Cookie Co. Sweetens Its Business With Partnership
Charleston Regional Business Journal
September 19, 2005
By Holly Fisher , Supplements Editor
Judith Moore has been baking cookies since she was a child. But she never
dreamed she could make a living at it.
Charleston Cookie Co. is a mere two years old, but Moore already expects to make a profit this year. Her sweet success is due, in part, to a new partnership with Dean & Deluca, a retail and catalog gourmet food company out of New York City. Moore’s cookies will be featured in the September catalog and online at
www.deandeluca.com.
Moore and her crew are busy baking 20,400 dozen cookies for Dean & Deluca; that’s 244,800 cookies that will ship from the Charleston Cookie Co. kitchen
located in the James Island Business Park.
Moore’s partnership with Dean & Deluca is a perfect example of “it’s all about who you know.” While networking, she met someone who used to work for Dean &
Deluca. He suggested she send some samples to the company. She did, and the company jumped at the chance to sell her baked goods.
Even though Moore receives only wholesale price for her work, she welcomes the exposure and the chance to reach a wider audience. “It’s a preview of where we
need to go to grow the business,” Moore said.
Charleston Cookie Co. has a one-year contract with Dean & Deluca, but Moore expects the company will opt to renew next year.
“These cookies are good enough to sell themselves,” she said.
Charleston Cookie Co. has four full-time employees, including chef Judy Papadimitriou, and two part-time employees. Moore also plans to add a pastry assistant to the staff. Using huge cookie sheets and an oven the size of a closet, the cookie crew does all its work by hand—until the Dean & Deluca
contract.
Now Moore is planning a major investment and a new venture into automation. She plans to purchase a cookie depositor. Rather than scooping the dough onto the baking sheets by hand, this machine will spit out 1,800 cookies a
minute—drastically increasing production.
Moore said she resisted automation because she likes having work for people and even employs two part-time workers from the Disabilities Board of Charleston
County to help with packaging.
“I resisted automation, but it’s more efficient and economical,” she added.
The cookies are still mixed by hand, but automated packaging may be the next
step in Moore’s growing business.
Recipe for success
The Charleston Cookie Co. started because Moore was searching for the perfect
chocolate chip cookie. During the 2001 Christmas season, she tried every recipe
she could find but wasn’t satisfied. So starting with a basic butter cookie
dough, Moore created her own chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Her son-in-law planted in her mind the idea of her own business. He mentioned a cookie company in Nashville that had grossed $93 million that year. Moore joked
that she is not a numbers person but words like “million” get her attention.
“So I started investigating what it would take to start a cookie company,” she said. She spent about a year putting together a business plan and then the following Christmas decided to test her idea. She baked and sold 220 dozen cookies over 12 days in her own kitchen.
“I was exhausted, but I had so much fun I knew I was in the right business,” Moore said.
The company still uses her chocolate chip recipe. And the pecan chocolate chip cookies have a top-secret ingredient.
Moore finds it hard to believe the business has come this far in such a short period of time. Most small businesses need at least five years to get out of the red.
A former marriage/family therapist, Moore said she still makes people feel
better. “It’s all about opportunities to make people feel good. But with cookies, it’s easier.”
Moore also spreads warm feelings with gift cards that accompany a cookie order. Customers can choose from 20 inspirational quotes and sayings to add a
personalized touch to the delivery.
What’s in the oven?
Charleston Cookie Co. sells 10 cookie varieties and a brownie. Some special cookies are sold at Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, and a special Christmas
cookie is in the development stage.
New gold baskets are available for Christmas packaging along with Charleston Cookie Co.’s signature gold tins.
Moore continues to experiment in the kitchen; she and Papadimitriou also work
together on recipes. They have spent six months on a cappuccino cookie, trying to get just the right balance of coffee and sweetness.
The cookies coming out of Moore’s kitchen have to look good, taste good and feel good when a customer takes a bite. The size has to be uniform, and the cookies
need a little height to them so they aren’t flat. “Cookies are complicated,
which is the fun part,” she said.
Moore’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. She was the Charleston Metro Chamber of
Commerce’s Small Business of the Month for August, putting her in the running
for the Small Business of the Year Award. She also has a plaque in the kitchen
designating Charleston Cookie Co. SCORE’s Small Business of the Year.
“As an entrepreneur, you run a thin line between terror and exhilaration the
first few years,” Moore said. “Now, it’s starting to slide into exhilaration.”
Cookies are available locally at Charleston Cooks!, The Silver Puffin and A
Charleston Season. They can be ordered online at www.charlestoncookie.com.
Holly Fisher is the supplements editor for the Business Journal. E-mail her at hfisher@charlestonbusiness.com.
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