How To Start A Cookie Business

How To Start A Cookie Business - Background Info:

A large number of women and men have build their businesses and reputation by selling fresh, yummy and healthy cookies using the best of ingredients.

Gourmet related businesses are one of the most popular categories of home based business ideas and a large number of people specially stay at home moms are turning to cooking making, cooking classes and online cooking recipes business as the offer a great money making potential.

Everyone loves fresh, homemade cookies. Many Americans work full time and they find that there isn't a lot of time left over at the end of the day to bake delicious treats for the family. This is where you come in. As the owner of a cookie business, you can supply cookies and comfort to people of all ages, income brackets, and job types.

The marketing niche of this business is that you bake cookies and then deliver them hot to a customer. The business model is very much the same as that of the pizza delivery business.

In the pizza business, they bake pizzas to order and then deliver them to their clients straight from the oven. This is exactly what you do in the hot cookie delivery business.

The other niche for a cookie business is specialty cookies that, much like cakes, can be cut and created for different events and celebrations.

What you don't want to do is try being another "Mrs. Fields" because so many people freshly bake and box cookies in bakeries and grocery stores. This is why it is extremely important to develop a niche such as 'decorator/custom' cookies or cookies that delivered to businesses and events fresh from the oven.

You could also consider purchasing a used ice-cream truck, install ovens, and sell cookies at job sites, events, fairsand wherever your traveling spirit would want to take you. Fresh-baked, all-natural cookies would do well in this or any other type of sales environment involving children.

While some might think a cookie business could do well as an internet business, think again. Most people are skittish about purchasing food from unknown sources, let alone through the internet, for their families to consume. In addition, well-established food companies that have been around for years usually offer specialty cookies.

If you are interested in starting a cookie business, chances are that you already enjoy baking and your cookies win the approval of friends and relatives. However, if you'd like a little more training, check out the culinary schools in your area. Baking classes can be a good way to learn more. Also, consider apprenticing with an established baker in your area.

Starting a cookie business is appealing to a lot of people because it require minimal investment capital. You probably already have most of the equipment. You may need to buy additional bowls, mixing tools, or cookie sheets. Also, spend some money on advertising. Business cards, fliers, or fee samples are always good promotional tools.

How To Start A Cookie Business - Tasks And Skills Needed:

Business Specific Tasks:

If you are planning to do all the business tasks or hiring or subcontracting tasks, here's a list of tasks that need to be attended to when it comes to the business side of running a cookie business:

Bookkeeping

Advertising/Marketing

Scheduling

Computer literacy

Answering machine

Record keeping

Customer service skills

Industry Specific Tasks:

Same as above if you plan to do everything yourself or get help, here are some of the tasks necessary to operate a cookie business:

Great baking skills (your cookies have to taste better than what people can make at home).

Ability to accurately estimate amount of ingredients needed.

Ability to multiply recipes.

Ability to offer original or "special" products.

Flexibility in scheduling to deliver fresh, hot cookies.

How to create an assortment of different kinds of cookies in bulk.

How to cut and decorate unique cookies of your own design.

Coordinate with caterers and party planners.

Labeling, including the listing of ingredients.

How To Start A Cookie Business - Approximate Daily Hours Needed:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

General Hours of Operation: - When your business is open - This business has variable baking, packaging, and delivery hours 6-7 days a week including weekends and holidays.

Hours Needed to Prepare - Before Opening and After Hours Activities - Plan to spend about an hour to pre make cookie dough, another hour to bake batches and package, and additional time if you are delivering still-hot cookies to a location. After hours include bookkeeping, checking email and voicemail, and pre making more batches of cookies.

Number of Employees Needed To Run This Business:

Minimum Number of Employees -During the Start Up Phase: You can start this business yourself on a full-time basis.

Number of Employees - Once Your Business is Up and Running Successfully:

Website maintenance
Assistant dough makers and cookie bakers
Housekeeper/cleaner
Record/Bookkeeping
General office
Delivery driver(s)
Packagers, labelers and shippers

Skill Requirements for This Business:

Knowledge of nutritional values.

Ability to be flexible to change orders last-minute.

Patience and knowing that not every batch will turn out as expected.

Understanding that quality, not quantity, is always foremost in the cookie business.

Reliability and consistency with creating, baking, and delivering top-quality cookies every order.

A deep passion for creating and baking outstanding cookies.

Licenses:

You will probably need a business license to run your cookie business, depending on the state or county in which you plan to start it.

If you are working out of your home, check the zoning regulations to make sure you can do business there. Also, you'll need to register with the Department of Health as a baker provided you meet the guidelines set by the FDA and other legal requirements mandated by your locality.

You may also need a commercial driver's license if you are delivering cookies as part of your business or baking and selling them out of a truck or van.

Approximate Minimum Start up Cost:

Bare essential: - The average startup cost varies depending on how much of the furniture and supplies you already have. The average startup range is between $250-2,500.

Minimal exposure - There are several ways to advertise for free. If you have a computer, make yourself some fliers to pass around to local businesses, schools, business groups, business complexes, real estate companies, wedding and event planners, gift basket companies, auto dealers, and many other types of businesses where customers have a waiting period long enough for coffee or drink and a cookie.

Think of places where you can get free publicity to give a batch of sample cookies to as well such as at radio and television stations and leave your card inside the batch.

You might also consider getting business cards at this time, and put an ad in the local newspaper in the services section.

Mixed Cookies

Necessary Equipment to Run this Business:

Necessary Start-Up Equipment & Supplies:

Computer

Printer

Cell phone

Mixing bowls

Utensils

Cookie sheets

Cooling racks

Great recipes - Grandma's secret recipe is good!

Vehicle to deliver cookies to stores or customers

Food ingredients

Website

A good oven

Packaging for cookies (try to stick with organic materials)

Supplementary Equipment: - Equipment or helpful products that you can acquire to once your business is off and running:

Separate warming portable carriers or units

Postal scale and packing materials to ship cookies

Additional oven(s)

Unique packaging (such as a box in the shape and design of a very large cookie).

Monthly Expenses To Consider:

Wages
Phone/cell phone
Internet access
Permits
Advertising/Marketing
Electricity
Water
Cookie dough ingredients
Shipping

Special Requirements and Considerations For This Business:

Find out all you can about the trends in the industry. Know your competition, in particular, their strengths and weaknesses. This will help you identify your competitive advantage. In other words, this will help you figure out what you can give your customers that they're not getting from the other businesses. And keep from emulating the competition's strategy. Instead, make the most of your own advantage points.
You may need to rent an offsite location that has received approval for cookie-making business purpose. When you find a place, make sure it has the capacity to handle your growing business.
What will you do that will make them special enough for people to drive across town to buy them, or dig out their credit card and pay for them through your website? It could be your decadent dark chocolate, or the special design of your cookies, or that your cookies are made into cookie bouquets or cookie baskets.
Your ingredients could connect with a particular market. Is it the fact that your cookies are low carbohydrate, are all vegan, or contain only organic ingredients that will attract your customers?
Test your original cookie recipes on your family and friends to find the most appealing cookies to sell. You might need to add a secret ingredient to certain recipes, to set them apart from other company's cookies.

Pros And Cons of Starting A Cookie Business:

The Pros of Running a Cookie Business:

People spend billions of dollars in the United States on baked goods.

You have the advantage of being your own boss.

There is a great market for cookies.

Ideal for at-home parents.

Low startup costs.

This business is completely expandable.

The Cons of Running a Cookie Business:

A lot of competition, including giant companies.

People can make their own cookies and may cut down on baked goods when money gets tight.

You will be busiest on holidays, when demand soars.

May be hard to market your products due to existing competition.

It can be hard to create a unique niche

Type of Customers You Need to Attract:

If you are interested in the hot cookie delivery aspect, you can market your hot cookie delivery business to local businesses around your neighborhood. If possible, you want your market to be very close to where you will be baking the cookies. It will be even better if you live in a city where there are hundreds of businesses located in a very small area.

Good business targets are real estate agents, accountants and any office workers who can take five minutes to taste your cookies. Before you leave make sure they get an ordering guide and even some coupons for first-time orders.

For local marketing, the best way to get people talking about your cookie is to get people tasting your cookies…

Make up cookie baskets to donate as prizes for a school or church auction.

Bring or send beautifully decorated cookies into the office (with your business card attached, naturally) to make a Monday much sweeter.

Rent a booth at a craft show and sell cookies. Have your business card and a brochure available so customers know how to find you again.

Contact locally owned grocery stores and coffee houses about carrying your products. Locally owned stores may be able to make more buying decisions than larger chains.

Find gift basket businesses in your area, and suggest they include your cookies as one of their offerings.

Expand your home baking business through the web: create a web page with tantalizing pictures of your cookies. Make sure your web page includes an itemized price list and a shopping cart so customers can by them from afar. You'll need to accept credit cards or PayPal, and will need to find a fast, reliable shipping method so your cookies don't spoil en route.

In addition to a love of creating edible treats, you'll need to develop a solid understanding of running your business. Finding resources for your supplies, negotiating the best prices, keeping track of inventory and determining pricing are all skills necessary for your business.

Select a name for the cookie business; before you invest in any advertising materials, make sure no one else has already claimed it. Search your state's Secretary of State website's corporation naming listing. Type your proposed name into the search engine to see whether it is already in use. You can also look through the business section of your local yellow pages. Consider names that make a play on your own name: "Katie's Kookies" or something more upscale such as "Frances' Gourmet Desserts."

Target businesses in your community who may be interested in purchasing or sending cookies, such as doctor's offices, large corporations, bakeries and catering companies. Prepare a batch of cookies and include them with a menu, business card and contact information, then wrap in a basket and hand-deliver. Personalize a card for each organization, such as "When you need to congratulate someone on their next promotion, send a sweet treat basket from Max's Cookies."

Join a cookie industry organization such as The Biscuit & Cracker Manufacturers' Association, which offers educational seminars such as their cookie and cracker manufacturing course, the only self-study course designed for the baking industry, plus annual conferences, webinars and a membership list. Industry groups may charge membership fees, but offer discounts on training and conventions; use the online membership directory to find other cookie bakers in your local area who may serve as mentors or even bulk-buying partners to split the cost of large quantities of ingredients.

"The important thing is not being afraid to take a chance. Remember, the greatest failure is to not try. Once you find something you love to do, be the best at doing it." – Debbie Fields from the Mrs. Fields(r) cookie franchise.

Cookie Business Statistics:

The cookie business is quite profitable and its success rate is relatively high. The reason for this is most of us have a sweet tooth and once in a while we like to indulge our cravings and what better way to do this than by sinking our teeth into a delectable cookie or two?

Revenue:

The cookie business is a billion-dollar industry.

Cookie Business Resources:

Industry-Specific Websites:

Cookies-In-Motion

Food Online

Courses:

CIA ProChef

AIB

CIA Advanced Baking

Equipment and Supplies:

Shuma Online

Macrea's Bluebook

Forums:

ChefTalk

Franchises:

Mrs. Fields

Entrepreneur's Cookie Franchise Listings

Great American Cookies

Associations:

IDDBA

Food Marketing Institute

American Bakers Association

Home Baking Association

Snack Food Association

The Bisquit and Cracker Manufacturer' Association

Books:

Baking for Profit: Starting a Small Bakery
Start a Cookie Business Today! (Paperback)

Amazon Books on Food Specialty Business How-To's

Software:

SoftRecipe

Other:

Cookie Business Articles by Experts

Additional Cookie Business Resources

Baking the Perfect Cookie (article)

A Cookie Assembly Line

Businesses To Related to a Cookie Business:

Professional Baker
Chef
Party planner
Home Baker
Cake Decorating
Gift Baskets