azcentral.com:
An old family recipe launched a successful home-based business for Donna Gabrilson a few years ago.
Now Gabrilson and her daughter and business partner, Stacey Barnes, have embraced a new brand to grow their Scottsdale-based GoodyTwos Toffee Company.
In 2004, the newly divorced Gabrilson wanted to make some extra money, so she began selling toffee made from her great-grandmother’s recipe at area farmer’s markets. “It was always a big Christmas treat that I would make for friends and family,” she said.
Two years ago, Barnes joined her mother in the business and they opened the retail shop in 2008. The two feared they might have a dismal holiday season, typically their peak selling time. But the corporate orders started arriving in December and they worked around the clock making batch after batch of toffee. Barnes specializes in adorable, colorful packaging. They sold 8,000 pounds – better than they expected.
After Christmas, mother and daughter rethought their business. They had never nationally trademarked the Market Street name, and there was a similar business in North Carolina. After consulting with lawyers, they decided to rebrand.
They worked with Cindy Gombert, owner of Scottsdale-based Lunabrand Design Group. “The really great thing we found about them was a great relationship between mother and daughter,” Gombert said. “The mother is based on tradition and the daughter was really contemporary and wanted to push the limits. There’s your brand.”
They changed the name to GoodyTwos Toffee Company and the new logo is a silhouette of them both. They added a shot of bright apple green to their crisp brown and white color palette.
Rebranding meant adding contemporary flavors. They spent the summer tasting a lot of toffee, adding several flavors, including Sweet and Salty, made with dark chocolate with a sea salt crunch, and Double Trouble, made with peanuts and milk chocolate and topped with miniature peanut butter cups. There’s a seasonal Peppermint Bark as well. Unlike traditional pull-your-fillings-out toffee, GoodyTwos has a delicate crunch and rich chocolate finish.
Image from GoodyTwos Toffee Company