Essay
{draw:frame}Three Blondes and a Brownie, recently discussed orders for its “Fat Wise” products. The three blondes are Ms. Piatka, 49, and her two partners, former Miss Canada Terry Lynn Meyer, 47, and onetime bank manager Candace Brinsmead, 40. In this team, Ms. Meyer is the communicator, Ms. Brinsmead the “bean counter,” and Ms. Piatka the creative thinker. Ms. Piatka’s fortunes took a rise when she appeared as a guest on an Edmonton based morning television show hosted by Ms. Meyer. Ms. Piatka was talking about her low fat recipes. Together, they saw a business opportunity and recruited Ms. Brinsmead, the finance-minded best friend of Ms. Meyer. Three Blondes started on the fast track. Four months after incorporating in mid-1993, the company persuaded McDonald’s to test its Fat Wise muffins in the Edmonton market. McDonald’s tested the product in Vancouver as well, and then went nationwide with it. The company’s revenue hit $100 000 the first year. By 1998, it was up to $2.3 million. By 2005, they believe that they can reach almost $7 million, if projected expansion throughout Canada goes ahead. After that, there is the U.S. market. There are unwritten principles that con- tribute to the company’s success. The first is they have no debt. Ms. Brinsmead, who runs the day-to-day operations, admits to a “cautious approach to financing.” Each partner works out of her home—Ms. Meyer and Ms. Brinsmead in Edmonton, Ms. Piatka in Calgary. They have no employees other than themselves and they outsource all the baking. One marketing plus has been the company’s name. They had called their first efforts “Nadja approved Low Fat Desserts—a Division of Three Blondes and a Brownie.” Then they realized that the Three Blondes tag was getting all the attention. The company also avoids the label “low fat.” “People get sick of the word,” Ms. Piatka says. “They think low fat is no taste.”
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