It all started with a sketch. A simple sketch of a jumping white fox has helped Fox in the Snow make the leap to a social media and culinary darling. The Columbus, Ohio bakery was named after a line in a Belle and Sebastian song, and it needed a logo that would grab peoples' attention.

Owners Lauren Culley and Jeff Excell decided that the logo would be a fox jumping in the snow. They found a pencil drawing of it on Google Image search and were able to find the artist, who resided in Chicago. They contacted the artist to re-draw it for their logo. When it was designed, one of the bakery’s regulars offered to paint the logo on the side of the building temporarily.

They had planned on painting over it once they had the money, but soon discovered that they wouldn’t need to go the trouble. “I was driving by the shop and there were people posing in front of the fox and getting their picture taken. It then became a thing that people still do to this day. It was a very happy accident. It was one of the only times in my life that being broke really helped me,” Culley says. Without intending to, the bakery had become a viral discovery and a must-visit for that perfect Instagram pic. Although the buzz has been built organically through customers, Fox in the Snow has leveraged that by engaging with its social media followers.

It also helps that the bakery can justify the attention with a stellar menu. Scratch-made breakfast sandwiches, inventive pastries, and delicious coffee have elevated Fox in the Snow to one of the top culinary destinations in Columbus and a rising name in baking in the Midwest.

Everything works together to build a successful brand. Culley shares advice given to her by the founder of Blue Bottle Coffee (where she used to work) long ago, who told her that “branding is just thinking about every single detail and how it fits together.” Fox in the Snow’s owners are constantly thinking about how to tie everything in, from the menu and logo to the music played in the shop and the merchandise offered.

The bakery celebrated its fifth anniversary last year. Fox in the Snow now has three locations in Columbus, and the bakery looks to continue that growth in the years to come.