When Dan and Lisa Anglim purchased Columbus brownie empire Sugardaddy’s Sumptuous Sweeties in November of 2013, they got a little more than they bargained for. Right away, they lost their retail storefront at Easton when the shopping center decided to go a different direction. Then there was the Gay Street fire in April 2014 that extinguished yet another retail spot. On top of that, Sugardaddy’s was facing a trademark infringement lawsuit.
“We just had a lot of unforeseen situations come up,” Anglim says.”Once we found ourselves in kind of a smaller situation, we thought about it strategically. How would we like to grow back up?”
While the Polaris location remains in place, “We will continue to have that freestanding store,” Anglim says, Sugardaddy’s has looked to partnerships with other businesses to rebuild their retail presence. The owners decided against freestanding stores because as a smaller retailer with a low-pricepoint product, overhead was too high.
A partnership with Whitt’s Frozen Custard in Short North is introducing a new audience to Sugardaddy’s, while placements at Celebrate Local at Easton and J Gumbo’s downtown on Gay Street are reconnecting with established audiences.
“We want to get back out in and around Columbus where we used to have visibility to get that visibility back,” Anglim says.
Whitt’s and J Gumbo’s will carry the full line of Sugardaddy’s nearly 20 flavors of brownies, along with pocket change, biscotti, truffles and cheesecake. J Gumbo’s treats will be individually wrapped for a more grab-and-go option that adds a bit of shelf life as well. Celebrate Local will carry all the extras but not individual brownies.
One thing has remained constant amid new owners and a different retail model.
“All of the recipes were brought forward,” Anglim says. Same great brownies, with some possible new additions in the works.
With three new partnerships in two months, Sugardaddy’s is letting the dust settle before they decide if they want to further expand on the partnership model. In the meantime, “We’re also building our online business,” Anglim says. A more user-friendly website redesign that’s just a few weeks away from launch will make the online shopping experience easier. The next six to nine months will also focus on growing the corporate gifting side of the business.
Things haven’t been an all uphill battle for Anglim.
“The positives are the founders developed an incredible brand and an incredible product,” she says. And by weathering the storm, “We feel like we have our retail presence back to where we would like it to be right now.”
For more information, visit sugardaddys.com.
