Non-Decorated Cookie Seller Here! Startup Advice Needed!

Hi, Northsidecookies, Congrats on making your first post. I look forward to many more to come!

Yes, I had a bakery for ten years. We/I made pretty basic cookies as well as desserts of all kinds, though custom wedding cakes were my specialty. What specifically did you want to know about how to sell undecorated cookies - i.e., pricing, packaging, or marketing advice? Did you also want naming advice? My advice on the latter is to keep it simple and, especially if you have the dream of one day branding yourself as an expert, then include your name in your business name. Don't make the name so cute or clever that customers are left asking you what it means or how it relates to you.

Any advise you mentioned above would be very helpful.

I started out about a year ago baking & selling due to losing a job I held for over 12 years. The name....I'm thinking of honoring my father actually-he was killed and has been a cold case for over 32 years. He loved the Westerns, and Antiques, so I'm thinking about a Saloon type of theme with simple vintage, some southern recipes. The name I'm not so sure of yet-but it will come to me now that I have the theme I really want to go with. I didn't notice too many posts for non-decorated cookies-is there a site like this one specifically for that?

Northsidecookies posted:

Any advise you mentioned above would be very helpful.

I started out about a year ago baking & selling due to losing a job I held for over 12 years. The name....I'm thinking of honoring my father actually-he was killed and has been a cold case for over 32 years. He loved the Westerns, and Antiques, so I'm thinking about a Saloon type of theme with simple vintage, some southern recipes. The name I'm not so sure of yet-but it will come to me now that I have the theme I really want to go with. I didn't notice too many posts for non-decorated cookies-is there a site like this one specifically for that?

There aren't too many posts about non-decorated cookies, because this site is specifically dedicated to the art (and business) of cookie decorating.  But we're happy to answer all cookie-related questions. I don't know of another site about regular cookies that is like this one - sorry!

I'm going to refer you to "The Business of Cookies" area of our blog, as it contains TONS of useful articles about product pricing, launching a new business, and so on. I think it may answer many of your questions: http://cookieconnection.juliau...-business-of-cookies

My other key bit of advice is to talk to your local department of health and code officers to understand what is legally allowed in your area - i.e., whether cottage food laws exist, whether special permits are required to operate from your home or another place of business, etc. The legal/permitting process of locating a bakery business can be a quagmire, so it's best to jump on this early and to do your homework carefully!