Storytelling, Connection, and Stuckey’s

Stephanie Stuckey spends more time with customers than any entrepreneur I’ve seen. Perhaps this is why her social media presence mirrors her brand so perfectly. She knows who she’s talking to, what they want, and what makes them happy. 

Her social media makes this Gen Joneser smile. It brings back distant memories of road trips with my parents when gas was cheap and safety laws were pretty non-existent. America was invited to go for a drive, and “Get Your Kicks on Route 66” was the anthem for the road-trip nation. Along the way to wherever we were going, the blue-roofed pecan shoppes of Stuckey’s were one of our family’s favorite stops. There we tried on Davy Crockett hats, fed our siblings to plastic alligators, and gobbed up pecan log rolls. 

Fast forward to a couple years ago, and I saw one of those blue roofs and Stuckey’s signs on social media so I clicked. I began following Stephanie Stuckey as she revived her brand and the American road trip.  

Stephanie Stuckey in market

The Stuckey’s Comeback

For those who don’t know, in 2019, Stephanie bought the business her grandfather founded in 1937. Within six months, she turned Stuckey’s profitable again, in part by returning to the signature pecan log roll recipe her grandmother created.

The other key factor in her revival was her marketing. She had no budget, so she knew she wouldn’t win by going head-to-head with the big candy companies. Instead, she took to the road to make a personal connection with her merchants and consumers and started sharing it on social media. 

Her infectious joy about pecans, candy, road trips, Americana, rebuilding her family’s legacy, and things made in the USA is palpable in her videos and posts. For the record, Stephanie is not a twenty-something influencer, she’s a seasoned executive who knows the power of a handshake.

That’s why you’ll see her posing with customers and retailers (and usually some kitsch) at a small store on her travels. She meets with her consumers and retailers in their natural habitat more than any executive I’ve seen. Beyond making a personal connection to her brand, this strategy allows her to understand what is meaningful to her markets. 

Nostalgia to Nowstalgia

“Stuckey’s was the first roadside retail chain, so we know where we came from – Nostalgia,” she said in one interview. “Now we’re working on Nowstalgia, creating new memories for those who didn’t grow up on Stuckey’s.” To do that, she took a hard look at what makes the brand relevant to today’s road trippers and realized that Stuckey’s was not just a nostalgia story, it was a comeback story about second chances. 

Then she extended Stuckey’s comeback story to the smaller, home-spun, home-grown businesses that know their regulars by name and genuinely appreciate anybody who stops by. She understands that if these small businesses succeed, we all succeed. 

Stuckey’s is squarely on the side of small business, and that makes the brand much more fun to root for. It’s not just business, it’s personal. In the best way possible. The brand is helping people believe that resurgence is possible. People love an underdog and if you read the comments on most of her posts, you’ll find people rooting for the company.

What brand doesn’t want that?

From time to time she takes her kids with her so that the younger demographics see people their age in her feed. She also realized that capturing eyeballs on social required her to let her hair down (or put on a hairnet) and not be afraid to have some silly fun. You’ll often find her dancing with the crew at the Stuckey’s factory in Wren, Georgia, or mugging it up at some quaint retailer with a pecan log roll. 

Not Just Promoting Products

On social media she doesn’t just promote her product, she promotes the activities that encourage sales of her product. Stephanie realized that road trips have never really been about getting from point A to point B. They represented affordable freedom and adventure. A road trip gave people a sense of control over where they went and how they got there. They are a uniquely American experience focused on the journey as much as the destination. 

Her lesson is that at its core, marketing and branding are about connecting with people on an emotional level. And the best way to connect is to tell a story that is authentic, interesting, and relevant. “You need to understand your audience,” she said in a recent podcast. “Because unless you understand your audience, you’re not going to say something interesting and relevant to them. But it has to be your story. It can’t be anybody else’s or it won’t be authentic.”

Stephanie gets social media and viral marketing and she knows its value in pulling product through retail by going directly to consumers while still showing incredible support for all of her retailers. While brands were shelling out millions for Super Bowl Sunday ads, she mentioned 11 retail chains where you can get Stuckey’s snacks in her social media posts. She cross-promotes with retailers to get people to take advantage of sales, and she attends scores of events where people can meet her and sample the products. 

Genuine and It Shows

She genuinely loves and appreciates her customers and it shows. And her product is pretty special too. It’s produced in small lots – you can watch her videos to see how everything is made and packaged in Wren. I’ve tried a bunch of her products and even included several in my own recipes (Honey Roasted Pecan pancakes are divine if I do say so myself).

She embodies the brand perfectly. Her constant presence on social media helps her appeal to both the folks who remember road trips and younger audiences. She also made the product available online at www.stuckeys.com, so you can enjoy Stuckey’s even if you’re not driving for fun. 

If you enjoy classic ‘50s and ‘60s architecture and signage, follow her. Want to find the kitschiest hotel in Florida? Stephanie’s been there. I found out about the TWA Hotel at JFK Airport through Stephanie’s posts. For Boomers, Gen Jones, and Gen Xers, her posts will bring back fond and fun memories. And she knows that if you associate her product with these memories, landmarks, and sense of adventure that a road trip brings it will only help sales.