Buffy Bakes: Sarah Michelle Gellar on Entering 5 Billion Dollar Baking Industry
Sarah Michelle Gellar didn’t always know how to bake
— -- Sarah Michelle Gellar didn’t always know how to bake. In fact, it was because she didn’t know how to bake that lead her to start a culinary lifestyle company, Foodstirs.
On a recent episode of Real Biz with Rebecca Jarvis, Gellar shared her story of how one trip to the grocery store to buy a baking mix became the beginning of her entrepreneurial journey.
“I was so shocked because there was this real hole in the category," Gellar says. "There was either the traditional baking mix, the legacy brands that are full of dyes and chemicals. Or the other end were these gluten free, very expensive, and honestly didn’t taste that great. And I thought, what about for the person that wants good ingredients and taste -- where does that exist?”
So Gellar teamed up with two friends to cofound Foodstirs, created with the shared belief that the kitchen is the one place in a home where families can put down devices and make genuine connections. The company makes cooking kits and baking mixes, with non-GMO and organic ingredients and recipes that can be executed easily in six steps or less.
Taking on the $5 billion baking category isn’t easy even for a celebrity, and Gellar didn’t want to use that to help build the brand.
“I value the work that I put into my life and my career and I could never just slap my name on it,” she told ABC News’ chief business, technology and economics correspondent Rebecca Jarvis.
Outside of acting, producing and her busy business career, there are more than a few things about this “Buffy” actress that even her most avid fans might not be aware of.
Here are three lesser-known facts about Gellar:
1. Her nickname growing up was Spenser.
Like many childhood monikers, Gellar was donned ‘Spenser’ from one seemingly insignificant instance that just caught on and seemed to stick.
“I missed school one day to do an episode of ‘Spenser: For Hire’, and then people started calling me that.” Gellar said.
Even now, she still responds to nicknames (although perhaps thankfully, ‘Spenser’ appears to be a name of the past).
“Everyone calls me SMG or SMP,” she said. “That’s how most people refer to me.”
2. She’s a thrifty shopper.
For some, there’s a real thrill in finding a great bargain, and Gellar definitely loves to hunt for a good deal –- although it wasn’t always that way.
“Before I had kids, I’d walk in and be like, ‘I’ll buy those Lanvin boots, I’ll take that Chanel purse.’ Now, the thought of it, I’m just like, ‘I can’t do it, I’m going to Century 21,’” Gellar shared. “And some Nordstrom’s Rack too.”
3. Her favorite Buffy episode?
Actually, she has two:
“The prom episode to me sort of encompassed everything that was beautiful about her story and the sadness mixed with the triumph.” Buffy, AKA Gellar said.
Her second favorite is just in time for Halloween:
“I loved the silent episode – those were spooky. Plus my favorite thing about the silent episode was I was like, ‘This are going to be so easy, like no lines.’ Oh my god, it was so much more work to tell the story without using the words!” She said, laughing. “Like yeah, it was way more stressful than I thought.”
For more from her interview, watch Real Biz with Rebecca Jarvis, and follow @RebeccaJarvis for more live interviews like this one.
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