Buehler’s Fresh Foods is asking customers to help them name their new line of decadent brownies.
Just don’t suggest Killer Brownies — that name’s already taken.
Buehler’s began carrying the new line of brownies in December, made by Dorothy Lane Markets in Dayton.
Dorothy Lane got the recipe for Killer Brownies years ago from Russ Vernon, retired owner of Akron’s West Point Market. When Dorothy Lane wanted to sell the brownies nationally, West Point owners did not object as long as they never sold them as Killer Brownies in Northeast Ohio.
In December, Buehler’s began selling the brownies, marketed as Killer Brownies. Dorothy Lane CEO Norman Mayne said the mistake was his. When his company signed the deal with Buehler’s, he didn’t realize their stores were in the Akron area. He informed Buehler’s that while they could still sell the treats, they could not call them Killer Brownies.
Bob Buehler, vice president of marketing and merchandising for Buehler’s, said at the time that the stores would probably hold a contest to ask customers to help name the brownies. “We need to make lemonade out of lemons and we are committed to doing that,” he said.
Now the stores are doing just that. From now through the end of January, Buehler’s is sponsoring a “Name the Brownie Contest.”
The winner will receive a brownie a week for a year — more than 17 pounds’ worth. The prize will be attached to the customer’s Buehler’s Advantage Card.
Customers can enter through Buehler’s page on Facebook; via Twitter @buehlersgrocery, using hashtag #buehlersbrownie; or by stopping at any of the 14 stores’ bakery counters. Visit www.buehlers.com/contest_rules/ for details.
The brownies come in four varieties: the Original with layers of chocolate brownie, caramel and chopped pecans; Not-A-Nutter, which is similar to the original, but with chocolate chips instead of nuts; Peanut Butter, with peanut butter and peanuts; and salted caramel, which has a layer of coarse sea salt sprinkled into the caramel.