How These 3 Brands Are Making Big Profits from Holiday Entertaining
The average American host spends over $1,000 on holiday entertaining—on groceries, wine, décor, and “just in case” extras. But the real work happens quietly in places like a Portland apartment or an Orange County townhouse, where a cheese expert and a content creator decide which small brands make it onto holiday tables.
Holiday entertaining looks effortless to guests because they don’t see all the prep work. Cheese expert Ellian Rohrbacher and recipe creator Taylor Golub know this well. They also know how brands like Effie’s, Chevoo, and Dutch Waffle Company profit by being part of that behind-the-scenes work. The key is starting early, with “Ina Garten-style” cheese and snack boards designed for ease, repeat purchases, and shareable content.
Holiday Entertaining in the Creator World
Ellian Rohrbacher owns La Femme Fromage in Portland. She organizes the chaos of the cheese aisle into boards, boxes, and workshops, making artisan products easy to enjoy at home. Rohrbacher calls herself a “Sherpa” for small local brands, helping them compete with big corporations by turning their products into easy-to-use pairings and stories for home hosts.
Her approach starts with a question, not a product. “If it’s a cracker, like Effie’s… I think about what cheese goes with it, and vice versa,” she said. Effie’s ginger biscuits, for example, become a sturdy base for blue cheese s’mores, impressing guests without stress.
On the other coast, Taylor Golub, a former corporate marketer turned food creator, manages the digital side. He built an Instagram-focused business blending health and indulgence and works with brands like Effie’s to create seasonal recipes. Golub plans eight to nine recipes a year, matching Effie’s flavors to occasions—walnut for pumpkin dip in fall, mini oatcakes for back-to-school boards. Since Effie’s products are premium and sold mostly in specialty stores, he pairs them with accessible but elevated ingredients, helping busy hosts create impressive spreads.
Effie’s Strategy for Holiday Success
Effie’s Homemade started with a family oatcake recipe from Nova Scotia. Today, co-founders Joan MacIsaac and Irene Yaz, along with marketing director Mallory Amory, focus on smart marketing. Instead of chasing every social platform, they use Google Ads, Amazon search, sampling platforms, and their 13,000-email subscriber list. Influencers like Golub and Rohrbacher help the brand reach holiday hosts efficiently, turning small, quality products into profitable seasonal favorites.
Susan Wheaton for Effie’s Homemade
Amory explained, “I have a program that tracks all our customers using Recency-Frequency-Monetary value. I can see who our most loyal customers are and use that information to treat each group differently, helping them move up to the next level.”
The brand’s AI-powered Google Ads target people searching for things like “cheese board crackers,” “holiday entertaining ideas,” or “hostess gift under $25.” One click can lead to buying multi-box gift sets or pantry staples. Social Nature turns these searches into real experiences: customers get a coupon, find Effie’s products in stores, and answer questions about how and when they used them. This creates a feedback loop that improves product placement, usage, and repeat purchases.
Each quarter, campaigns focus on a single flavor—ginger, cocoa, or Gruyère & black pepper. Emails and influencer partnerships all highlight that flavor. Effie’s works with creators to make recipes, videos, and content for TikTok and Instagram, building a library of posts they can reuse across seasons.
“Our marketing budget is small, so working with creators helps us get both awareness and content without expensive photoshoots,” Amory said. Paid media drives discovery, sampling encourages trial, and content builds confidence. A host with last-minute guests can see a post and instantly know what to do with Effie’s oatcakes.
Chevoo, a marinated goat cheese brand, adapts its Australian cheese for American holiday entertaining. Each jar has a clear flavor story—Herbes de Provence, smoked salt with rosemary, or Urfa chili with lemon. The oil preserves the cheese for about six months and can be used in cooking after the cubes are gone.
Pierre Guérin, Chevoo’s president, said, “We want people to use specialty cheese in many ways, not just on a board.” Recipes show how to roast vegetables or dress salads with leftover oil. Chevoo grew through specialty stores and Whole Foods, later reaching Kroger and ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, often near deli and wine sections. The brand partners with passionate local influencers to share authentic experiences.
Dutch Waffle Company focuses on the dessert-and-coffee part of holiday entertaining. After moving from the Netherlands to Indiana in 2019, founders Bianca Letens and her husband struggled through the pandemic but kept their business alive through private label work. Customers loved the fresh, handmade stroopwafels, and large retailers discovered the brand.
When influencers feature their products, like using a stroopwafel crust for cheesecake, sales spike without heavy advertising. Now, Dutch Waffle Company focuses on direct-to-consumer sales, curated coffee bundles, and micro-influencers, letting the quality and fresh-baked story speak for itself.
For Rohrbacher, “Stroopwafels go perfectly with coffee.” He suggests either dipping them in coffee or pairing them with Chevoo and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar “to balance the taste.”
Three Holiday Entertaining Tips CMOs Can Use
Susan Wheaton for Effie’s Homemade
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Focus on one key moment. Pick a simple, memorable moment and make it easy to repeat. Effie’s highlights the “cheese-and-nibble” moment, Chevoo shows how to make dishes taste special with just a jar of product over vegetables or boards, and Dutch Waffle Company focuses on the coffee-and-dessert ritual that keeps guests lingering.
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Make it simple for hosts. Many hosts don’t have the time or energy to create a perfect presentation. Chevoo shares easy three-step recipes that need very few extra ingredients but still look fancy. Dutch Waffle Company teaches that enjoying a stroopwafel is a small ritual: place it over a mug, let it soften, then enjoy.
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Treat influencers as co-creators. Let their ideas guide the creative work. Golub’s videos with Effie’s show how to make attractive snack boards using common grocery items, with Effie’s biscuits as the base and cheeses, jams, or Chevoo cubes added on top.
For Golub, the videos aren’t just marketing—they show a calm, step-by-step process that makes viewers think, “I could do that in ten minutes before guests arrive.”
This is the approach food CMOs should take. For many hosts, the real luxury is feeling confident enough to welcome guests anytime—whether a random Tuesday or December 25th—while keeping holiday entertaining simple and stress-free.
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