Most family businesses fail in the third generation. Stephanie Stuckey is determined to make sure Stuckey’s not only survives, but scales. Fran Racioppi Jumped In with Stephanie to catch up on their Episode 28 conversation from last September and to discuss just how she continues to rebuild the Stuckey’s brand taking their candy products from 1000 to 5000 stores. 

She bought her grandfather’s roadside stop and candy business out of near bankruptcy in 2019 because she knew only a Stuckey could save the iconic foundation of the American road trip. Stuckey’s was a fond memory for many of us growing up in the backseat of our parent’s cars. Stephanie’s making sure our kids have the same experience.  

Learn more about Stephanie and Stuckey’s at stuckeys.com and follow them on social media @stuckeystop.

Find more episodes on The Jedburgh Podcast Website and check out our video versions of all episodes on YouTube. Subscribe to us and follow @jedburghpodcast on all social media. 

Highlights:

-0:00 Welcome to Atlanta

-6:40 Not the start-up, the scale-up 

-9:10 Reinventing the road trip

-12:05 From tree to table business model

-15:45 The best  Stuckey’s products 

-19:22 Branding is about creating an emotional connection 

-24:17 The A.I.R method for successful social media posts

Quotes:

-“We’ve had to reinvent the brand.” (6:58)

-”I had to come up with a way to make money when we don’t own or operate any of the stores.” (7:30)

-”In order to move the brand forward I have to be almost brutally honest and realistic about where the brand is today.” (9:43) 

-”The more you control the supply chain the better.” (14:05)

-”My favorite is a flavor that we don’t have out yet..and that’s the teriyaki pecan.” (15:53)

-”People don’t like to be sold to. People are more interested in emotion.” (20:32) 

-”I’m not in the business of simply making a profit.” (21:15)

This episode is brought to you by Jersey Mike’s, 18A Fitness, & Analytix Solutions.