Gourmet Pound Cake Hits The Market

THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE
November 28 - December 4, 2001

There's an old saying that luck happens when preparation meets opportunity. Those two intangibles may have come together in Chicago recently, resulting in a quick start right out of the blocks for the female and minority-owned ComfortCake^® Company.

And, the way things are progressing thus far for this exciting new start-up, their slogan, "Pound cake so good, it feels like a hug," might soon be a familiar phrase being passed down from this generation to the next.

Founded by President and CEO Amy Hilliard, the ComfortCake^® Company has come knocking on the U.S. food industry door with a prestigious first client: United Airlines. Hilliard, a marketing and new product expert in the past for the Gillette Company, Pillsbury, Burrell Communications, Inc. and L'Oreal U.S.A. established her company in January.

Hilliard, a Detroit native, has no illusions at all about what this important piece of business means to ComfortCake^® Company.

"The significance of the order to the company is very important," she said. "United Airlines represents both to the industry and to the trade a company that has very high standards, and for us to be able to meet those standards with our first customer says a lot in terms of the people we have supporting ComfortCake^®.

ComfortCake^®'s pound cake recipe was improved and refined over nearly two decades and is a carefully guarded family secret.

"The recipe is my own, and I've been perfecting it for 20 years," she notes, "but I did definitely incorporate some of the secrets of my elders in the process. They gave me some little tips about how I could make the cake even better which I've added to my recipe, so I'm sure that they're up there smiling down at me for sharing the flavor with the world."

Established in January 2001, the ComfortCake^® Company is a developer and producer of high-quality, all-natural gourmet pound cakes worldwide. This is the second company founded by Amy Hilliard, the first being the Hilliard Group, a six-year-old strategic multi-cultural marketing, consulting and product development firm working with Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Chicago.