Four Generations & One Bold Expansion Strategy
How Sweetstory Media Turned a 100-Year NYC Legacy and a
Modern Growth Strategy into Bite-Sized Documentary Episodes
Sweetstory Media and Zaro’s team at the plant, Elmsford, NY
The elevator-pitch version of the Zaro's Family Bakery story goes something like this:
Great-grandfather Joseph (originally Zarubchik) started a successful bakery in the Bronx in 1927. Then in the 70’s, Grandfather Philip took a risk by going “all in” at Grand Central Terminal—and survived its great 1978 renovation spearheaded by Jackie Onassis. Father Stuart continued the legacy, opening several other locations strategically focused on New York City’s high-traffic hubs like the Port Authority Bus Terminal, both Penn Stations, and eventually the airports in the NYC metropolitan area.
Today, just shy of its 100th year, the fourth generation—brothers Michael, Brian, and Scott—is leveraging media, generational learnings, and hundreds of tried-and-true family recipes to pursue a bold goal: to complete the consumer cycle by expanding into college campuses and nationwide grocery stores.
This is where our collaboration begins.
When Zaro’s marketing team approached us, they knew exactly what they needed: four sizzle reels for a B2B email drip campaign introducing U.S. grocery buyers to their story. A sizzle reel is a short, high-energy video that highlights the best parts of a brand or story—like a trailer. With that in mind, we kicked off our pre-production and research phase.
We dug deep and uncovered a key highlight: Zaro’s is fully vertically integrated, producing handmade baked goods in their own plant just north of the Bronx—a major plus for buyers seeking dependable vendors. But buyer-vendor relationships go far beyond handshakes and shelf placement. They are long-term commitments involving negotiation, promotional implementation, testing, demo support—and just as importantly, an easy-going, collaborative personality makes the process smoother for everyone. For buyers, choosing a reliable vendor is their best insurance policy.
So how do you say “we’re dependable, supportive partners” without saying exactly that? Testimonials.
In just four days, we filmed 25 interviews and b-rolls across the Zaro’s ecosystem:
Father Stuart’s home, with two generations present
The OG Grand Central Terminal location, with their 50+ year next-door neighbor & second-generation watchmaker along with long-time regulars and associates
LaGuardia Airport, with Terminal B’s commercial operations team (aka the airport’s “buyers”)
Bakery plant, with the plant manager and associates
Manhattan University, with their student regulars
We captured voices from inside the company and across the consumer ecosystem—from partners to end users—to support the narrative of reliable partnership.
Why do I believe their ambitious nationwide expansion—while not advisable for just any brand—might actually work? Because they’ve figured out how to close the loop in their consumer cycle.
Armed with a scripted question list from pre-production, I sat behind the interview seat and asked the big question: How will this expansion actually work?
“College campus,” began Scott, the youngest of the three. “You’re with a friend, sharing a Zaro’s product. You graduate, enter the workforce, travel through a NYC airport, and see Zaro’s again. Then you get married, have children, and move to the suburbs. At your local supermarket, you buy our challah, rugelach, hence…”
“The consumer cycle,” finished Brian, his older brother, excitedly.
Yes, that “married with children” suburban grocery shopper was played by none other than yours truly. While we’re well-versed in talent scouting and casting, for projects not requiring hired actors, we’re not afraid to get scrappy. Our project manager Chris Talio played the cashier. Zaro’s marketing partner Hamish Mahon played the black-and-white cookie customer in the opening of the first episode.
One of our biggest challenges in post-production was the music. Both our project manager and I come from highly musical backgrounds, and we understood how crucial it was to driving the story. While era-appropriate, historical sounds were essential to honoring Zaro’s legacy, the brand is also future-focused—eager to move forward with a modern strategy. We needed a score that reflected both. The final soundtrack blended nostalgic tones with contemporary beats to evoke that sense of momentum and evolution.
It was a creative, collaborative, and unforgettable experience—imprinted in digital format, ready to live on forever.
