How Magnolia Bakery Built a Banana Pudding Empire | Local to Legendary

NEW YORK -- Planning a visit to New York City? Chances are, Magnolia Bakery is on your list of must-try eateries. For more than 30 years, this iconic business has survived, scaled, and stayed relevant.

Founded by Jennifer Appel and Allysa Torey in 1996, the original bakery opened on Bleecker Street in NYC's West Village selling classic American baked goods.

"The original owner really had this idea that it would be this cute corner bakery," Bobbie Lloyd, Magnolia's former CEO and current Chief Branding Officer, explains. "You opened early, you had some muffins and coffee, and people could come in and enjoy it."

Amidst the polish and precision of 1990s culinary affairs, Magnolia's authenticity stood out, providing a sense of familiarity and nostalgia that quickly drew in a cult following.

"The culinary world in the 90s was all about French Nouveau, and everything was very precious and tall. People were tired of those fancy desserts," Lloyd recounts. "But to have a cupcake and say, 'wow, my grandmother used to make something like that'? Nostalgia is a big thing. It takes us back to another, simpler era or time."

Magnolia Bakery skyrocketed into household name status after a cameo in the HBO hit series "Sex and the City."

"Brands die if they're not ready for fame and don't seize the moment," Nathan Lauer, Magnolia's current CEO, says. "Magnolia, luckily, was ready for it, and they were able to not just let that be a moment in time, but to build upon that."

Lauer credits Bobbie Lloyd for Magnolia's continued success in the wake of its sudden fame.

"Bobbie's magical. She's created something with the brand: she's grown it tremendously across multiple different business types, and then also kept the right people in the right place and brought in the cultural fits to make this thing greater than it ever has been," Lauer says, "And it takes a special person to do that."

Lloyd's approach came not from the bakery's initial star product, the cupcake, but from a then-sleeper-hit; the banana pudding.

"The bakeries only made a little bit of pudding, but whatever they made, they sold out immediately," Lloyd recounts. "I figured out a way to constantly make more pudding so it was always available, and the more pudding we made, the more pudding we sold."

The demand for banana pudding only grew over time, eventually becoming the store's 'hero product' and driving 30-40% of total sales across its retail locations in the U.S.

"Banana pudding has become this sort of phenomenon within our business," Lauer says. "Since we opened, there's been an over 6000% increase in banana pudding sales at retail locations in the U.S.. That's some true scale and longevity in the business. And I gotta tell you, it's not slowing down either."

For Lauer, Magnolia's already massive pop-cultural influence is just the beginning of its potential reach: Lauer is intent on bringing the Magnolia experience to consumers around the world through fine-tuned franchising efforts.

"Franchising is really important to us as a company because we made the decision that this was direction to go to bring Magnolia Bakery to where our customers are," Lloyd explains. "Franchising means that we can move a little faster. We can get the product, get the stores open in communities where people live."

Lauer is no stranger to the world of franchising, having previously headed the efforts of businesses such as Jamba Juice and Jimmy John's.

"Franchising is what I've grown up in. I've done franchising my whole career," Lauer says. "Embarking on our franchise journey is going to be a big deal, and it's gonna be a really positive thing for the growth of Magnolia and opportunity for people all over the country."

Magnolia's franchised locations have begun opening their doors across the United States and beyond, with bakeries in Kentucky and Utah being the first of the new storefronts within the brand's domestic efforts.

"We're going to places like Cleveland, Philadelphia, Louisville; we're opening more in Chicago, we're working deals in L.A. and all over the country, and there's great demand," Lauer says. "When we start to put these feelers out on social media about Magnolia coming to you soon, the response just blows us away."

"The excitement is incredible; it's palpable. And so we're very excited to get to, pretty much, all over America."

Click here to learn more about Magnolia Bakery.