We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brittany Pomplun a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Brittany, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

A good ole google search is how I came up with the name. I decided when I came up with the business idea that I didn’t want anything about it to be vulgar or crude. I was thinking about bachelorettes and I wanted people to see my product and laugh.

When I was talking to my mom about a name she googled alternative names for a p*n*s and started reading off some “list of 100 alternative names”. As soon as I heard Gigglestick, it was decided. I didn’t need to hear anymore. Gigglesticks was the perfect name. Easy to say, easy to remember, and when people see the product they giggle.

Brittany, 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?

First and foremost, I am a wife and a mother to two young (3yr & 5yr) boys. Second, I have always been very creative and had an entrepreneurial spirit. Since I was a child I have loved arts and crafts and creating things. In high school and college I was very into scrapbooking and baking. I was also into starting my own business and coming up with business ideas. In college, my first business idea was Christmas shopping for old, wealthy people (pre Amazon era). I only got one customer. After my first child, I was inspired and encouraged to open an Etsy shop selling travel snack boxes for kids. I also started a travel blog for families traveling with little ones. You get the picture, I love to create. I also love to travel and will gladly travel alone or with anyone to all parts of the world.

Fast forward to a year ago, I saw the p*n*s waffles in Spain and after a dinner in Old Town Scottsdale, where literally (we counted) 7 different bachelorette parties came in while we were there, I decided Scottsdale needed p*n*s waffles, I mean Gigglesticks! I saw a market for it and it hadn’t been done yet, so I decided I was going to do it. First, I bought the mold and started playing around with recipes (no store bought mix for Gigglesticks). Then I worked every night after my, at the time, 2 and 4 year old went to bed researching how I could do this legally. Finally, I spent the rest of my time working on my website and building out my business plan. I am also very outgoing and love a good party, so the idea of also having a Gigglesticks brunch option was a no brainer.

What sets my brand apart is instead of just doing generic p*n*s waffles, I wanted them to taste and look good which is why I decided to decorate them. I think a lot of people look at it and say, “oh look a p*n*s waffle” and laugh but the feedback and reviews that I have gotten are more than that. Review after review I hear “best waffles ever”. One time a food blogger sent me a video of another p*n*s waffle company. My first question was “is this your business?” When she said no and I asked why she sent it to me, her response was to show me the competition. It didn’t bother me. I know there will be competition but I also know that my product has a reputation for being beautiful and delicious.

I love my brand because I love to hear, see, and make people laugh. I create that for them. I get to be a little part of that silly, happy moment. It’s so fulfilling. I also get to create. I make Gigglesticks but I also love the social media aspect of it. I enjoy interacting with people and showing them all the aspects of a growing business. I just started shipping to all 48 states and that is because of the awesome feedback and requests of my followers.

I had a lot of people question me at the beginning. Most people laughed because they thought I was joking. When I gave my notice at work I was asked multiple times if I was sure about quitting. What started out as a silly (but serious) idea has blossomed into a booming business. Am I obsessed with p*n*s*s? No. Do I get to make people laugh and have fun doing it? Yes. Do I love what I do? Absolutely! I am so happy I went for the vision that I saw. It’s been hard work but it’s been so fun!

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I was actually working part time at a wholesale insurance company when I started Gigglesticks. I have two kids so I decided to dedicate about an hour or two a night after they went to bed to creating my website, researching, and building my side hustle. I started the business in September of 2022. In December of that year, I applied to be a vendor on the Bach App. I immediately got a call back and became a Bach App Scottsdale vendor. This would be the first big milestone for Gigglesticks.

After the new year, I was getting a ton of bookings and as time went on the bookings only grew. I was working 7 days a week and it was getting hard to manage my family, part-time job, and side hustle. At one point, I had my entire family working for me to make sure I could accommodate all of the bookings. Once I started turning down bookings to accommodate my part-time job, I decided I need to follow my creative passions and focus on building my brand. I quit my job in May 2023.

Since then I have put all of my time and energy into building. creating and expanding my brand. I have focused on growing my social media presence and expanding into manufacturing Gigglestick products. I spent the summer focusing on shipping and in August Gigglesticks launched its shipping packages. We now ship to 48 states. In September Gigglesticks also became a preferred vendor in Austin.

I have realized that just like anything in life, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I am currently working on this and think about it constantly. I don’t have a ton of followers but just in the last few months I have gotten some great feedback and started to pick up traction. I don’t think people realize how hard growing a following is. It’s extremely difficult to post every single day, do stories everyday, create reels, keep things new and interesting, etc. I now know why people hire a social media rep. However, my biggest piece of advice is just be yourself. Even if you sell a product, let the reason you created this brand and the energy you had for creating it show in your stories and posts. Most people don’t want to follow product, they want to follow a person so let them get to know that person who created this product/brand.

For me social media has been an awesome creative outlet. I want this brand to be authentically me. I want people to see my sense of humor and creativity through my posts. I don’t think you get the same result when someone else is managing it no matter how well they know your brand. I’m sure as a company grows it may need someone else to take control of the social media aspect, but in the beginning I think it’s extremely important to solidify what message you send followers and how your image is perceived. To the last point, I have had so many people reach out to me, comment, and engage with me when I post videos showing my face and talking to the Gigglestick’s followers or showing them behind the scenes. They feel like a part of Gigglesticks, not because of the waffle, but because they connect with the person creating it. Again, people connect better with people, not things.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.gigglesticksaz.com
• Instagram: @gigglesticks_
• Facebook: @gigglesticks_
• Linkedin: Brittany Pomplun