Goldenrod Pastries - Empower Through Flour
CLIENT
Goldenrod Pastries
OVERVIEW
In March 2018, Bolster Media collaborated with Angela Garbacz, owner of Goldenrod Pastries in Nebraska, to launch "Empower Through Flour," a Women's History Month campaign. The initiative aimed to address the underrepresentation of women in the hospitality industry and inspire confidence in young girls. We partnered with the nonprofit organization I AM THAT GIRL to raise funds and awareness through the sale of special purple-themed items from select cities across the country. Over the course of three years, the campaign expanded, incorporating more talent, sponsors, and merchandise (however, the 2020 campaign was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
GOAL
The primary goal of Empower Through Flour was to inspire dialogue, action, and change regarding gender disparities in the hospitality industry. Through fundraising and awareness-building, the campaign aimed to support I AM THAT GIRL's efforts in empowering young girls. Bolster Media and Goldenrod Pastries sought to amplify the voices of women in the culinary industry and foster a sense of community and empowerment among participants and supporters.
APPROACH
In 2018, Bolster Media engaged female chefs and pastry chefs to participate in this month-long initiative. Participants created purple-themed menu items to sell in-store, with a portion of proceeds donated to I AM THAT GIRL. Bolster Media meticulously oversaw every facet of the campaign's development and executions, and facilitated media outreach to secure coverage in national publications.
In 2019, Bolster doubled the roster of participants and also leveraged powerful voices on social media platforms to amplify the campaign's message. In tandem, we secured donations from sponsors to create giveaways for the influencers that would incite more internet chatter.
In 2020, we expanded our initiative by welcoming renowned pastry chef Caroline Schiff as a co-founder, given her long standing support of Empower Through Flour and the friendship she built with Angela. We also partnered with Girl Up, a global leadership development movement founded by the United Nations Foundation, to expand our reach and impact.
While our campaign was cut short from the pandemic, we had built a dedicated campaign microsite, ran giveaways throughout the month with prize bundles from sponsors like Cherry Bombe, Tilit, Made In, Material, Potluck, Misen, Bob's Red Mill, and The Wooden Palate on social media, and collaborated with female artists and illustrators to create campaign-branded merchandise that was sold through our Etsy shop as an additional revenue stream.
Bolster Media also developed and shared tool kits for all collaborators to reference for promotional purposes.
RESULTS
RAISED $5,104.66 w/ 20 PARTICIPANTS
In its inaugural year, Empower Through Flour rallied 20 participants and raised $5,104.66 for I AM THAT GIRL. The initiative was recognized in national online publications such as Martha Stewart, Tasting Table, Restaurant Hospitality, Nation’s Restaurant News, and Food Republic, among others.
>DOUBLED TO OVER 50 CHEFS & INFLUENCERS
In its second year, Empower Through Flour more than doubled its participant pool to just over 50 chefs and influencers and was recognized in national online and print publications such as Shape, Rachael Ray Every Day, Bake From Scratch, and more.
RAISED $15,700 for I AM THAT GIRL
Overall, the initiative raised a total of $15,700 for I AM THAT GIRL, which was used to grow the organization’s peer-led local chapter programs, mobile app, and research-backed curriculums.
FEATURED ON NBC’S TODAY SHOW
Despite a strong start in 2020 with 70+ participants in 30+ cities across the country, the Empower Through Flour campaign had to be cut short. However, just days before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, NBC’s Today Show broadcasted a segment on the Empower Through Flour campaign and its partners, reaching millions of viewers nationwide.
FEATURED IN
