The Grateful Fork

Sometimes, hobbies have a way of becoming more than a daydream when you’re at work. That’s exactly what happened to Martanna Schroeder, owner of The Grateful Fork, located in historic Escanaba, Michigan. By day she’s a Library Administrative Assistant, at Bay De Noc Community College, but on the weekends, and some weeknights, she’s a baker extraordinaire.

“I started decorating cakes for my children when they were little, then later, for friends on special occasions.” Over the years those daydreams grew from simple “word-of-mouth” treats to a steady stream of work. However, it wasn’t until she made a particularly intricate cake for her daughter’s wedding, that Martanna felt it was time to bake professionally. “I had so many people encouraging me to open a business, that I finally decided to give it a try and see were it led me. Now, I get paid to do what I love!”

I’ve always loved being creative.

To keep her start-up costs low, Martanna decided to become part of the growing Cottage Industry; now she can do all of her baking from home without the cost of a storefront. However, there’s many benefits to those brick-and-motar spots; Martanna quickly learned, she needed to be a little more savvy with her advertising. “I have to rely heavily on social media.” Martanna says, “I use Facebook mostly; it allows me to instantly share my creations, which allows our followers to instantly like and share them with their friends. It’s great.”

But, like most industries, there’s always going to be some competition, so it was very important for Martanna to understand her brand, so she could showcase it to her target market. “Having a solid and unique brand identity was very important to me.” she says, “My business name, and logo, needed to reflect my personality, as well as, my creations. After working closely with Greta, that’s exactly what I got, and I couldn’t be happier!”

Well, Chef, we’re happy you’re happy; and if one of your creations happens to find its way to me, well, my fork will be grateful, too!

Services Used:

Visual Identity Build
Graphic Design
Collateral Design
Social Media Marketing