Our New Friends and Partners

There's an old expression that says, "If you don't grow you die". That's always stuck in the back of my head and helped push me forward. I also know that growing too fast can be the kiss of death too, so I'm very aware of that as well and want to strike a good balance. One reason it's important to grow is because of that ugly word, "INFLATION," and if we don't grow at all, rising prices -sometimes at alarming rates -could damage our business in a bunch of ways. This is especially true as we try to pass on as few of these increased costs as possible to all of you - our loyal customers. 

 

 

In this village I have come across a slew of talented and interesting folks who like what we do at Etto and want to help us. It doesn't always work out if you remember my Amazon screed, but we always learn a lot and just move forward. What we have learned is that the best and most sustainable path for us is to sell directly to our customers those who love our pasta and our other market products as much as possible. Etto's ecommerce business continues to grow and with that we need help. Luckily help has arrived on both the fulfillment side and most recently on the marketing and customer engagement front. Enter Sticky Digital!

 

Sticky Digital was founded just over seven years ago by a couple of Cal Poly graduates and has quickly moved to the top of their field worldwide in marketing building customer retention and racking up numerous industry awards. They are selective in taking on new clients and we are very excited that Etto has now become their first local (SLO county) and smallest client making this a full-circle moment from where it all began for them. Look for more Etto content and engagement with Sticky's help as we look to keep you excited about all things Etto. 

 

Here's a brief interview I conducted with co-founder Nikki Toooman whose kids eat our pasta both at school in San Luis Obispo and at home.

 

When did you start Sticky Digital? What were you doing before this?
I started Sticky Digital almost 7 years ago, with my Business Partner Mariel! We were working at the largest Shopify design/development agency in North America (which is where we met), working on some very large websites (Rebecca Minkoff, Tommy John, Good American Denim, etc.). We then both went brand side for a year and that's where we realized there was no one servicing the email part of eCommerce. No one was there to help us when we were brand side, so that's when we decided to start helping brands where we needed the most hands-on help when we were on brand side.

 

Why do you love what you do?

I get to work with some really wonderful people every single day. My team is a team of all women (there are 32 of us). Almost every day that I go to work and look at our entire team on a call, I think to myself that this is one of the coolest experiences. I wish when I was in my early 20's starting out, I had a female leader to help me grow, mentor me and be a good example of being a Mother, a wife, a friend and a hard worker.

 

 

Why are you excited to work with Etto?

There really is no other pasta like it. My kids now know the difference between Etto pasta and "blue box" pasta. I also really adore the team. It makes a huge difference when you work with people you like, and have the same goal. To help grow. We want to get Etto pasta into as many hands as possible. Once you try it, you will never go back. 

 

 

How did you first hear about us?

My son is in Kindergarten this year, and last year his favorite meal at school was "Etto Pasta and Meatballs"--that was my first encounter with the brand. I read it every week on the school menu and then got introduced to Brian by a mutual friend.

 

 

I know your kids like Etto pasta - what are their favorites?

 

What are the benefits of a strong marketing program?

The more people who can have eyes on your product. Email specifically is the largest channel in marketing to get people to come back to your brand/website. Without email and SMS, most people won't go back to a brand's website. Our favorite stat at Sticky Digital is that 50% of a brand's revenue is driven by 8% of your most loyal customers... and that 8% typically comes back after getting a branded email. 

 

 

What are some huge success stories you've had?

We've had the pleasure of taking brands from less than $1mm in annual revenue to $40mm in annual revenue. Watching them pop up in stores like, Target, or CVS, is so cool to me. Being able to see a brand on the shelf is still a pinch-me moment that I work alongside these companies, and we are helping them get bigger. I also have heard from some friends that they got an email for X brand, and sometimes I get to respond with "we work with them, we sent that email." It's true that the power of marketing is still word of mouth. 

 

What else would you like to tell my customers about you and your relationship to SLO County?

I love SLO, I went to Cal Poly and moved away for almost 13 years, before coming back. This county is so special - I find myself when driving around thinking often, "How lucky am I that I get to live here and raise my kids here." It really is a place unlike anywhere else in the US! We have so many cool brands that are on the central coast, and I want to make it my mission to help as many of them as possible to scale. 

It has been a pleasure so far to work with Nikki and her team. Their expertise is truly impressive and we can't wait to see how they help us in our next chapter of growth. We also agree that we feel very lucky and fortunate to live here in SLO county and get energy from our community every day. 

If you haven't ordered your cookbook yet or had a problem with the presale link it should work not for shipping. Look for a signing event soon too.