NEW BUSINESS SUCCESS STORY

TOOSIE'S GLUTEN-FREE | SUMMIT COUNTY, CO

 

 

At 30 years of age, professional chef, Deb Curcio, developed multiple food allergies and intolerances. Deb was determined to find tasty alternatives to foods she once loved but could no longer eat. Over the years Deb developed her own mixes and recipes for gluten-free baked goods. She and her husband, Jim, offered these gluten-free dishes in their restaurant in Dillon, Colorado. Prompted by friends, the Curcios decided to make their mixes and recipes available to the public. They sold their restaurant and developed easy-to-use mixes so people could prepare delicious gluten-free alternatives for those suffering from celiac or other gluten-based food allergies.  They had an idea, a product and a name when they approached Imagine That in 2010.

 

Over the course of the next several months, Imagine That helped Toosie's establish their brand identity. We also developed all the packaging for Toosie's mixes.  Imagine That designed Toosie's website and is currently working with Toosie's on its national online marketing strategy.  This has been a fun project with lots of twists and turns! We expect great things from Toosie's. (You've gotta try their stuff!)

 

Toosie's Project Development Process

Jim and Deb were not novices to building a business. They owned a successful restuarant in North Carolina, and Kula's, their former restaurant in Dillon Colorado, was a local's favorite! They had ideas of what needed to be done and how they wanted their new company represented. Nonetheless, there was a lot to do for Toosie's.

 

Building Toosie's Brand

The first thing we had to do was define Toosie's brand. This meant more than just designing a logo. Helping Deb and Jim really understand themselves, their market and their marketing message would be critical to creating a unique niche for them in the gluten-free marketplace. These things are often overlooked and yet they provide the foundation for all the images, icons and logo. Imagine That took Deb and Jim through a 17-step process over a number of weeks to help them thoroughly understand who they were, what they offered and why it mattered. Once the brand and brand message were in place, the work got easier...sort of!

 

Designing Toosie's Product Packaging

Toosie's main offerings are pre-made mixes for a variety of baked goods, baked goods you can make at home. Well, you can't simply put the mix in a baggy and put it on the grocery store shelf and hope it sells. Toosie's mixes needed to be able to compete side-by-side with other national brands like Betty Crocker, Pillsbury and Nabisco. Their product packaging needed to conform to federal standards on food marketing, ingredient listings, etc. This was no small undertaking. After several months of design, professional photography of the products and ensuring the packing conformed to legal standards, Toosie's line of gluten-free products was ready for distribution.

 

Building Toosie's Website

As part of Toosie's branding process, it was essential that Toosie's website reflect the look and feel of their products. The website needed to be classy, elegant and artistic, but not over shadow the star of the show - Toosie's line of gluten-free mixes. Toosie's website had to include e-commerce capabilities so their products could be purchased directly from Toosie's by their customers. Toosie's site needed to integrate well with a variety of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

 

Implementing Toosie's National Marketing Strategy

Launching a national brand without millions of dollars in marketing capital is a huge challenge. Fortunately, Toosie's products lend themselves very well to grassroots marketing using a combination of their website and a variety of online marketing strategies that include SEO, pay-per-click and social media marketing. Imagine That is currently working with Toosie's to develop its marketing campaign.

 

The Results

After several months of working with Deb and Jim from Toosie's Gluten Free, they are poised to launch a national business. They have made great tasting gluten-free products available to people who deal with food allergies, or people who just want to eat healthy. We are proud of Toosie's and proud that we get to be part of Toosie's story. Rock on Deb and Jim!