Susan Nolte always dreamed of starting a business and had plenty of ideas to consider, but nothing struck her as a promising concept until she looked for — and couldn’t find — healthy, all-natural cookie mixes at the grocery store a few years back.
“I’ve always tried to eat well and bake healthy foods. And I would get feedback from neighbors and friends who told me my cookies were awesome,” said Nolte. “In the back of my mind, I knew I wanted to own a business someday.”
When a new management team took over the company where she worked as a human resources recruiter in early 2008, Nolte could feel change in the air. She left her 12-year position at the global firm and within a few months, launched her specialty cookie mix business, the May Cookie Co. in West Hartford.
Nolte said she had a great idea but lacked the skills to run a successful business. In 2008, she signed up for a 16-week course for entrepreneurs at the University of Connecticut in Hartford, where she learned about business plans, marketing, websites and payroll.
Nolte launched the company using her own savings plus an SBA loan — she declined to disclose the amount.
“Plan on the start-up costing three times what you anticipate.” Nolte said she also figured out early that it made sense to pay someone else to help with the things she wasn’t good at.
Nolte recruited her 29-year-old daughter, Marissa Hanley, last year to serve as the company’s business manager and West Coast point of contact.
Hanley, who lives in Southern California’s Brentwood region, divides her time between farmers markets, community events and customer meetings. She is working to ink a deal with a high-end restaurant to carry the May Cookie line.
The three May Cookie Co. mixes are available online and in more than 100 stores nationwide. Nolte said she plans to spend the next year or two nurturing relationships with retailers before she adds more products or flavors.
“We’ve been able to thrive, despite the economy, probably because our products are affordable treats as opposed to luxury items.”
Nolte believes that while shoppers may be skimping on fancy dinners and costly pedicures, they are still willing to fork over a few bucks for a homemade-tasting cookie.
“I started this business in a rough economy thinking it would have turned around by now and that it would make doing business a bit less challenging,” said Nolte.
“I also knew it would take three to five years to reach the break-even point,” she said. “I’ve always been comfortable with that.”
Nolte, who relies on a healthy mix of retail and wholesale, skipped the cookie-cutter approach to running her home-based business; instead of hawking recipes or selling ready-to-eat treats for profit, she packages ingredients into separate bags with how-to baking instructions.
The West Hartford-based business sells three cookie varieties: Hearty and Wholesome Oatmeal Cranberry, Triple Chocolate Chip Oatmeal and dairy- and egg-free Rich and Chewy Chocolate Chip. Each sells for $8.99 to $14.99 and yields 15 to 30 cookies.
“Our cookies emphasize wholesome, healthier ingredients,” said Nolte. “No other mix combines separate packaging like I do with healthy ingredients.”
The company’s bake-from-home specialty cookies have less sugar than conventional mixes, contains whole grains and all natural ingredients, said Nolte. The unique packaging — each ingredient is individually wrapped — also helps differentiate the business from its competitors.
For example, the company recommends adding real vanilla instead of the powered alternative that is standard in conventional mixes; the triple chocolate chip oatmeal mix needs a small amount of vanilla extract, one egg and butter added. Nolte said bakers have the freedom to add unsalted butter or Smart Balance.
The mixes have a shelf life of 12 to 18 months, an important part of the company’s strategy to break into big-name health stores like Whole Foods Market, where competition for space is fiercely competitive and in short supply.
Nolte approached the chain in late 2008 and within a year had her products in four of the company’s Whole Foods Market stores in Connecticut.
