Small Business Trends

Wow! Cookies! How One Company Stands Out

New Business IdeasFebruary 5, 2010By Anita Campbell

I just had the best cookie!  Yes, you read that right  — I’m writing about cookies.  And no, this is not turning into a recipe blog.

This post has an entrepreneurial connection — bear with me, and I’ll tell you about it.

Today I got a package from FedEx. Turns out it was a box of delectable goodies, from Wow! Cookies! of Shaker Heights, Ohio.  I opened the outer packing box to discover this gift-wrapped box:

Wow! Cookies! Side view

It was so beautifully wrapped, I was intrigued.  In fact, I was so intrigued that I hated to tear into the paper.  So I took another photograph instead. (I’m not a very good photographer and rarely take photos, so please excuse the quality of these — they look much better in person.)   :)

Wow! Cookies! BoxFinally I opened the box.  There I found a gift card (I’ll get to that in a moment) and this luscious sight:

Wow! Cookies! Open box

Cookies!  The package with the pink ribbon turned out to be chocolate chip cookies.

I ate one immediately.  Who could resist?  (Certainly not me!)

More cookies!

They are delightful — crispy edges and soft centers, with loads of chocolate chunks.  You can taste the butter and quality ingredients.  They taste homemade — better than homemade, actually.  I don’t think I could bake a cookie that good (and I’m no slouch in the kitchen).

Wow! Cookies! Delightful

In addition to the cookies, there are 4 brownies.  I haven’t tried one of those yet, but, hey, the night is young….

So, where’s the entrepreneurial connection, you ask?  Well, there are two.

First, inside the box was a card that said “Anita, We LOVED your presentation!”  Just like that — got the inflection right.  It was from the folks at COSE (Council of Smaller Enterprises) and their Social Media Leaps team.  I am on the Board of the tech arm of COSE, and had given a webinar earlier this week about social media, highlighting the Social Media Leaps program.   Social Media Leaps is a website and social media training program that offers tutorials for small business leaders on how to use social media — and I highly recommend it.

But the main entrepreneurial story here is about Wow! Cookies!  Seeing the bakery’s website address on the flyer inside the box, I had to check it out.  The website is simple, yet compelling … compelling because it puts the cookies front and center.

And I realized that the box I received looked exactly like the ones pictured on the website.  So did the cookies — and that’s unusual.  Mail-order baked goods usually look much better on the website. The real life equivalent is too often disappointing.  Not so with Wow! Cookies!

Reading the About Us page was compelling too.  There I learned about Penny Parker, the owner. Here is her “business story”:

Who put the WOW in WOW! Cookies?

In 2004, Penny Parker left her position as the sales and education director of a major Fortune 500 company. Instead of sitting back, she decided that retirement just wasn’t her style. After some soul-searching, she decided to turn her love of cookies into a business.

Penny began by scouring the city’s great bakeries in search of the ultimate cookie. What she found was a dismal array of bland cookies and a vanishing population of bakeries making homemade items. Now, even more determined to provide the Cleveland area with an incredible homemade cookie, Penny founded WOW! Cookies!. Her challenge was to create a unique product that used high-quality ingredients and could be delivered fresh, with a home-baked presentation.

The answer? A line of cookies made with farm-fresh eggs, creamery quality butter and milk products, imported French and Belgian chocolate, naturally dried fruits, perfectly roasted nuts and the highest quality bakery flour and oats. Penny has stated that her, “business is intended to satisfy the cravings of Cleveland’s most discriminating cookie connoisseurs.”

Wow! Cookies! websiteWow! Cookies!  is a wonderful example of an entrepreneurial venture of the kind I’ve spoken about as a being a good start-up in 2010:  a specialty foods business.

It’s also an example of how small businesses can compete in today’s age.  The basic products — cookies and brownies — are classic.  Nothing unusual about cookies and brownies, right?  What sets this business apart is the quality of the product — it’s definitely high end.  Another differentiator is the creativity of the packaging.

You don’t need to invent some never-before-heard-of new technology.  You don’t need to necessarily even have a big product line.  Just be outstanding at delivering a few things to customers.  Do it so well that you set your product line apart from what’s on the market.  Then you will have a premium product that others (like me) feel compelled to tell people about, and you can charge a premium for your product.

About the Author

Anita Campbell Anita Campbell is the Founder of Small Business Trends which has been following trends in small businesses since 2003. She is host of the weekly Small Business Trends Radio Show, with over 300 interviews logged; and owner of BizSugar, a social media site for small businesses.

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88 Responses to “Wow! Cookies! How One Company Stands Out”

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  1. Samantha says:
    February 6, 2010 at 5:43 am

    Wow – The entrepreneurial movement is on. It always has been but I have been noticing a number of new companies making good in these tough times. They are the one who will employ people. Entrepreneurs are the ones that push up forward. Thanks for this story and the reminder.

  2. Joel Libava says:
    February 6, 2010 at 8:19 pm

    Anita,

    I remember meeting Penny at a Beachwood Chamber Of Commerce event, and was very impressed with her product, and her focus.

    Now, I want a cookie too!

    The Franchise King®

  3. Susan Oakes says:
    February 8, 2010 at 12:49 am

    What a great story Anita. What I liked is that she actually did some homework first and her statement about her business definitely touches the emotions.

  4. Shara says:
    February 9, 2010 at 1:32 pm

    Hi Anita,
    I love this idea. Not only do you remember the folks who sent you the cookies, but you remember the company they came from. A similar idea is Sendoutcards.com
    People don’t send cards anymore, but receiving one is always a pleasure. Sending out sets you apart from the crowd- whether it’s a thank you note from a job candidate or an account manager keeping in touch with clients- you are more likely to get noticed (and get that job or more business from an account) if you send a card, or for that matter any number of gifts through Sendoutcards.com

    Ask me about it, I am happy to give you a virtual tour and point out the many benefits of sending out cards/gifts.

    I love your blog!

    Shara

  5. Ivana Taylor says:
    February 15, 2010 at 6:11 pm

    Hi Anita –

    I remember your telling me about this post and have finally had a few minutes to catch up on my blog reading. There is so much I love about this article:
    1) I love your spontaneous real-life experience articles because they come straight from the heart and are always filled with lessons.

    2) You featured a local small business and showed us exactly what set them apart.

    3) You provided great ideas for all of us in creating win-win-win situations. COSE won because of the impression they made on you. You won because you got the cookies (YUM) and WOW Cookies won because you featured them.

    Great stuff



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