*By Carlo Versano* Sarah Michelle Gellar wants to slay the baking industry. The actress formerly known as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and her two partners are the brains behind Foodstirs, a new organic, non-GMO line of baking products that seek to inject some new life into a stale aisle of the grocery store. Partners Galit Laibow, Greg Fleishman, and Gellar told Cheddar in an interview Thursday that, as parents of small children, they all saw an opportunity to re-imagine the baking process when they noticed that most of the mixes on the market had hardly changed since their grandparents were using them. The opportunity was "hiding in plain sight," Gellar said. Foodstirs sells cake and brownie mixes, "bake your own" bars, and kits for pancakes, donuts, cake pops, and other treats for anyone with a sweet tooth. Products sell for an average of $5.99, Fleishman said, thanks to the direct-to-consumer model. "We get the best costs because we direct source." The organics craze has spread from a "hippy dippy" corner of the market and become one of the most-important attributes to the modern consumer, Laibow said. Still, amateur bakers were at the disposal of a $7 billion prepared-foods industry that was slow to transition to a healthier product. "People are more aware of what goes into the body," Laibow said ー and that extends to desserts. Foodstirs leverages social media and Gellar's star power to market itself as a disruptor ー "modern baking," as its tagline reads. For Gellar, her new role as an entrepreneur was a natural outgrowth of her other job: mother to two kids under 10. She said she noticed that the best "times of connection" in her house were around food, whether it was cooking or eating together. But she found that when it came to baking, most products were either delicious and bad for you, or nutritious and "taste free." Foodstirs aims to solve all the pain points of the home baker at once: ultra-clean ingredients, easy recipes, and a "from-scratch" taste. "We were answering our own problem," she said.

Share:
More In Business
Stretching Your Dollar: How to Negotiate Medical Bills
With high healthcare costs, bills can quickly add up. In some cases, it is possible to negotiate your medical bills. Barak Richman, law professor at George Washington University, joined Cheddar News to discuss the easiest way to talk to medical debt companies about what's owed.
Stretching Your Dollar: Navigating Insurance
Millions of people have selected insurance plans for 2024 but sometimes navigating them can be tricky time consuming and expensive. Paula Pant, host of 'Afford Anything' podcast, joined Cheddar News to break down what's needed to know about their insurance plans.
Study: Over 58% of Hybrid Workers Are 'Coffee Badging'
With more employees being called back to the office, many workers are suddenly protesting by being in the office for as little time as possible. As the term suggests, coffee-badging means coming in for just enough time to have a cup of coffee, show your face, and swipe your badge.
Securitize: Join The Private Credit Boom
Cheddar News' Need2Know is brought to you by Securitize, which helps unlock broader access to alternative investments in private businesses, funds, and other alternative assets. The private credit boom is here and the Hamilton Lane Senior Credit Opportunities Fund has tripled in assets under management in just six months from November 2022 through April this year. Visit Securitize.io to learn more.
Load More