Ferrara Candy’s director of marketing for distinctive brands, Rachna Patel, has been working on brand development with Famous Amos. In doing so, Patel believes that it is important to go back to where it all started with the brand’s creator, Wally Amos. Patel is ensuring that Amos’ legacy is honored through the authenticity that was first created in his kitchen. The National Black Chamber of Commerce and Famous Amos partnered to create the Ingredients for Success initiative, which will award a $50K grant to three small-business owners with big dreams just like Amos. Patel breaks down what she hopes the recipients take away from this experience.

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Describe how the Famous Amos brand was built.

Famous Amos is a brand that was started in 1975 by Wally Amos. He had a strong passion for making cookies out of his home and eventually had a bakery. He really broke the mold in terms of how people went to market within the cookie space. As he continued to grow, he ultimately ended up selling his business. Through multiple acquisitions, in the last couple of years, the brand was acquired by Ferrara Candy Company. As we look at the equity of what the brand really stood for, it was all about quality ingredients. That was what he was passionate about, bringing great-tasting cookies to the market.

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How are you supporting businesses with the grant?

It goes beyond the $50,000 because once you get that check, what do you do with it? How do you stay sustainable? The mentorship and networking that they will be able to access because we’ve partnered with the National Black Chamber of Commerce, that’s really what makes this special and different. We want to make sure that it’s sustainable and that they don’t take that $50,000 and then end up in that same situation a couple years down the road because they don’t have the support or somebody to ask questions on how to take their business to the next level.

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What should entrepreneurs know about using social media to leverage their brand?

I think the biggest element of social media is social, right? It’s an opportunity for you to have a two-way conversation. Whatever content that I’m putting into our social media feeds, whether it’s Instagram or Facebook, they need to be relevant to what my consumers are looking for.

What do they want to have a conversation with me about? Once they respond, it’s important that it’s not like talking to a black box. There’s somebody on the other end that’s responding. Whether it’s a very simple question like, “Where can I find these new products” or something more detailed, really making sure that we have a conversation matters. That’s the biggest piece about social media that a lot of brands kind of fall short on. They know it’s the next thing, and it’s important to do, but they don’t have the follow-through.

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