Cookies are the most popular sweets. Cookies have a lot of kinds and varieties. You have come here because you have already mastered your cookie recipes and have been confident enough to sell them. In this article, you’ll learn how to start a cookie business and make it successful.
You can even know you’re ready when your cookies don’t even last a minute on your table.
This brings you to the next step, sharing your cookie style in your place while making money out of it. In this blog, we will help you and guide you on how to start your home-based cookie business.
What Are The Advantages and Disadvantages of Opening A Cookie Business?
Opening a cookie business can be exciting. You get to share your creations with other people while making a good profit, but that does not mean it’s easy. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of starting a cookie business.
The following are the Advantages:
- You get to do what you love and even make money out of it
- Low Startups especially if it is a home-based business
- You can experiment with your business by selling online before really building or renting a cookie shop.
- You get to use your creativity
- You get to bake at your most convenient time
Despite the advantages, there are still a lot of challenges when maintaining a cookie business.
The Disadvantages are:
- Will come to a point where it will not be fun anymore
- It can be time consuming
- Short shelf life of cookies means you can’t bake ahead of time to maintain the quality. This can be tiring over time.
- Low profit
Are Cookie Businesses Lucrative?
Yes, but a lot of things need to be done for it to become profitable. So, what does it take to make your cookie business profitable?
A cookie shop can be lucrative if customers adore your cookies. Also if you have a successful business model, In 2020 the global biscuits market area was USD 27340 million and it is still expected to reach USD 37830 by 2027, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 4.3% around 2021 and 2027. Which is profitable if handled properly.
So what makes it hard for a cookie business to thrive? The cookie business can’t have that much profit because, as I said earlier, cookies have low profit. Some cookie sellers switched to cakes because of the huge difference in profits and some switched to decorated cookies because of their larger profit compared to non-decorated cookies.
How Can You Make a Cookie Business Profitable?
Even though cookies have low profit, that does not mean that you turn down that chance of selling. There are still many entrepreneurs who have been successful with their cookie business. That’s why don’t limit yourself to the choices below.
These choices below are only here to help you gain a larger profit compared to normal cookies, but if you find a way to gain more profit using choco chunk cookies or any cookies, then go for that.
1. Self-Decorated Cookies
Like I said earlier, you go with this option because you can earn a lot of profit from these compared to a normal cookie. Although the downside of this is that it is time-consuming.
2. Selling cookies with your other products(cakes, brownies, etc)
You can sell your cookies with other baking products so that your profit will not be affected that much.
What Are The Types of Cookie Business
1. Home-Based Cookie Business or Online Cookie Business
If you are just getting started with your cookie business, this is the safest option. Instead of renting a place for your shop, just make your website or Facebook page to announce your presence.
You can also pay for ads, rather than paying rent, which can ultimately boost your business presence.
2. Building or Renting for your Cookie shop
If you still want to sell your cookies physically, then this option might be for you, although this type of cookie business may require a large investment compared to the home-based type.
How to Start a Cookie Business: Requirements
Even though cookie selling is the easiest one to start with, you still have to complete your paperwork, business name and plans to start your shop.
1. Create Your Business Plan
This is the major part of your business. This can also be the cause of your business not going well if your business plan is not created properly.
That’s why you need to make deep research of the place where you will sell(if not home-based), target market, and lastly if you have any competitions. You should also think about how you can be better than your competition.
2. Create a Marketing Plan
Another point to look at is creating your marketing plan. We don’t wait for people to buy our products but we showcase and broadcast our products to them.
A Marketing plan is a more detailed plan on how you will advertise your business and on how you will catch the attention of buyers.
If you are having trouble making this plan for your business, here is a precise way how to create your marketing plan.
3. Complete Your Licenses, Business Permits, and other requirements.
Each state or country has its different requirements when starting a business. You have to first complete all of these before moving to the next step.
4. Create your Business Name
It’s always important to create your business names and get them approved to get started with your business.
5. Create Your Website
Creating a website is by far the easiest and cheapest way of announcing your presence to your customers, and since most people are online, this is also the best way of marketing your cookie products.
6. Create Your Packaging and Labels
Packaging improperly can end up in cookie crumbs by the time it gets to your buyer. That’s why it is also advisable and a good choice to look into other cookie shops on their packaging before you do it.
Putting your labels is important because it is a requirement and you also want your customers to be well informed on what they are about to eat.
Here are the things you need to place when labeling your products
- The identity of your product
- Make sure to understand the legal terms like “gluten-free” or “organic”. If you can’t show that your products agree with these requirements, then you may not be permitted to use these terms.
- Look into the USDA guidelines for calculating the nutritional contents of your product. You can leave the task to an exclusive company if you are not sure about doing it yourself.
- The list of your ingredients
- The location and name of the distributor or manufacturer
- Label the allergens off your product if there are.
7. Set Your Price
You must get your price right. Take into your price the ingredients, water, and electricity usage, the time it took for you to bake, and also look into your competitor’s prices. Maybe your price is too high or too low compared to them.
Make sure to consider that the more effort and skill you put into your cookie, the more expensive it would be.
You also need to think about what the market is willing to pay for, and lastly, make sure that your price still has a good amount of profit.
8. Delivering or Shipping
If you will be supplying to stores or selling to your friends and relatives, Surely, you will use your car as a mode of transport to where you will deliver. If using this option, be sure that they are well packaged, fully secured, and meet the health guidelines of your state.
If you are carrying out your orders over the phone or online, and if you don’t have a car to use when delivering, shipping your products is one way.
You can ship them through FedEx, USPS, or DHS. Before acquiring their service, make sure to find the best offer at a price that is within your budget.
What Are The Equipment and Supplies Needed To Start a Cookie Business?
I know that you will mostly have the equipment needed to start your business, but here is the list of the things needed in case you don’t yet have some of these.
- Stand or Hand Mixer(Optional, but it is best to have one, especially when you have mass orders)
- Oven
- Refrigerator or Freezer
- Cooling Racks
- Baking Pans
- Mixing Bowls
- Spatula
- Rolling Pin
- Piping Bags(Custom-decorated cookies)
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Cookie Cutters(depends on the type of cookie you will be selling)
- Ingredients(Butter sugar, eggs, flour, etc)
How Can You Have A Good Headstart In your Business
1. Sell Your Cookies To your Friends and Relatives
You may already know this, but this is important when starting a business. Your relatives and friends are the ones that will support you through the starting of your business.
2. Supply for coffee shops or events.
A homemade cookie is usually priced between $3-$4. while a dozen cookies are priced at $10-$25. So why not sell them for events. That way you can get a lot of orders and you can pretty much save your time when selling that way.
How Can You Maintain Your Business?
1. Create Your Schedule
Creating a routine can be beneficial for you and your business. That’s why you need to create a routine or you can plan on what you will do for the next day. For example. I will bake the day before and deliver the next morning and do my accounting this afternoon.
Creating your habitual routine is important so that you can balance and maximize your time on what you are doing.
2. Account Everything
It’s really important to account for all your expenses, profits, sales, etc, so that you would know if you are earning or not. This can also help you later on when something goes wrong with your business.
3. Consistency is the Key
Everything requires consistency and perseverance. Continued advertising, renovating your business is a good way to nurture your business.
At first,, you may only get a little profit because of your investments, but it will have a huge payback later on.
4. Expand Your Business
If your business does not already take most of your time, and your shop is financially stable then it is a great choice to expand to other products, so that you don’t limit yourself to one product and you may also learn a lot from it.
Some sellers would add drinks, or other baking sweets like cake, brownies to their cookie shop to also not limit the customer to one choice.
One Chic Cookie: A Special Order Baking Business
One Chic Cookie is a successful cookie business that offers a variety of cookies. From simple round cookies to rugelach cookies, One Chic Cookie has a lot of offers that can satisfy your palate.
They also offer different types of artistically designed boxes to go with your cookies.
What Inspired Cowart(Owner) to Start the Cookie Business
Cowart, who does not have formal training in baking, was inspired by her mother. It took her years of observing to finally bake her style of cookies.
How Did Her Business Became Successful
The core of her sweets shop is self-decorated sugar cookies, which in reality can be time-consuming.
It usually takes her 8-12 hours to bake 100 cookies. That’s why she only takes about 3-5 orders a week depending on the cookie size.
She earns about $600-$2000 per month, and even more during special holidays.
Through her business, we can learn that when you love what you are doing, it will heavily pay you back later on. Having a learning mindset can also push you to learn a lot of things.
It’s Up To You
We may have different sayings when it comes to starting a cookie business, but It’s really up to you to determine if this business fits your liking and lifestyle. No conclusions can be made without you trying.
Starting a cookie business can be challenging and fun. You get to share your secret recipe with other people while making money out of it, but it does not mean it’s’ just that easy. Home Based cookies usually take a lot of your time, that’s why you need to sacrifice some part of your time to nurture your business.
Having this type of business can give you a lot of learning experience on how to handle it. There will be ups and downs, but it will be rewarding in the end.
Thank you so much for reading this blog. Has this encouraged you to start your cookie shop? If yes, please share with us your struggles through the comment section and we’ll answer them!
Startup Machinery is a platform where you can learn tons of professional ideas on how to start a business and where to source the best equipment.
Thanks for some idea what may support my coming cookie business.
You are very much welcome Nang!