Local company reaches profitability
Charleston Regional Business Journal
February 7, 2007
By Lindsay Danzell , Contributing Writer
When Judith Moore couldn’t find the best cookie recipe, she made her own. In September 2003, when she realized the Charleston market lacked a cookie company, Moore started her own: the Charleston Cookie Co.
At the end of its third full year, the company has achieved profitability. It realized a 21% pre-tax profit for 2006, with an increase in revenues of 76% over 2005.
Located on James Island, Moore runs a seven-person staff that has more than doubled since her first year in business.
Since its opening, the company has experienced rapid sales growth, Moore said. Although sales have steadily increased since the company’s inception, it took some time for the company to reach profitability.
“When you start a company and nobody knows who you are it is very difficult to make any money,” Moore said.
Her two largest clients are The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort and New York-based retailer Dean & Deluca. For 2006 Christmas sales, the company made 500,000 cookies for Dean & Deluca.
In late 2006, a Food Network show featured the company and started a media frenzy over the Charleston treats. When the dust settled from the flurry of articles and spotlights, the Charleston Cookie Co. saw expanded sales in the final months of 2006 that pushed it to its final profit margin.
“Trends tend to come and go, but people always eat really good cookies and that’s what people want,” Moore said.
The company has targeted a 35% to 40% increase in sales for 2007, Moore said. The projected percent increase was smaller than she’d like, but she said she wanted to remain realistic.
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