The latest addition to baked goods is a familiar face. Sarah Michelle Gellar, TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is making the leap into entrepreneurship and angling to be this generation's Betty Crocker with her new company Foodstirs.
“It’s incredibly difficult,” said Gellar in an interview with news source TechCrunch at the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center. “I think there is a novelty in ‘Let’s see Buffy bake!’ I think people see funny headlines and are like ‘Oh great, she’s either a spokesperson or this is going to be a good laugh, a good story we can tell at drinks on Friday night.’ Maybe it is easier to get in the door, but you still have to have concept proof to back it up.”
The company’s business model combines subscription services, new media, and natural food trends to bring baking kits, mixes, and related products to consumers and retailers.
Foodstirs’ products contain no commercial food dyes or artificial flavorings, and use USDA-rated organic, non-GMO, and fair-trade ingredients whenever possible.
And while the company, founded in September of 2015, sends its fair share of kits to subscribers, Foodstirs’ products are increasingly becoming available through traditional grocery channels. The company’s kits and mixes can be found at Whole Foods Market locations throughout the northeast and Gelson’s stores in California.
“We’re meeting consumers wherever they want to buy baking mixes most,” said Fleishman. “Online they get kits that are a little bit more craft, and offline they get standards like cookie, cake or brownie mixes,” said company COO Fleishman.
The company promotes its products actively on social media, too—publishing recipes on various social media platforms and even running an ongoing cooking show on Facebook Live featuring real Foodstirs customers.
“We’re all about building family and community so direct to consumer helps with that,” said CEO Galit Laibow, “Creating recipes and getting feedback online builds deeper brand loyalty.”
One can only hope David Boreanaz will follow up with his own Angel Food bakery brand.
For more on exciting startups in the bakery, deli, and dairy industries, stay tuned to Deli Market News.
