Send Brownies

This has been an extremely eventful week here at Fairytale Brownies.  As our loyal readers know, one of our Customer Service Team members is having a baby.  Well, she's due anytime now, and we decided to throw her a Fairytale Surprise Party!


Needless to day, any good party here at Fairytale includes the best brownies on earth!  (No, the cake is cake, brownies were later.)  Tanika was so surprised and pleased...and I hope Mackel will be pleased with all the love shown by all our people here, and I'm sure he will be.

On Tuesday, we're kicking our season into high gear with the arrival of our seasonal employees here in Customer Service. They will be here until just before Christmas to help us send brownies, cookies, and all of our other corporate food gifts for the holiday season.  We have one who is with us for his fourth season, and has started with us already!  Welcome back Tony "The Confrontation" Sanders!   

As a side note, Rosh Hashanah will commence at sundown on September 8th this year, so, Happy New Year!

Let's start off first with receiving the white Fairytale box! Friday afternoon after a long work week - what a TREAT! Well done... well done! Every time I've ever received something from you guys in the mail, the apartment complex management is ALWAYS intrigued when they see "Fairytale Brownies" on the box. They get more excited than ME to know what sort of package I've just received!

I got the package inside my place and opened it up to find the very classy brown box and purple wrap. Each cookie is individually wrapped and let's just say if we were reviewing these cookies alone - they'd get a perfect 10. I've been sharing and eating my own share of Fairytale Brownies since 2003, so I knew I was in for a big treat!

The first cookie I tried was the Double Chocolate Cookie, and it was DELECTABLE! It was cooked to perfection. The cookie was moist, not gooey... It didn't fall apart in your hand. It didn't crumble all over you either. It was perfection! It held together while eating it - but yet melted in your mouth. I decided to wait until AFTER dinner to try the Caramel Pecan Cookie - and I must say - I'm typically not a fan of nuts in my cookies or brownies. I don't add them when I make them myself, and most often find myself picking them out of they ARE in a cookie or brownies. But this combo... The caramel and the pecan... You guys have outdone yourselves! There were JUST enough pecans to match the sweet caramel flavor. These cookies tasted as though they had just come out of MY oven! They didn't taste packaged or store bought. They tasted better than any cookie I've ever purchased.

Well done, Fairytale Brownies! You have created another treat that will satisfy any cookie lover! Enjoy the pics!


Name: Minda C.
City:
State: Texas

Hi Fairytale Fans!

I am writing this blog on behalf of our Human Resources Assistant, Janet. Janet recently sent a package of fudge brownies to her cousin Liz, and Liz's grandkids, Carson and Riley. Carson and Riley were so excited about the brownie gift that they decided to create a homemade waffle recipe using the best brownies, Fairytale Brownies! I have to admit, while writing this blog my mouth began to water. The recipe sounds delicious and very simple to make.  Thank you Carson and Riley for such a yummy homemade waffle recipe. I can't wait to try these at home with my own son, Austin. What a great way to spend quality time together while eating delicious fudge brownies! If you'd like to use Fairytale Brownies for your recipe too, just visit brownies.com and send brownies to yourself today! 

Fairytale Chocolate Chip Banana Waffles

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1 and 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large or 2 small bananas (mashed)
• 1 crumbled up Chocolate Chip Fairytale Brownie

Directions:

• Preheat Waffle Iron
• In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs until fluffy
• Add remaining ingredients and mix together
• Spray waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray
• Pour mix into hot waffle iron and cook until golden brown.
• Keep warm in oven while remaining waffles cook.

Carson & Riley pictured below.

Got my Fairytale Cookies in the mail today and they are great! They came packed with an ice pack to help keep them cool and the packaging was beautiful! I am very impressed! Thanks so much! I will recommend them to ALL my friends!

Name: Lee Ann Durbin
City: Republic
State: Missouri

Every month during the off season, Fairytale Brownies team members gather for an all staff meeting that includes lunch and a celebration of staff birthdays and anniversaries. For the last few months, we've been reviewing each department's duties and procedures. We call these gatherings, "Learning Lunches."

The Marketing Team (Catalog, Web, PR, Corporate Sales and Wholesale) shared its procedures today with a friendly game of Fairytale Jeopardy!

Emcee Eileen (pictured in top photo) read the clues from five Marketing categories (Fairytale Potpourri; C's The Day; Around The World; Sell, Sell, Sell; and It's In The Mail) while three different teams vied to answer with the most correct questions.



Team Brownie: "Around the World for 100, Eileen."
Eileen: "Also known for its beer, this European country produces the fine chocolate we use in our brownies."
(A bell rings.)
Eileen: "Team Sprites, your answer?"
Team Sprites: "What is Belgium?"
Eileen: "That is correct!"

Donna and Leslie are pictured here cheering Team Sprites's correct answer.


Some of the answers were a little tricky, so our Marketing Judges were called upon to determine a question's correctness. You can barely see our judges, Kari and Holly, way in the back of this photo.

The first-place team received mini board games for each member, while second- and third-place teams received "lovely" parting gifts of their own.

I know we've posted about our soon-to-be-launched Fairytale Cookies before, but I have to share some of the feedback we've gotten from early tasters. These new cookies come in two flavors (Double Chocolate and Caramel Pecan), and come in the same gift packaging as our gourmet brownies, so you can have your cookies delivered the same way you send brownies.

A bunch of our local Phoenix friends  tasted the new cookies last week at Buzzcation, and have been tweeting their reviews ever since. Thanks for all the kind words, everyone!

@Littlebitofmoni - I am finally eating my @ftbrownies Double Chocolate cookie from #buzzcation, and it is muy delicioso!!! Perfectly sweetened, great texture..

@JRFox10 - holy cow that chocolate cookie you gave out at #buzzcation w/ @districtkitchen was one of the greatest treats eva!!

@erinjohnston - I can't even believe how good this cookie is. Wow.

@lafinguy - Just have to say, I had @ftbrownies double chocolate cookies with my coffee this morning and they were FABULOUS! (my kinda coffee cake)

@paulvalach - mmm mmm mm JUST opened a caramel pecan cookie from you,, WOW moist and deeee...lish...

@CordMoorhead - I do have to say, those are some very tasty cookies @ftbrownies Looking forward to seeing them in the next catalog.

@DankaMarketing - umm yeah. i MAY have killed the entire chocolate cookie before i got out of the parking garage.


*Get ready, cookies are coming Sept. 8th!*

I know it's only August, but it's never too early to think about Holiday Gifts! If you are thinking about ordering early to save money, Fairtyale Brownies has the deal for you! Now you can Save up to 30% when you order your holiday gifts by August 31st! If you're not sure what decadent brownie gifts to order, just place a deposit to secure your discount. Call customer service at 800.531.5209 and we'd be happy to help you get started! Or, you can visit our website, brownies.com for more Volume Discount/Early Order Discount details.

With Early Order Discounts:

• No addresses or brownie gift selections needed.
• Just prepay now and place your order when you're ready.
• We'll help you find the best holiday gifts for your budget and follow up as the holidays approach!

Don't forget to look for delicious NEW GIFTS and delicious new Fairytale Cookies starting September 8th. With Fairytale Brownies, you'll not only be sending the finest all-natural gourmet brownies, but you'll also receive our world-class service. Visit brownies.com/new for a sneak peak at our new gifts coming your way soon! 

Yesterday we celebrated the 10-year employment anniversary for a number of our team members.  When you order brownies from Fairytale Brownies, remember that there is a dedicated and professional team behind the scenes.  

There were three team members celebrating anniversaries in August.  Kim Brandimarte is our Shipping Team Leader who makes sure that when we ship brownies around the world, everything is packed to perfection.  Chris Corn runs our retail store here in Phoenix and provides gourmet brownies with a warm and welcome smile to our walk-in customers.  Donna Baker is our Controller and she ensures that every time we send brownies, all of the financial accounting is complete and accurate.  We also honored Jen O'Flynn with a belated recognition plaque.  Jen oversees the customization of packaging for our corporate gifts.  She has been a team member for over 10 years.

Fairytale Brownies would not be the success it is today without the hard work and dedication of these incredible team members!  Eileen and I learned early in business that we cannot succeed alone.  We have spent many years building an empowered workplace filled with dedicated, hard working and, most importantly, happy people.  Thank you to all of our Fairytale Team Members!!






















Kim, Chris and Donna celebrating 10 Fairytale years!























Eileen, Jen, Kim, Chris, Donna & David with 10-year recognition plaques

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!!

I am enjoying the sights of Portland, Oregon, this week, while sending my son off to dental school. 

We left the Arizona desert Saturday and began the 20-hour drive to the much cooler mecca we call the Pacific Northwest. Of course we brought with us the perfect comfort food - gourmet brownies from Fairytale Brownies. The Magic Morsels were a great pick-me-up after the first 10 hours on the road, but we saved some of them for later. Once he's all moved in (we're almost finished), we'll have a brownie break. 

If you're sending your son or daughter off to school, be sure to include the perfect comfort food - Fairytale Brownies.

I just wanted to share some of the great comments and raves that we've had pouring in to our customer service center about our great Fairytale Brownies and our excellent service! Here are some of the best ones from this week:

Fairytale Brownies offers a huge selection of brownie gifts in every price range - the quality is top-notch. My families request for birthdays is that I send birthday brownies! So easy to order brownies online and the shipping is a great value. ~ Stephanie B., TX

Our entire family enjoys the fudge brownies from Fairytale Brownies, and when there is a time for a special treat, we always look to Fairytale. Thank you for such an excellent product! ~ Ruth B., PA

I received Fairytale Brownies recently as a housewarming gift and loved them so much that I'm sending brownies to my Dad for his birthday! ~ Vic J., AZ

Great product! Ordering brownies online couldn't have been easier. I really appreciate the reduced shipping promotion. ~ Mary S., PA

I enjoyed Fairytale Brownies when I received them as a gift. The people I have sent them to raved that they were the best brownies too! ~ June F., IL

Visit us online at brownies.com for more information or to order brownies online! 

Even though it's the last week of July, in Arizona we are getting ready for our children to return to school. Some area schools are already back in session!

Don't forget to include Fairytale Brownies in those lunch boxes.

Magic Morsels are a perfect bite-sized ending to any brown bag lunch. They are available in Original, Chocolate Chip, Caramel, Walnut and Sugar-free Original flavors.

Need a little larger size option? Try our Sprites - they're 3" x 1.5" and equal to one serving size. Sprites are available in 12 flavors.

Order your gourmet brownies online and they will be shipped to your door. Buy them in bulk without the special packaging and receive an even better price. Just put the spare brownies in the freezer (they'll stay fresh for up to 6 months) and use as needed.

Now that you've got lunches covered, time to focus on back-to-school clothing!

I am very excited this week, because Thursday morning I am heading out of the Phoenix heat to some (hopefully) cooler temperatures on the Connecticut coast to spend a week with my parents and my sister's family, including the two most adorable nieces in the world (I may be biased, but they're pretty stinking cute). If there's one thing I've learned about being a cool aunt, it's to always have some fudgy Fairytale Brownies when I visit! I'm taking a Magic Morsel Dozen for the girls so they have their very own bite-sized gourmet brownies to devour. Since my dad just turned 60, I decided I should take him a Happy Birthday brownie gift as well. I think I'll take the Birthday Sprite 24 so he has plenty for himself and to share with the rest of the adults, who are always very happy when I send brownies for the holidays.

Every year the catalog & web team here at Fairytale Brownies discusses improvements and updates to our catalog and website based on what our customers are asking for. We listen very closely to what our customers' requests are and plan for updates and upgrades. We do this not only to stay close to our customers, but we strive to stay technologically competitive and implement features and benefits that are industry standard.

For example, on our website brownies.com we've just added a great new feature called "Enlarge/More Views" for our product details pages. This allows the customer to see close-up beauty shots, or "zoomed views" before they buy brownies. This will help the customer in understanding exactly what they are purchasing when they buy brownies for themselves or send brownies as a gift from Fairytale Brownies. For example, based on a simple product photograph, some customers did not realize our gourmet brownies are individually wrapped for freshness with all nutritional information listed on each brownie wrapper. 

Another feature we are adding both to our website and catalog (coming September 1st) is a full and complete description of the gourmet brownies including quantities/flavors in each brownie gift. Previously, we've included a product description with a descriptive photo for the customer. Now, we will be including all flavors, inclusions, weights, and their respective quantities in every brownie gift.  

Along with some really cool new features and benefits, we are debuting a fresh new look for both our catalog and website. Our corporate branding will remain the same, however, both channels will be updated with a modern and airy look and feel. We're excited for our customers to see these updates! Our catalog and web team has been working hard to get these updates ready for the Fall/Holiday 2010 rollout. Request a catalog here if you aren't already on our mailing list, and/or visit brownies.com after September 1st. You won't want to miss these updates :). Oh, and the delicious gourmet brownies are divine too, tee hee. 

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.

Recently, I became a part of the KaBOOM! build team, and I'm doing my best to assist with some additional fundraising to make our new build possible!  We've held meetings, sent emails, everything, trying to come up with WONDERFUL gourmet brownie based ideas to help this wonderful charity raise the funds to build another beautiful, safe playground for deserving kids.

We have an event on July 22nd, at the Sleepy Dog Brewery in Tempe, AZ at 6:00pm, featuring our Belgian Chocolate Brownies paired with their handcrafted brews.  Admission is only $15, and all proceeds go to KaBOOM!  We have the event posted on our Facebook page; just RSVP if you'd like to attend.

Our 2nd major event is on September 10th, at the Ocotillo Golf Resort in Chandler.  This is a golf tournament sponsored by Aerotek Industries, $95 per person, $350 per team, or $450 per team with hole sponsorship.  It includes the 18 holes of golf and the cart, as well as some extra goodies, AND since we're partnering with Aerotek for the tournament, Gourmet Brownies will be served!  If you're interested, here is a link to the registration form and details:  cdn.content.compendiumblog.com/uploads/user/ff23ca86-5016-423d-b8e7-eea72065d36e/1adc32d5-a44a-4298-b0d9-623757f73165/File/28fc1983e33a8a9ae8de908f04c89591.pdf

As always, if you can't participate in any of our upcoming fundraisers, you can always donate a dollar, $5 or $10 online when you order brownies on our website. I'll keep you all posted on our upcoming events!  For more info about KaBOOM!, and our upcoming project, visit out website at www.brownies.com/facts_info/kaboom.aspx.

On a personal, side note, I've discovered a new site www.mommylingo.blogspot.com, and started posting there as well, just little tidbits about being a mom and the crazy situations you occasionally come across.  She loves Fairytale Brownies too!  Check it out!

We are down to the wire with our Fall and Holiday Fairytale Brownies catalogs this week! We've been working hard for months, and will be sending the files for our gourmet brownie gifts catalog to the printer on Friday. The photo on the left is a stack of all the edits we made just in the last week! All this hard work can make us a little crazy, but it is always worth it in the end to see the mouthwatering catalogs full of our fudgy brownies and cookies that will be on their way to you soon! We've made some changes this year, and we hope you love these catalogs as much as we do. And if you aren't on our mailing list yet, fill out this form to ensure you'll have a catalog when you want to send brownies or have cookies delivered to your friends and loved ones this fall!

This past weekend, I took my son to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA to celebrate the Independence Day holiday. It was the perfect weekend. We had absolutely gorgeous weather and the crowds were not too bad. The excitement in the air was palpable; we were ready to celebrate America's freedom with a bang! The main reason we went to Disneyland for Independence Day was for the amazing fireworks show they put on every year. Growing up in Southern California, I know how Disney does it up every year, so I was excited to share that with my son. Here we are standing in line for our favorite ride, the Matterhorn roller coaster!

While we were there the most amazing thing happened....and I realized what a small world it is after all. Just before the fireworks began at 9:30, we were trying to strategize the best place to view the show. We decided that the restaurant on the tip of Main Street right in front of the castle was the best place. Apparently my idea was not original because it seemed that there were lots of people out there too.  Then, I was approached by a woman who said, "You're more than welcome to join us at our table for the fireworks show." I was so excited, because her table just happened to have a completely unobstructed view of this great show! We gladly accepted her invitation and got to chatting pre-show. 

Turns out..... she is from AZ. Her daughter went to Patterson Elementary which my son currently attends, and we live about 5 miles from eachother! While we were exchanging contact information, I mentioned that I worked at Fairytale Brownies. Again to my amazement, she said that the doctors office she works at has gourmet brownies delivered frequently from patients. She loves our brownies and uses us to send brownies to her friends and family too. It was so awesome to meet new friends - and in the most unlikely of places! "It's a small world after all!!"

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-8257
We 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!

One more week before my vacation! This summer I'm going to New Zealand for three weeks.  And I'm taking Fairytale Brownies along with me.  Throughout the year, I send brownies to friends all around the country and internationally too. This time instead of shipping brownies, I'll be able to hand deliver them with a smile.  But I don't know if I'll be able to resist eating some on the 12 hour plane ride! Having a fudge brownie or two may help the time pass more quickly. 

This fall I'll be able to have some of our brand new gourmet cookies delivered.  Until then, gourmet brownies will have to do.  I'll be sure to take lots of pictures of Fairytale Brownies in the land of the Kiwi.  Hey, could that be a new Fairytale flavor?