We were lucky to catch up with Amanda Henke recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Amanda thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I earned my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Hamline University in Minnesota from 2017-2019. I spent those two years reading craft books and other helpful books across all genres of Kid Lit and Young Adult. Prior to that I dabbled in creative writing but I never really took my writing seriously.

I am not sure that speeding up my learning process would have been a positive thing during my time in graduate school, in fact, I believe the opposite is true. The program was intense, and our semesters were packed with reading and writing deadlines. The pace felt appropriately urgent, but I would have loved to take some time and dive deeply into the study of certain topics or specific pieces I was writing.

As for essential skills, I believe my MFA program forced me to improve my lacking ability of time-management. During my time in school I was a single parent to my young son, so I had to make the most of any time I had to myself. I think my fondness for making daily schedules and the thrill of checking items off the daily list helped keep me motivated.

For me, if any obstacle stood in the way of learning more, it was only the time frame that I chose to attend graduate school. My son was 4 when I began, and it hurt to lose quality time with him in order to complete my assignments, but once I started school I had no choice. In the end it worked out well, because I actually included my son in discussions regarding much of my required reading and writing (of picture books for kids his age), and since then he has been my fiercest critic and my harshest, most treasured editor.

Amanda, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was born and raised in rural Minnesota, and have lived in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area for over twenty years. I earned my BA and MBA from The College of St. Scholastica, with a focus in Communication and Marketing. In 2012, my then-husband and I purchased a small business in southern Minnesota which manufactured caramels and popcorn. The company—Annie B’s, had excellent products but outdated branding. My first order of business was to work on a rebrand and updated packaging. This brand refresh caught the attention of Oprah’s Creative Director, Adam Glassman, at a large confection convention in Atlanta. He loved our look, and we had three and a half months to prove that our product was worthy of Oprah’s stamp of approval, and eventual placement in the November 2014 issue of O Magazine, the infamous “Oprah’s Favorite Things” issue. We got in! And it changed our lives. When Oprah’s “Favorite Things” were made public, Annie B’s sales spiked with a 75 percent increase over the same period the previous year, and website orders soared over 700 percent. It was a whirlwind of a time, and a great learning experience. I had the privilege to speak to local college and high school students about the benefits and potential impact of branding and thoughtful marketing, which was so fun. I am personally no longer involved with the company but Annie B’s is still in existence, with my ex-husband and friend Justin Henke at the helm. They have added new fun products to their line (notably, chocolate!), and the business is thriving.
After I decided to make a career change and leave Annie B’s, I went back to school to earn my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Hamline University. I was inspired by all of the wonderful books I read with my son, and I was hopeful I could learn to create some similar magic. My first picture book was published in February 2023 by Starry Forest Books, and is titled Not a Book About Bunnies. I am currently working on picture books, and have also started to dip my toes into writing screenplays for adults, mainly in the form of television pilots and short films. It is fun and challenging, and I feel like I have found my career passion, in writing.
I have been working with a screenwriting coach from NYU, and so I spend half of my time in New York City. The other half I am in Minneapolis, with my wonderful 12-year old son August.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

I like to think back to my time as Creative Director / Co-Owner at Annie B’s. As I stated previously, my then-husband and I purchased the company in 2012, and at that time it was mostly known as a point-of-sale item at hardware stores. The products were excellent but the branding and packaging were outdated. While the B2B market was strong for the business, we wanted to expand to appeal directly to consumers as well. We decided to invest in a complete brand overhaul, and had no idea what to expect. I was nervous to completely change the face of a brand with a steady, loyal customer base in our wholesale market. So, when I wrote the brief for the rebrand, I made sure to ask for a look that maintained a nostalgic feel, but with a modern touch. We shifted to a cleaner, brighter color palette and a different font in our logo, but the change in look wasn’t drastic. And happily, as mentioned previously, this is what lead to our inclusion in Oprah’s Favorite Things list of 2014. This rebrand, and attention from Oprah’s team lead to increased sales from a direct consumer market, which we tried to accommodate with consumer-friendly offerings and packaging, and an updated website appropriate for for B2C. It was scary and fun to update the look of a 30-year-old brand, but I believe the risk paid off.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I think my most interesting story about a career pivot began with a pregnancy craving for caramels. My then-husband (and current friend / co-parent) Justin and I were working in separate jobs, he for KLN Enterprises and I for University of Minnesota. But we dreamed of someday working together and running our own business. My one-year research contract with the university was up in November, I was pregnant, and I was craving caramels. I tried in vain to make my own “healthy” caramels in our kitchen, because I wanted to eat caramel but being pregnant I didn’t want to ingest a bunch of unhealthy corn syrup, refined sugar, etc. Cut to: me failing to make caramels at home! I tried recipes using honey, maple syrup, agave nectar and coconut sugar but none of them worked. I burned everything. Making caramels is very difficult! I was discouraged but Justin had a friend who was a sort of matchmaker for people looking to buy companies and business-owners looking to sell them. Justin met with him, and brought home a batch of Annie B’s Sea Salt Caramels. I (let’s recall together, I was PREGNANT) ate twelve caramels in one sitting, and decided we’d never come up with a recipe this delicious. And if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em! So we decided to purchase Annie B’s. Justin made the official verbal agreement on December 11, 2012, while I was in labor with our son August. He shook hands over the phone probably 3 hours before August was born. That was definitely the biggest day of my life! We took ownership of Annie B’s on December 31st of that same year, and while I’m no longer involved with the business, Justin is still running it and doing well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.amandahenke.com
• Instagram: @amandajhenke
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.henke.58/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-henke-79753012/

Image Credits

Lauren B. Photography