Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Instacart joins the wave of tech layoffs as CEO Fidji Simo announces cuts, body positive influencers are speaking out against weight loss companies’ paid post offers, and the CEO of Magnolia Bakery talks about the shop’s global growth. Have a thoughtful Thursday.
– Sweet treat. As we collectively nurse our Valentine’s Day sugar hangovers, now is an appropriate time to catch up with an expert in sweets, Bobbie Lloyd, CEO of Magnolia Bakery.
The 66-year-old has spent nearly 18 years at the iconic New York City cupcake shop. Businessman Steve Abrams enlisted her to relaunch the shop after he bought the business from its original cofounders. She worked first as Magnolia’s operating partner and president, then chief operating officer, chief baking officer (a title of her own invention), and now chief executive. Along the way, Lloyd has helped grow Magnolia from its one location in lower Manhattan to 10 U.S. stores and nearly 30 overseas. Lloyd recently spoke to Fortune about Magnolia’s expansion.
“The only way you can grow a company, and I know everyone says it, but it is so true: You can’t do it yourself,” Lloyd said.” My job was about finding, recruiting, building, developing, [and] bringing in really great people so that we could grow.”
But Lloyd also credits a single menu item—banana pudding—for Magnolia’s global fandom and hours-long lines. Magnolia’s recipe for the vanilla pudding-Nilla wafers-fresh banana confection (which starts at $4.75) remained unchanged until Magnolia’s 20th anniversary when the brand introduced chocolate and peanut butter flavors. It now rotates 40 different flavors periodically.
“When my old partner and I bought the bakery in 2006, we were like, ‘this product is really good. We need to make more of it,’” Lloyd told Fortune. “It just kind of built upon itself that the more we made, the more sold.”
But even as the brand experiments, Lloyd tries to avoid chasing trends: “One of the reasons I think that Magnolia Bakery has been around for so many years, is that we remain classic.”
You can read Lloyd’s full interview here.
She also shared her daily routine, including a practice that helps counteract her “indulgences:” She walks an hour to work each day. “That’s when I clear my head, set the tone for the day, read the trades, read the newspaper,” she says. “I do read on my phone while I’m walking; I’m one of those people.”
Claire Zillman
claire.zillman@fortune.com
@clairezillman
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ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- Fidji’s ‘focus.’ Instacart CEO Fidji Simo told investors on Monday that the grocery delivery platform plans to lay off 250 employees as the company continues to struggle towards profitability. The layoffs, which come as three company executives announce departures, were described by Simo as a way to "reshape the company and flatten the organization so we can focus on our most promising initiatives." TechCrunch
- Drink to success. Uncle Nearest Premium Whisky officially became one of the fastest growing distilleries in the country in December after it reached a more than $900 million valuation. CEO Fawn Weaver spoke with Fortune to describe how a whiskey distillery cofounded and run by a Black woman succeeded in an industry and venture capital environment that’s dominated by white men. Fortune
- Dealbreaker. Female influencers in the body positivity space are concerned about companies offering them marketing deals to advertise consumable and injectable weight loss medications to their followers. They argue that the campaigns contradict the idea of body acceptance and those who accept them are betraying their messages. Washington Post
- Giving workers slack. Slack on Wednesday rolled out AI add-ons that CEO Denise Dresser previously told Fortune would have “an immediate impact in the way that you work and the way it drives even more productivity." The new tools include AI-generated synopses of conversations and channels and an AI-powered search function that Dresser said she used to transition into the CEO role in November. Fortune
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Outschool hired Sam Ceppos as head of growth.
ON MY RADAR
The lure of divorce The Cut
Why the case against Fani Willis feels familiar to Black women New York Times
The world’s most important industry has a new captain—and she’s piloting it into the 21st century Wired
PARTING WORDS
"I like exploring inside, outside, outside, inside, because it’s a back-and-forth that allows you to grow, to deepen yourself."
—Actress and star of The Taste of Things Juliette Binoche on the professional journeys she's taken across genres and art forms
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