Stephanie Stuckey bought her grandfather's fading brand and brought it back

Stuckey's was built by W.S. Stuckey, who started selling pecans from a Model A coupe during the Depression and opened a roadside stand in 1937. By the 1960s there were 368 stores in more than 30 states and by the 1970s nearly 400, an icon of the American road trip.

After the family sold out in the 1970s and corporate owners took over, the brand decayed: only a dozen original locations remained, in-house candy production had been shuttered for about 20 years, and pecans were outsourced from Mexico. Stephanie Stuckey, a lawyer and former Georgia legislator and the granddaughter of the founder, bought the business in November 2019.

Returning Stuckey's to a pecan and candy company rooted in Georgia farms, she and a partner bought a pecan-shelling and candy plant and recommitted to the product. Sales jumped from $2M to $14M in two years, and the brand began appearing in retail and online again.

Sales rose from $2M to $14M in two years; bought a Georgia pecan-shelling and candy plant; rebuilt the 87-year-old company.

She saw value in the brand that the financials did not show — nostalgia and a loyal following.

Returning to pecans and candy reconnected the company with its authentic roots.

Buying the company, not just licensing the name, gave her control of the rebuild.

A partner with pecan-farming/manufacturing experience made vertical integration possible.

A granddaughter who buys back a distressed family brand and returns it to its roots can beat the corporates who stripped it.

Stuckey's was rebuilt as a pecan and candy company with a Georgia production plant, going from $2M to $14M in sales in two years. Stephanie Stuckey published 'UnStuck' and the revival was covered nationally, re-establishing the family brand that the corporate owners had let wither.