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LESLIE HAYWOOD
President and Founder
Grill Charms™
Charmed Life Product, LLC
Leslie Haywood, President and Founder of Grill Charms™ and Charmed Life Products, LLC, has been a resident of Charleston, South Carolina, since 1993. Haywood graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Central Florida in 1993 with a degree in Organizational Communications. Upon completion of her undergraduate work, Haywood returned to Charleston and began a nine year career in the import/exporting industry with CaroTrans International. She worked with CaroTrans International in a variety of positions, including as a Customer Service Rep, in sales and finally as a Customer Service Manager where she was instrumental in setting up various offices throughout the southeast and implementing standards for customer service throughout the company.
After the birth of her first daughter, Madison, in November 2002 and subsequently her second daughter, Morgan, in December 2004, Haywood focused her efforts on raising her children and working as a stay-at-home mom. Haywood had no immediate plans to return to a business career until April 2006 when she and her husband hosted a dinner party at their home, and the idea of Grill Charms™ first surfaced.
Shortly thereafter, Haywood set to work making her vision of Grill Charms come to life. Despite a diagnosis of breast cancer in June 2006 and a bilateral mastectomy in August 2006, Haywood launched Charmed Life Products, LLC in the fall of the same year. Throughout 2007, Haywood worked extensively to research, design and manufacture the first packaged collection, The Steak Collection, which was made available to consumers in November 2007. Her second collection, the Spicy Collection, was made available for consumers in select retail locations in late December 2007. Haywood is currently in the process of promoting her product to various businesses and developing three subsequent collections, many of which will be available for purchase by late 2008.
Since the debut of Grill Charms™, Haywood has appeared on Channel 4's "Lowcountry Live" and the American Dream Team segment of "The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch" on CNBC promoting her product to the public.
Grill Charms™
CHARMED LIFE PRODUCTS, LLC
FACT SHEET
- President and Founder: Leslie Haywood
- Concept of Grill Charms™ originated in early 2006
- Grill Charms™ are similar in concept to the wine charm.
- The purpose of Grill Charms™ is to allow individuals to easily distinguish spices and flavors, steak temperatures and avoid health or allergy issues prior to cooking chicken, steak, pork, fish or vegetables.
- Each charm is made of high quality heat conducting stainless steel and is the size of a dime.
- Grill Charms™ consist of a decorative head to distinguish foods on the grill and a serrated stem to keep the charm secure in the meat while grilling or broiling.
- Leslie Haywood and Grill Charms™ have been featured in a variety of media, including:
- The Post and Courier
- The Charleston Regional Business Journal – Selected as one of the 40 under Forty outstanding community and business leaders in the Charleston area
- Chosen by Orca Communications as one of their "Best Products 2008"
- Four appearances on the Donny Deutsch show, “The Big Idea,” on CNBC
- Womenentrepreneur.com
- Available for purchase at several retail locations and online via retailer websites
- Several collections are Grill Charms™ are currently available, including
- The Steak Collection
- The Spicy Collection
- The Charmed Life Collection
- The Pink Collection (available Fall 2008)
- Each set of Grill Charms™ comes packaged with 6 charms per box.
- Comprehensive website at www.grillcharms.com
- Contacts Information: (843) 437-7079
allows individuals to indicate the preferred cooking temperature of their meat by affixing a Grill Charm™ prior to cooking
The decorative heads are detailed with peppers representing varying degrees of heat (Mild, Medium and Spicy)
The Signature collection will include designs (e.g. a sailboat and a tropical vacation) associated with living a "Charmed Life"
Once available, a portion of the proceeds of this product will be donated to breast cancer research.
For Immediate Release
January 7, 2008
For more information, please contact:
Marjory Wentworth, 843-971-6930, Marjory@fluencycreative.com, Jessica Bundschuh, 843-597-3728, Jessica@fluencycreative.com, or Emily Ford at emilypittardford@hotmail.com
Grill Charms™
The Newest Phenomenon in Grilling Products
CHARLESTON, SC - Leslie Haywood, a stay-at-home mom turned entrepreneur, recently introduced her first two collections of Grill Charms™, the newest phenomenon in grilling products, and they have immediately become the "must-have" new product. Once affixed to your chicken, fish, steak, pork or even vegetables, Grill Charms™ allow individuals to differentiate their item from others on the grill. This gives grillers the opportunity to cook their meat to the preferred temperature, season their chicken with as much or as little spice as they like and avoid health or allergy issues all together prior to cooking.
Created by Charmed Life Products, a company formed by Haywood in 2006, Grill Charms™ are similar in concept to the wine charm. Each charm is made of high quality heat conducting stainless steel and is the size of a dime. The decorative head differentiates your food from others, and the serrated stem keeps the charm secure in the meat while grilling or broiling.
"My ah-ha moment came really unexpectedly," said Leslie Haywood, founder of Charmed Life Products and Grill Charms™. "While grilling one evening with my husband and several close friends, my husband mixed up the spicy chicken with the non-spicy chicken, and I said that there had to be an easy way to differentiate the meats from one another on the grill. I thought of the idea of charms, and that was it. I was determined to make the idea work, and 18 months later, it has become a reality."
The first collection of Grill Charms™ available to consumers was designed to aid in cooking meat to its desired temperature. The Steak Collection allows individuals to differentiate their preferred steak temperature by affixing one of four different charms prior to cooking. Grill Charms™ in The Steak Collection come packaged with six charms per box. Included are two 'R' charms for rare cooking, two 'MR' charms for medium rare cooking, one 'M' for medium cooking and one 'MW' for medium well cooking.
The second available collection, the Spicy Collection, is the answer to a griller's dilemma when it comes to telling the spicy meat from the non-spicy meat. Also packaged with six charms per box, the decorative heads are detailed with peppers representing varying degrees of heat (Mild, Medium and Spicy).
A business woman prior to becoming a stay-at-home mom after the birth of her first child, Leslie Haywood is dedicated to delivering an excellent end product. While The Steak Collection and the Spicy Collection are the first collections offered to consumers, Haywood is currently in the process of developing three subsequent collections, many of which will be available for purchase by late 2008. For more information about Grill Charms™ or to order, please visit the website at www.grillcharms.com
Leslie Haywood is available for interviews.
If you are a member of the media and would like a grill charms sample, please contact us!