Becoming family with a family owned business

Family owned and operated really has that legacy ring to it, doesn’t it? But, sometimes you need to marry outside the family!

In September of 2024, I took on Tucson favorite legacy-gelato shoppe, Bella’s Gelato, on Speedway Boulevard. Beginning as a food truck in 2015, Bellas Gelato was already a local staple, but only to its small cult following that had been following the businesses journey into a brick and mortar.

Already being a fan of Bella’s myself, I decided to reach out to the lovely shop owner, Elizabeth in early February 2024, and pitch the idea of digital marketing and social media management. I knew Bella’s had a potential yet to be utilized, and so much room for growth.

Elizabeth was hesitant on stepping away from her staff and family owned and operated title, and partnering with a third party agency, such as myself. I did not stop reaching out here and there, and finally she was ready to partner and see what success I could bring to Bella’s Gelato.

I knew what potential this business had. Before taking on the account, there was no consistent posting schedule, a lack of variety, color and personality in the content, and really only interactions from the already established small cult following. Engagements were low with a reach of 401 people in a month, only 23 accounts engaged and 921 followers. This business deserved so much more.

I wanted to bring life into the brand, and show how colorful and inclusive it is. It is one of the only dessert shops to have such an array of sugar-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options. As well as a huge selection of regular flavors as well! We needed to capitalize on that!

After only a month of management, Bellas Gelato has eyes from all over the city now! With the help of trendy reels, eye-catching photography, and collabs from friends like @kimmyeatstucson and @tucson_vegan, I was able to take this business to the moon!

Currently, with one month of management engagement is at an all time high.

With accounts reached currently at 9.6k (a +2,317% increase), accounts engaged is now 504 (+2,091% increase), and followers have now grown to 1.2K!

We are at an ALL TIME HIGH!