Miami Living Magazine

JoAnna Garcia Swisher

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Just add yourself Foodstirs, for the non-following-SMG-on-social media lot or the uninitiated, is a blossoming modern-bakery company that Gellar and Laibow are growing into a major e-commerce force with an assist from their new COO and co-founder, Greg Fleishman, now that the venture has gone retail. (Gia Russo, a successful cookbook writer and lifestyle brand developer, was originally involved with the company but stepped down in 2016. She and SMG collaborated on the upcoming hardcover release Stirring Up Fun with Food, which is due on April 4.) It all works rather simply: Shop Foodstirs at Fresh Market or Whole Foods or get a subscription (a Baker's Club monthly subscription is $19.99, shipping included). Open their elegantly no-frills packages of mixes, which contain USDA organic, GMO-free, fairly traded, easy-to-trace ingredients. Have fun baking and enjoy (the company promises you can whip up som'in' sweet in six steps or less). Oh, and share, share, share, if you like, for you just might hear from Gellar & Co. "We're always interacting with people. We respond to [social media] comments," says Laibow. "We are very engaged because the feedback we get shapes product innovation. We want Foodstirs to be the brand people buy," says Gellar. "I'll say it: We're aiming for world domination." The company already has taken small, yet strategic steps toward that goal. Its Instagram was followed by almost 51,500 people and its Twitter had almost 5,200 followers as of late January. Factor in Gellar's Twitter following (which is more than half a million strong), and you have yourself a small village. A movement passionate about slayin' the baking game. Which it is. Not two weeks into the new year, Gellar, Laibow, and Fleishman were invited to ring the Nasdaq closing bell from the Entrepreneurial Center in San Francisco, alongside the first graduating class of entrepreneurs to emerge from the 12-week Milestone Makers program. Foodstirs was not in the exciting program, but helping to steer the company and then being honored like that – not everyone gets to open or close a day of trading… – certainly has proven eye opening for Gellar. "Launching this business has been an education," she says during our chat. "We're learning something new about running this type of company every day, and it combines long-dormant talents with new abilities. And it's something that allows us to bring people on. We can include our kids in the process. Galit's background in PR and mine in front of the camera, that's not something that our kids could understand when they were a little younger, but this is a real partnership between us and a bonding mechanism with our friends and family and our followers." This brings me back to, yes – back to Buffy. At the end of the show, Gellar said in character that every girl who could have the power – who wanted it – would have the power only if she stood up to take it. If only she chose to be strong. To be a boss. With Foodstirs, SMG may not necessarily be aiming to inspire girls (and boys) all around the world, but the truth is she is. Because she's showing us that, if you really want something and go for it, success can taste oh-so-sweet. ML Foodstirs Modern Baking Mixes Organic Chocolate Chippy Organic Chocolate Lovers Brownie Organic Simply Sweet Vanilla Cake Organic Sweet Tooth Sugar Cookie Suggested Retail Price: $5.99 Foodstirs Modern Baking Kits Brownie Pop Celebration Cupcake Frosted Cake Pop Kits include organic mixes, supplies, and décor to create a fun treat Suggested Retail Price: $17.99 For more information about Foodstirs, visit foodstirs.com. Check it out on Instagram and Twitter @foodstirs.

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