Today we’d like to introduce you to Daryush Parsi.
Daryush, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
A U.S.-born son of Iranian immigrants, I lived for many years in Europe: France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands. As I met people from a range of backgrounds and nationalities, I noticed that many Europeans had something in common: They regularly gave each other gifts of tasty, ornately packaged sweets.
When I returned to the States, I didn’t encounter anything quite like Parisian pastries — until the first time I visited my parents’ homeland, Iran. The bakers there made French pastries that surpassed the ones I had in France. On top of that, I discovered a whole universe of magnificent Persian sweets unknown in Europe.
When I met my wife, Pardis, in Tehran, I came across the same social custom I’d witnessed in Europe. Only more so. On every holiday and special occasion, friends and families offer each other amazing Persian sweets in beautiful packages.
So when we settled in Dallas, we continued the tradition of enjoying Persian sweets and offering them as gifts to our friends. Whenever they tried one of these delicacies, they absolutely loved it. So we asked ourselves, “Why isn’t everyone eating Persian sweets?” The answer: “Because not everyone has tasted them.”
We decided that was a wrong we could right. We founded Pajama Sweets in 2016, and we started with Pistachio Brittle.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Pajama Sweets Pistachio Brittle has received a great reception. Our challenge is common to many other new companies–quickly getting our product in more doors and hands.
But, in the beginning, we had to resolve strongly different views on fundamental marketing choices, like product, brand name, and pricing.
Please tell us about Pajama Sweets.
We’re proud that after much research and analysis. we made the right decisions on choice of product, packaging, design, brand name, and logo. Our product, Pistachio Brittle, is delicious, beautiful, and unique–a crisp butter cookie combined with toffee-brittle, topped with crushed pistachios, and presented in beautifully designed embossed tins. It’s a wonderful gift for any occasion, and the tin is a useful keepsake memorializing the occasion.
Our brand name Pajama Sweets resonates with our customers. One thinks of fun times like slumber parties and the nostalgia for those times. And one thinks of relaxing in comfy clothes and being yourself. Also, the word “Pajama” is easy to say, sounds fun, looks nice, and is originally from Persian, which connects to the Persian origins of the sweets.
The Pajama Sweets logo of a young woman with a sweet smile is a romantic, even melancholic, figure. She’s expressing her emotions with music, perhaps the most powerful of the arts. The stars above her are traditional symbols of hope, dreams, aspirations. So, the logo resonates with our customers. It’s original, memorable, scalable, and gives the impression Pajama Sweets is an established brand.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I should have been more focused on selling to store owners and their customers who are in our main demographics, namely women in their 40’s to 60’s.
Pricing:
- Pistachio Brittle, half-pound pink tin, $20
- Pistachio Brittle, one-pound blue tin, $30
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pajamasweets.com/
- Phone: (972) 971-1596
- Email: daryush@pajamasweets.com
- Instagram: instragram.com/pajamasweets
- Facebook: facebook.com/pajamasweets
- Twitter: twitter.com/pajamasweets
Image Credit:
Chris Tonray, Tamyra McCartney
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