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

Hi David, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

David Bruce grew up cherishing his mother’s desserts and always enjoyed sharing them with friends. Of the many tasty treats, the peach cobbler was by far the most popular. For most of the last 25 years, David, his brother, and his mother, Evelyn, were inundated with requests for her delicious cobblers, from family,
friends, and acquaintances. David decided to leave his his job in 2018, and pursue a full-time business working from home. He approached Evelyn about selling her peach cobbler to the public and she agreed and
Aunt Evelyn’s Peach Cobbler was born. Currently, the company produces its desserts from a rented kitchen space using a variety of contract laborers under the direct supervision of the Bruces.

Aunt Evelyn’s Peach Cobbler is a top seller in Metro Atlanta restaurants and stores. Our customers
consistently state that it reminds them of the down-home dessert they grew up enjoying. Evelyn stays
loyal to that recipe and makes her cobblers fresh daily with only a handful of honest ingredients,
including ripe Georgia peaches, pure vanilla extract, and whole butter. This is what a true, down-home
peach cobbler is supposed to taste like that.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

David Bruce previously ran several businesses including a janitorial franchise, landscaping service, grant writing, and marketing campaigns. He has hired a food business consultant to ensure proper evaluation of production costs and has applied his business management experience to effectively market the products in the local Atlanta area as well as develop an online presence to facilitate internet sales.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Marketing Activities: The company currently has a website and email list derived from past customer orders. To expand the customer base we have implemented some low-cost marketing campaigns
including:
-Active marketing on social media with weekly posts on Facebook, Instagram, and Google Page including tracking “Where did you hear about us” to determine the effectiveness of the
various posts
-Email marketing campaigns to the current customer list including coupons, offers for gift
certificates, (e.g. purchase a $50 gift certificate, and get a $5.00 coupon for yourself to use on
your next order), and special promotions on new product offerings or existing products with
higher margins.
-Direct marketing with the distribution of flyers (restaurants, groceries currently
offering our products on their menus) offering coupons and incentives.
-Video advertising on YouTube
-Review incentives (online for Yelp and Google) and constructive feedback (on our website
and Facebook page or in stores via comment cards)
-Word of mouth from existing customers, offering a referral coupon for new customers that
mention a referral code that can be assigned to existing customers.
-Direct Mail Marketing to specific zip codes that contain high-income neighborhoods.

In addition to person-to-person marketing, we will continue to expand our
restaurant and grocery base through in-person sales calls, sample products, and corporate discounts
of 20% on volume orders of specific products that meet pricing criteria while still providing a profit

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

Metro Atlanta Locations:
Candler Park Market, Atlanta
Dogwood Pizza, Lawrenceville
Stone Mountain Public House, Stone Mountain
Georgia Sourdough, Doraville

Online Marketplaces::
Goldbely
Market Wagon/Kroger Farmers Market
Ezcaterer
Faire

Contact Info:

• Website: https://auntevelynspeachcobbler.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/auntevelynspeachcobbler/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/auntevelynspeachcobbler
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/jdWHTkirMAk?list=PLo5wuqeJ17NA6iIvlHsAggM_K0EuxuOZ6
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/aunt-evelyns-peach-cobbler-atlanta-2?osq=peach+cobbler

Image Credits
N/A