Daily Inspiration: Meet Lisa Plettinck

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Plettinck.

Lisa, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
TOFFEE. It’s a confection I never heard of until the late 90’s when I was looking through an old recipe book my mother had and I saw a candy recipe called “butter crunch”. I’d never made candy before, so when I was making it for the first time it was a harrowing experience because of the chemical reactions that took place. But I did it…I made “butter crunch”, or what I would later discover was TOFFEE. And every time I made it thereafter, I got so confident in my candy-making ability that I never felt the need to use a candy thermometer. My toffee was an instant smash with friends and family and thus began a 20 year+ tradition of me making it as gifts during the holidays.

It was during the Covid pandemic that my toffee was gifted to several camera crew members on the set of The Mandalorian. Their reaction to my toffee floored me, with several people reaching out and begging me for my recipe. At the time, I was reading articles about people who had quit their jobs and used the “lockdown” months as an opportunity to reinvent themselves. I thought, “Why can’t that be me?” I was a stay-at-home mother with two grown sons and, frankly, I was bored. I needed a challenge and wanted to do something that was completely out of my wheelhouse. I knew my TOFFEE was the key I needed to open up new doors of opportunities for me. I love making people happy and seeing the joy my toffee brings to people would give me the fulfillment I was looking for. So one night I looked at my husband and said, “I’m opening up a toffee business,” and he replied, “okay”. Then I said, “I’m going to name it Galaxy Toffee as an homage to The Mandalorian.”

There was just one major hiccup: I had a BA in English Literature and an MFA in Film Production so I knew nothing about business or how to become an entrepreneur. I blindly jumped into the process of starting a cottage home business and made LOTS of BIG mistakes early on, but I learned to make the course corrections necessary to turn a profit. That learning curve, however, never ends and I’m still growing as a business woman. The most important thing I did was follow through with an IDEA I had. I remember selling at my first farmer’s market event and becoming giddy with excitement and pride that people were actually buying my product and loving it!

Five years later, I still have my cottage business and it’s growing organically at a pace I can maintain. Some business owners want their success to happen overnight, but I like the idea of my business growing slowly and spreading by “word of mouth”. When someone new tries my toffee, they tend to become long-time customers.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Starting a cottage business has been challenging on several fronts. It’s been a difficult learning curve, in part, because I’m terrible at math and didn’t know how to price my product, factor in ingredient costs, labor costs and overhead costs. The non-creative, financial side of running a business was difficult for me and still is to some extent.

The other challenge has been not knowing how to market my business. I knew I had to have a social media presence so I created an Instagram account. It’s a personal account because I found that a business account limited what I could do creatively. I like to use licensed music and images in my posts and reels and that’s not allowed when you have a business account.

Weirdly enough, the BIGGEST CHALLENGE I have running a TOFFEE business is the year-round, hot Southern California weather! The weather Gods never seem to tire of trolling me. I’ve experienced countless anxiety attacks watching my toffee melt in the sun at events where the forecast had predicted cloudy skies and cool weather. Now I’m forced to keep my toffee in a cooler and can’t really display it on my table unless it’s 65 degrees or cooler outside.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a cinephile and when I was in college I had every intention of becoming a film director. But then I met my future husband in film school and after marriage, decided to put my career ambitions aside and start a family. It was during this chapter of my life that I taught myself to become a really good cook and an even better baker. Little did I know I would also develop a knack for making candy. I have the kind of personality that won’t allow room for mediocrity. I have to be the best at whatever I set out to do.

What I’m most proud of are my toffee creations. I started out with only one flavor of toffee and after 5 years of failed and successful experimentation, I now have eight flavor combinations that people really enjoy. When I make the declaration that my toffee is the best in the universe it’s not a brag….it’s just a fact. And that fills me with a pride that words simply cannot describe.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I didn’t start out being risk averse but now that the economy has taken a turn for the worse and inflation is skyrocketing, I’m more mindful about how I spend my money. For instance, I’ve all but stopped doing farmer’s markets and other special events because the vendor fees were too expensive and my profit margins were shrinking because of it. I found myself working harder for a smaller net profit. I’m aware of the term, “No risk, no reward.” I think there’s a lot of truth to that so I try to keep an open mind about taking risks.

Pricing:

• 2 lb. box of TOFFEE is $50

Contact Info:

• Website: galaxytoffee.com
• Instagram: @galaxytoffee
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/galaxy-toffee-fullerton

Image Credits
Lisa Plettinck