Boarding Pass to Breakfast Aisle: How Belgian Boys Began
Anouck Gotlib came to New York to pursue fashion. A chance meeting with her future husband on a plane helped set her life on an entirely different path: building Belgian Boys, the brand bringing waffles, pancakes, and sweet treats to 12,000 retail locations nationwide.
In this episode of Women of Influence, Anouck joins Aliza Freud to share the story behind the bright pink packaging and the decision to give waffles a new home in the refrigerated aisle. She opens up about narrowing the company’s focus from 60 products to five core offerings, learning when to say no, and building a brand around what consumers actually want.
Episode Highlights:
- The flight that changed everything: Meeting her husband, Greg, and going from a fashion career to building a food business together.
- Designing “dresses for waffles”: How her fashion background shaped packaging that gets shoppers’ attention.
- Rethinking the breakfast aisle: Why Belgian Boys moved from frozen to refrigerated, alongside eggs, milk, and yogurt.
- Walking away from fan favorites: Why the brand discontinued its mustache cookies, which fans still remember from JetBlue flights, to focus on refrigerated breakfast.
- Doing fewer things better: The decision to go from 60 products to five core offerings and focus on where the brand could win.
- Making the product easy to understand: How changing “Liège waffle” to “Real Belgian Waffle” helped increase sales.
- Earning a lasting place on the shelf: Why getting into a retailer is only the beginning.
- Building trust through creators and community: The difference between selling consumers something and helping them discover it.
- Leading with purpose: How motherhood, personal values, and supporting working parents shape Anouck’s approach to influence.
Links and Resources
Learn More About Belgian Boys
Follow Belgian Boys on Instagram
Connect with Anouck on LinkedIn
