Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Maggie Norris. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Maggie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

This was difficult! There is A LOT going on in this candy and I wanted a name to reflect that. I came up with Bark Bombs pretty early, but I wasn’t 100% sold on it. I asked a lot of friends for suggestions and although they came up with some great ones, I kept coming back to Bark Bombs. Then I came up with the tagline “The Ultimate Sugar Explosion” and it finally felt right.

Maggie, 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 have owned and operated a small in-home cooking school since 2009. Because of the nature of my business, I was working mostly night and weekends. Many weeks I was working 5-6 nights in a row. My daughter wasn’t even 6 months old when I started so I never really knew what it was like to have consecutive evenings with her and my husband. Over COVID, I obviously had to shut down and I was able to spend every night with my family. It was great! I was able to make dinner and be a part of their nightly routine.

My husband and I decided that I would cut back to 3 classes per week once things relaxed a bit with COVID. It was working out well, but I was getting a little bored with the extra time on my hands. I had started making a version of chocolate bark in the fall of 2021 and sold it at a holiday boutique in December. One day it hit me that this is what I wanted to do to fill my time and Bark Bombs was born. Within two weeks of that realization, I had a logo and an Instagram page. I launched it for Valentine’s Day and sold about 425 boxes. That was all I needed to keep me going.

Bark Bombs are by no means an artisanal culinary creation, but the ingredients appeal to a lot of people. The OG (or signature Bark Bomb) is layers of Ghirardelli white and bittersweet chocolate, Oreos, plain M&Ms, pretzels and rainbow sprinkles. It is a great combo of salty and sweet. My tagline is actually “The Ultimate Sugar Explosion.” The response has been amazing. I think the other thing that appeals to people is it is something totally different and they can be given for so many occasions. So far they have been given as party favors, table favors at charity events, client gifts and teacher gifts. The options are endless!

At the moment, I am offering two sizes. One is the Bark Bomb bar and that is in a box measuring 4″x1″x3″ and the other is Bark Bombs Bits which come on a box measuring 3 1/2″x1″x2 1/2″. The Bits come in large pieces.

I also have PB+C which is peanut butter and chocolate. I use Reese’s chips instead of white chocolate, Nutter Butters instead of Oreos and peanut butter M&Ms instead of plain. Two new flavors will be coming out soon for summer.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I definitely had to pivot during COVID and take my other business on-line. But the truly unexpected pivot was cutting back on cooking classes and going from selling a service to selling a product. My cooking class can practically run itself at this point, but selling a product is a totally different animal and there has been a HUGE learning curve. To be honest, there have been several huge learning curves!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I am lucky enough to have a good reputation from my cooking school. My cooking school clients have been incredibly supportive in buying Bark Bombs and also spreading the word. I think they knew if I created an edible product, they would at least have to try it!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barkbombscandy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barkbombs

Image Credits
1. Life Created 2. Maggie Norrris

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