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

Michelle, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

That was seriously the easiest part of my 10 year stint! Mel’s actually stands for Michelle(me) and daughters Erin and Lauren. No, they don’t work for me. They have their own lives. I am happy and very proud to be their Mom. Those are two of the greatest girls out in the world, doing their thing.

Michelle, 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?

My name is Michelle Williamson. Mel is actually 3 people, Michelle(me and daughters Erin and Lauren. I had a five layer pretzel company prior to Mel’s Toffee.

I graduated from CMU with a Bachelors in Corporate Health with a minor in Marketing. In order to get thru college, I had to pay my way. I didn’t have scholarship or grant money. I paid out of pocket. During the summers, I worked two waitressing jobs (lunch shift at one place, dinner at another)in order to make enough money to float thru a few months rent, tuition, books, car payment, car insurance…..Actually, I would come home on Thursday nights. I would work Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights waiting on tables. Sunday night, I would make my way back up to CMU. Upon graduating, I had a hard time finding a job. I had waitressing to fall back on. I am thankful for all the years I spent in the restaurant industry. It taught me alot about dealing with people, job stress, difficult people and, most importantly, food. I eventually ended up getting a job in Cardiology(which is in line with my Major, Corporate Fitness). I would come home after my shift and was glued to the TV watching Emeril and Sarah Moulton cooking their hearts out. I was hooked on the food aspect of life.

Fast forward to March of 1999. My first ginger baby, Erin was born. Sixteen months later (July 2000), Lauren came into the world. My focus was them. Early on, they would “help” in the kitchen. Years moved on. I became a “dance mom” while they were in Irish dance. It was very important to me that I have the flexibility to be at everything they did (soccer games, dance classes, school plays, track and XC meets….).

One day, while shopping, I kept seeing two prominent toffee companies products. Curious, I bought one of each. After trying them, I asked myself,”is this all we have out there?” I got to work. I poured over many toffee recipes on the internet. I chose the one I still use today. My version is a very loose rendition of what it started out to be. I sent the girls to school with samples. They gave them to their friends. The Mom’s started calling and the company was born.

I started out REALLLLLY slowly. I wish I has the confidence then that I have now. Things moved at a snail pace. THEN 2020 hit. I had no choice but to get on EVERY wholesale online site I could get. We were busy….REALLLLY busy. I don’t regret putting myself out there.

Things have slowed down alot since then. Prices have skyrocketed. People aren’t spending what they used to. It’s been a challenge. I’m finding new and creative ways to get my name out there.

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

Get online. Grow as may “arms” as you can. By arms, I mean lanes of revenue. Get out in the public at events, you never know who is going to be shopping. It could be a new buyer.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I love reading Daymond John books. My favorite are:
Power of Broke
Rise and Grind

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.melstoffee.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/melstoffee
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/melstoffee