LOS ANGELES — Wonderland Bakery®, the unique and authentic kids' brand targeting the fun experience around baking, opened its new location and flagship store at The Grove in Los Angeles this week. From their original store in Orange County, CA, Wonderland's deeply loyal following, fantastical design, high quality sweet treats, whimsical gift and branded toys selection have culminated in establishing Wonderland Bakery as a powerful kids' brand with a nationwide customer base in just five years.
Leading youth brand builders, Peter Adderton of Skycrest Ventures and Fred Goldring of Goldring Strategies have partnered with Wonderland Bakery founders, Allyson and Sondra Ames, to take the Orange County-based company to the next levels of brand growth. Retail expansion, licensing ventures, merchandising programs and the development of various entertainment properties are all key parts of the new business plan as Wonderland Bakery grows into a national, vertically-integrated experiential and family entertainment property. Skycrest Ventures and Goldring Strategies will provide overall brand strategy, expansion execution and investment capital.
"Wonderland Bakery has experienced incredible brand growth over the last five years, becoming synonymous with youth activities, enjoyment and specialty baking," said Allyson Ames, president and co-founder of Wonderland Bakery. "We are excited to partner with Fred and Peter to help us grow the Wonderland Bakery brand and look forward to sharing our passion with kids across America and even internationally," added Sondra Ames, co-founder of Wonderland Bakery.
Wonderland Bakery is well on its way to solidifying its future as a leading youth entertainment brand for all to enjoy be it "baking memories at home" or in one of the Wonderland Bakery retail stores. Allyson Ames, age 25, who is also Wonderland's executive chef, was named "The Best Young Chef in America" at age 17. Alongside her mother, successful entrepreneur Sondra Ames, the mother-daughter team has grown Wonderland Bakery into a much beloved and highly recognized kids and family brand. In addition to creating the official cookie for President Barack Obama's 2009 Inauguration and the MLB Baseball All-Star Game in 2010, Wonderland Bakery has received a host of distinctions, including Entrepreneur Magazine's top ten "Personal Brands" of 2010, INC magazine, Magazine's 5000 "Fastest Growing Brands" of 2010 and named "California Business of the Year" by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2008.
Seasoned youth marketing veterans Adderton and Goldring will apply their expertise to elevate the Wonderland Bakery brand turning it into a nationally recognized household name for "the young or young at heart – and anyone with a sweet tooth." Nationwide retail store expansion includes New York in the next six months, followed by Chicago, Dallas and other major markets, and will feature creative content and programming for birthdays, in-store activities and classes. A full range of toys, ready-made cake mixes for retail distribution under the newly created Wonderbake™ brand, baking accessories and other kitchen goods are currently in development with strategic licensees and partners. An entertainment platform with original characters and content will also launch in 2011.
"The fun of baking is largely under-served by existing mainstream kids brands," explained Adderton. "So whether it's baking with Wonderbake™ mixes at home, or having the unique experience of visiting a Wonderland Bakery location, we are confident the brand will continue to stir children's imaginations and retain its up-beat and earnest personality. As we have witnessed, the Wonderland Bakery brand will also bring families together with cooking and baking as its base."
Goldring adds, "Other kids' brands in the market don't have the same organic authenticity of Wonderland Bakery, with its inspiring real-life story of a young girl's dream being built from scratch into a nationally-recognized brand. We are excited about the opportunity to work with Allyson and Sondra and the rest of our incredible team to exponentially grow and develop this new grass roots kids' and family brand, something that just can't be easily manufactured by a big toy or food company. We are very confident that Wonderland Bakery will readily translate into a loyal fanbase on a national and international scale."
About Wonderland Bakery
Wonderland Bakery is an enchanting bakery that specializes in cupcakes, cookies, cakes, artistic desserts and whimsical gifts. Wonderland Bakery has quickly become Orange County's "premier bakery for edible art" and the destination of choice for a growing list of celebrities, locals and sweet-loving fans, nationwide. Wonderland Bakery creates custom-baked goodies for any social celebration or business occasion, including logo cookies and gift tins for personalized corporate gifts. For more information please visit www.wonderlandbakery.com.
About Skycrest Ventures
Founded by Peter Adderton, Skycrest Ventures LLC, is an Orange County based venture investment firm focusing on strategic brand building and investment in global brands and companies in the mobile, digital and consumer retail space. Skycrest Ventures has invested in some of the most successful youth brands established in the mobile industry including Boost Mobile and Amp'd Mobile as well as other leading brands including Wonderland Bakery®, Break.com, Swype, Buzzd and Agency 3.0, a revolutionary marketing company originally set up with William Morris Agency (now William Morris Endeavor) serving clients globally in digital strategy implementation, new product and brand development, content creation and platforms as well as user interface. For 20 years Adderton has been responsible for rolling out global marketing children's programs for leading brands including KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Pepsi, Johnson & Johnson, Disney and Warner Bros among others. Adderton currently serves on the board of Boost Mobile PTY LTD and Peter Guber's company, NeuMedia Inc., a global producer and publisher of mobile content.
About Goldring Strategies
Los Angeles-based Goldring Strategies is strategic brand, entertainment marketing and new product investment, development, and consulting firm headed by Fred Goldring, a former top entertainment lawyer who for two decades helped shape the careers of some of the most important talent in the world such as Black Eyed Peas, will.i.am, Alanis Morissette, Will Smith, Beyonce, Seal, Boyz II Men, Mark Wahlberg, Hilary Duff and many others, and who was also previously a strategic marketing consultant to several Fortune 500 companies including Hasbro and McDonald's Corporation. Goldring Strategies currently consults for Gibson Guitars and National Geographic and serves as an equity partner in several new ventures including Digital Turbine, Big Champagne, Tapz Communications, Safe Shake, b-melo and Green Wind Energy. In February 2010, Goldring was appointed by President Obama as a Member of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. He is the former Chairman of Rock The Vote, and has been the co-recipient of a 2008 Emmy Award, Clio Award, Global Media Award and NAACP Image Award as Executive Producer of the will.i.am "Yes We Can" Music video.
Souce: Wonderland Bakery