Like most sons, David Kravetz likes to boast that his mom's brownies are the best. But Kravetz, '88, put his money where his mouth was. In 1992, he teamed up with a childhood friend, Eileen Spitalny, to launch Fairytale Brownies, a venture built around a 42-year-old family recipe.
The pair sold their rich treats out of a tiny bakery in Phoenix that quickly turned into a magnet for tourists eager to bring a local specialty home to family and friends. The partners used only the finest ingredients -- fresh eggs, butter and real Belgian chocolate (the single "improvement" to mom's original concoction). Kravetz and Spitalny were amazed at how much people were willing to pay for their creations: $2 for a 3-ounce brownie.
The major breakthrough came in 1994, when the company began a mail-order business (with an online store, brownies.com, of course). Last year, Fairytale moved to a 10,000-square-foot production facility and shipped more than 1 million of its 12 flavors of brownies (top seller: original recipe). The secret of its success may be that Kravetz and Spitalny know how to get customers hooked. "We got where we are now by handing out lots and lots of free brownies," Kravetz jokes. "That tends to keep people happy and coming back for more."
