Howie Mandel Launches 'Save Small Business America' Show With Chicagoland Baking Company

    CHICAGO, IL, April 03, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Howie Mandel, comedian and America's Got Talent Judge, has teamed up with talkshoplive® to help small businesses survive during the COVID-19 pandemic. The online show, which aired on Wednesday, April 1st, at 6pm CST, debuted with Chicago based Cindy Kienzle of The Hungry Monkey Baking Company, LLC., causing them to sell out of their "Social Distancing Treats Boxes!"

Howie Mandel delivered an hour-long showcase to support American small businesses, encouraging viewers to purchase a 'Social Distancing Treats Box' for loved ones and those working in the emergency services and on the front line during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kienzle's 'Social Distancing Treats Boxes' sold out within the hour.

The Government's bid to tackle social distancing during COVID-19 has left businesses worldwide in a state of crisis. Kienzle, who sells wholesale and does not have a storefront, unable to switch to curbside pickup, made the decision to create the ''Social Distancing Treats Box'' in an attempt to fulfill demand and keep her bakers working.

As the terrifying news and suggestions to socially distance began to circulate, stores that sell Hungry Monkey Baking products began to sell-out. Customers began contacting Kienzle directly, to send gift boxes to friends and loved ones who were beginning to socially distance across the country.

Utilizing online networks and working with talkshoplive® has proved invaluable in saving her business during these unprecedented times.

Kienzle says:
''We can't thank Howie and the team at talkshoplive® enough for helping small businesses like ours survive in these bewildering times. This is a game-changer for us and we will be forever grateful. To show our appreciation to Howie, we are donating 100 loaves of our banana breads in his name to staff on the front lines at Northwestern Lake Hospital."

The Hungry Monkey Baking Company, LLC., has made a commitment to continue baking for as long as they are permitted. Offering a sampler of their top- selling products in their "Social Distancing Treats Box," customers can purchase for themselves or for their friends and family. While Howie sold out 160 boxes during his live show, they continue to bake and continue to service their growing fanbase and keep their bakers busy!

Kienzle, an early adopter of talkshoplive®, has been using the platform with her daughter, Lily, Hungry Monkey's namesake, to broadcast online to living rooms across the US to help increase sales and harness her growing network of existing fans. The platform enables businesses & entrepreneurs to create live shows that allow consumers to experience their business and products and enables them to interact in real time.

The Hungry Monkey Baking Company, LLC., like so many small businesses right now, are having to adapt their business models in this changing shift of uncertainty. Following CDC regulations and Governmental announcements to the letter has become habitual, but there is so much that is left unsaid in order to help small businesses navigate these turbulent times. Kienzle, like so many Independent business owners, will continue to provide support during this period of isolation and uncertainty.

The "Social Distancing Treats Box," selling for $26, includes their Signature and top-selling Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, incredibly moist Original Banana Bread -- and over a pound of their incredibly rich and dense Triple Chocolate Brownies. Kienzle boasts that bananas are the first ingredient in their banana bread and everything is made by hand with love.

About Hungry Monkey Baking
It took Hungry Monkey's founder, Cindy Kienzle, 25 years to start her baking company. Almost everything good in her life came late – she married her husband at 47, had a baby at 48 and started Hungry Monkey at 50, named for her daughter, Lily. She created a chocolate chip banana bread recipe that friends, family and coworkers loved. Everyone always told her she should sell it, but since she had a secure marketing career, she continued to share it with friends, co-workers & family. After losing her longtime marketing position, fate intervened, and The Hungry Monkey Baking Company, LLC. started in 2010, almost by accident... A friend encouraged her to bake her signature chocolate chip banana bread for a local two-day charity event benefiting children with learning disabilities. Since her daughter has some challenges, it seemed like a perfect fit. Her signature chocolate chip banana bread sold out both days. Soon after, people were calling, asking if they could stop by to pick up a loaf or two from her home. People needed their "fix" and a month later, The Hungry Monkey Baking Company, LLC., was born.

A month later she rented a commercial kitchen, started in two farmers markets, selling out weekly. Kids, moms and dads, along with the local press, continued to spread the word. In the early days, friends, family – and even customers – would come to help her wrap, box and deliver products.

The cakes/breads and brownies became an instant hit; three months later a Chicago suburban boutique grocery chain, Sunset Foods, asked to carry her cakes in all of their stores. Within four months, ABC 7's James Beard Award-winning food reporter, The Hungry Hound (Steve Dolinksy), featured Hungry Monkey on their weekly news segment. Hungry Monkey is now sold in grocery stores, home delivery through Fresh Picks in Illinois & Wisconsin. They also do corporate gifting nationally and online sales through TalkShopLive.

"It's been a very fun and challenging ride, and I've learned to believe in myself again. What I've learned most is that, like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, I always had the power to live my dream (with a little help from many fairy GodMothers, good friends & family and one very supportive husband and an inspiring child)."
– Cindy Kienzle, Chief Baking Officer/Owner, The Hungry Monkey Baking Company®, LLC.

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