News

Sterling Partners has made an investment in Los Angeles-based Fancy Sprinkles, a maker of confectionery sprinkles. No financial terms were disclosed.

PRESS RELEASE

LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO – September 26, 2018 – Fancy Sprinkles, a woman-owned, women-run, direct-to-consumer, e-commerce business that strives to make the very best in confectionery sprinkles, announced today an investment from Sterling Partners (“Sterling”), a diversified investment management firm committed to building great companies and inspiring growth. This is the first institutional investment for Fancy Sprinkles.

Based in Los Angeles, Fancy Sprinkles is led by CEO and Creative Director Lisa Stelly Osbourne. She conceived the idea of Fancy Sprinkles shortly after welcoming her second child and launched the company in 2016 with just $2,000. A passionate cake artist, Stelly Osbourne was constantly in search of decorative, sweet, and high-end toppers, and she was dissatisfied with the choices available in stores and the lack of options overall. Over several months, she became a sprinkle connoisseur, sourcing rare, artisan sprinkles, manufacturing her own custom colors, and combining them into something she would want to use. Today the company prides itself on the options it provides and creating choices consumers never knew they had, for almost any occasion and baked good.

“Cake and cookie decorating became a creative outlet for me,” said Stelly Osbourne. “I’d find great ideas on Pinterest and Facebook, but as a non-professional baker, I couldn’t find the right toppings. I founded Fancy Sprinkles to offer everything I, as a consumer, felt was missing in the market.”

Developing beautiful and delicious products is only half the battle – the half that came naturally to Stelly Osbourne. The second half is knowing how to build and grow a brand in a digital world. Stelly Osbourne taught herself how to build a website, create an e-commerce brand, and leverage multimedia to compete in a culinary world driven by social media, influencers, and lifestyle experts by consuming hundreds of YouTube videos and tutorials. She taught herself Photoshop and learned to stage her baked creations on her own. Fancy Sprinkles has quickly built an online community where it listens to customers’ ideas and thoughts to create new and in-demand products.

Fancy Sprinkles sells its products à la carte, through a monthly subscription, and through partnerships, including an upcoming engagement with Neiman Marcus. Products include but are not limited to vegan sprinkles, crunchy and round sprinkles, seasonal sprinkles, sugar shapes such as stars and hearts, and their signature CRUNCHY JIMMIES®, a powdered sugar-based sprinkle that yields a sweet and exceptionally crunchy taste and texture.

“Fancy Sprinkles are an obvious choice if you’re looking to take your average baked goods to modern works of art. Always fresh, flavorful and, of course, fun! These are a must have for every celebration,” says customer Rachel Huntington of Bonjour Fete.

Sterling’s investment will support Fancy Sprinkles’ needs to hire and expand infrastructure and to evaluate growing its product pipeline and retail partnerships. Lisa will continue to lead the business. She will focus primarily on developing products and creating content for the company’s social channels.

“I am so excited about our growth plans. Getting this investment from Sterling Partners is a true testament to the successful model my team and I created,” said Stelly Osbourne. “I’ve worked so hard to get to this point and I cannot wait to take Fancy Sprinkles to the next level.”

About Fancy Sprinkles: Fancy Sprinkles is a woman-owned, women-run company. It was started in 2016 by now CEO & Creative Director Lisa Stelly Osbourne. Fancy Sprinkles strives to make the very best in confectionery sprinkles as a direct-to-consumer, e-commerce-based business, and has the ability to work directly with its customers and provide them with exceptional goods and customer service. For more information, visit: https://www.fancysprinkles.com/.

About Sterling Partners: Sterling Partners is a diversified investment management firm with a distinct point of view on how to build great companies. Founded in 1983 and having invested billions of dollars, Sterling is guided by its stated purpose, INSPIRED GROWTH®, which describes Sterling’s approach to investing in differentiated businesses and growing them in inspired ways. Sterling provides valuable support to the management teams of the companies in which the firm invests through a deep and dedicated team of professionals, including a strong network of outside directors and advisors. The people at Sterling believe in ideas and ideals, in people and in partnerships that drive long-term success. For more information, please visit www.sterlingpartners.com.