn't do it without them. Our Assistant Shipping Team Leader, Leslie Coates, is pictured here packing gifts for today's shipments.
Our shipping volume will continue to grow as the weeks go by and the holidays get ever closer, until then, we'll keep packing and shipping the delicious brownie gifts that have made Fairytale Brownies famous!
October 16th is Bosses Day across the nation, a day to give thanks to those who may sometimes get forgotten in the workplace, and though I'm sure some people out there may intentionally want to forget their boss, I'm certainly not one of them. That's me above (left) with my bosses, Eileen Spitalny and David Kravetz, when the business first started out.
I have been employed with Fairytale Brownies for almost 16 years, and throughout the many years have held a variety of roles within the company. I would never be in the position I am today if it had not been for the guidance of David and Eileen, co-owners of Fairytale Brownies. They have empowered and trusted me, along with many others, to grow both personally and within the business. They have always given the opportunity to learn and take on new roles, as long as I was willing to accept the challenge. It's not easy to manage the ups and downs of a successful brownie business, but they have been willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to keep the business going. Team members are the backbone of any strong company and without great team members a company will likely flounder, but it really takes great leadership to keep the momentum going - all of which we have at Fairytale Brownies.
Fairytale Brownies was once voted the best place to work in Phoenix, and I truly believe it still is - the Best Brownies and the Best Place To Work, what more could one ask for . . . .
So, don't forget your boss on Bosses Day, Fairytale Brownies are a perfect way to say "Thanks" to those who have mentored, guided and developed great people!
When most people think of Fairytale Brownies, mail order brownies is the first thing that comes to mind, but what many people don't realize is that we also have a retail store located at our bakery in Phoenix, Arizona.
We have always had a retail store, even when the business first started out in Scottsdale on Thomas Road. The first store was shared with our packing department, kitchen and corporate office - it was so tiny we could barely move around. Now, almost 17 years later, we have a beautiful retail store with a large viewing window so customers can watch first hand the brownies being made. We offer the same gifts at our store that you see in our catalog and online at
www.brownies.com. We typically run in-store specials and we always have delicious brownie samples available for tasting. During the winter months we have our coffee and cocoa brewing, a perfect match for gourmet brownies. The best thing about our retail store, other than the decadent brownies and beautiful gifts, is Chris Corn. Chris has been with Fairytale Brownies for almost 10 years! Chris always has a smile on and she gives our customers exceptional service. We pride ourselves on great service and we are proud to have Chris in our store - thanks, Chris!
Remember, Halloween is just around the corner and our brownie morsels make the perfect treat for your goblins and ghouls, so come visit soon!
Fairytale Brownies Retail Store is located at 4610 E Cotton Center Blvd in Phoenix, AZ. We're open Monday through Friday from 8am - 5pm.
We receive so many great customer raves and stories about Fairytale Brownies, whether it be about our fudgy chocolate brownies, tasteful gourmet brownie gifts or outstanding service, we decided to share them throughout the entire company. We wanted a fun and exciting way to share the raves and brownie stories with our entire staff, so we came up with the Fairytale Brownies Rave Wave. The Rave Wave is a weekly announcement that includes some of the best customer raves shared over the loud speaker system throughout the entire building! Everyone loves knowing how their hard work, dedication and commitment to quality have resulted in so many positive customer experiences. Our customers let us know, without a doubt, that we are the Best Brownie Company around!
Whenever we have a catalog photoshoot planned, it takes a lot of hard work and organization behind the scenes to make it successful. We are getting ready for an upcoming photoshoot, which will take place in just a few weeks. From an Operational perspective, we work closely with the Catalog Team to make sure all the products and packaging materials needed are ready to shoot. Any new products or recipes scheduled for introduction must be finalized - we typically work on these at least a year in advance, sometimes more depending on the product being developed. We have a brownie test kitchen on site where we work our fairytale magic to create new flavors and brownie products, just like the brownie truffles we introduced last year. We are just now finalizing an all natural peppermint (candy cane) truffle for the coming holiday season - delicious!
My name is Kim Silva, Operations Team Leader for Fairytale Brownies. I oversee the Operations for the organization, which includes Production, Fulfillment, Human Resources and Customer Service.
We're coming to the end of a big week of Easter shipping and just around the corner is Mother's Day, another big holiday for brownie gifts! Before we know it the Winter holiday season will be upon us, so we'll actually begin our pre-season preparations right after Father's Day. This may seem a little odd, beginning Winter holiday season preparations in July, but for mail order companies such as Fairytale Brownies it's quite the norm. We'll keep you updated as season rolls in with a look behind the scenes at the operations of the Best Brownie Company in the world!
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