3 Common Cookie Business Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

Hey Bestie! Starting or operating a cookie business is exciting, but talent alone won’t make it profitable. Most cookie businesses don’t struggle because of bad cookies, but they struggle because of bad business decisions. I’ve watched talented bakers unknowingly make the same cookie business mistakes that hurt pricing, growth and customer relationships. The good news? These are fixable once you recognize them and as your Bestie, I’m going to give it to you straight. Let’s talk about the three most common mistakes and how to avoid them.

A Little tough love?

Here’s the thing…bakers go into business for their love of baking and bringing joy to others through edible art. But the vast majority of bakers are not great at the business-side. This is why you’ll see incredibly talented cookie businesses fail, and average bakeries thrive. Your products are important, of course, but your business strategy, how you manage relationships and decisions you make in operating your business largely decide your fate. My hope is that bringing awareness to these common mistakes will help you to avoid them. After all, helping you build a wildly successful business you enjoy is a big part of being your Bestie.

Competing instead of differentiating

It’s probably not news to you that the cottage baking industry has had an explosion since 2020 with thousands of new bakers starting businesses. This obviously makes it harder to grow and build a thriving business in the vast majority of communities. And the biggest mistake new businesses make is simply opening up a business and competing for the same customers. Business 101 tells us that to build a successful business, you need to serve a gap or an underserved market. But the majority of cottage bakeries are not doing that…they are just trying to capture the market share, offering the same types of products, marketing to the same customers.

A business in any industry is going to struggle with this method when there are already other businesses filling the need. So why not carve out your own lane where there is less traffic? There are SO many ways you can do this to capture your own market and clientele who aren’t already being served. Maybe corporate orders (who have large budgets) should be your customers. Maybe focusing on fundraisers where the organizations help to promote your business for you since they get a small kickback. How about connecting with event centers in your community to be an approved vendor for their events? There are MANY different customer demographics available that you can cater to instead of marketing to the same customers.

Or differentiate your products from what everyone else is offering. There are huge demands for sugar-free treats, different flavors, different styles, etc. Create your own market and lean into that. Bakeries that do this, often find that other bakeries send business their way since they don’t offer what you do. Bottomline…tailor your business to customers who are not already being served or offer something they can’t already get elsewhere.

Outgrowing Your customers

The second huge mistake cookie bakers make is outgrowing their customers with their skills and prices. Listen, I teach A LOT of different techniques, and love for bakers to grow their skills. However, does your business have a market for your advanced skills? Again, your business’s goal should be to address a gap, a need. And while YOU may love to make really intricate edible art, the demand for that is typically going to be much smaller.

If your business has grown and thrived with a Chevy quality product, and you start transitioning to Lambo products, you’re leaving your fan-base customers behind. Remember, this type of business isn’t always about what YOU want to create, but what your customers want.

So if you’ve grown your skills with prices to match, you may want to reconsider what your customers want. Or, be prepared to market and grow a whole new clientele that can support your higher-end products.

I’ve seen this happen time and time again and bakers don’t understand why they aren’t getting the business they used to. A successful business prioritizes what their customer wants and needs.

Icing out your customers

This third mistake is SO common and completely overlooked. Not everyone needs or wants custom cookies. But many of your customers do want delicious cookies! Most customers are splurging on custom or beautifully decorated cookies for a special occasion or event. But what about all your customers who just want delicious, iced cookies? By not serving that large segment of your clientele, you’re leaving money on the table.

Offer simple cookies that you can create quickly and efficiently, with a price tag to match, to serve this segment of your clientele. Offerings like the ones I featured HERE, are perfect for this. They can be made really quickly, packaged, frozen and ready for customers who just love your cookies and want access to them at a fair price.

Can you make amazing edible art? Absolutely. But is that a product that most people need on a regular basis? Not really. So why not have an option available for those who could be enjoying your cookies any time.

Anything to reconsider for this year?

I work with thousands of bakers and bakery owners, and it kills me to see them struggle because of overlooked or misguided business decisions. I challenge you to consider how you’re positioning your business and ask yourself if there are changes you could make to put your customers first and be able to sustainably fulfill that need. And lastly, don’t forget that businesses NEED to reassess and pivot year to year! What worked for a business 5 years ago definitely may not work today. Operating a successful cookie business requires you to pause, reflect, and assess new challenges, new competitors, new customers and how you can meet them.

I hope sharing these common cookie business mistakes has given you some food for thought (pun intended)!

And if you’re not already receiving my free weekly newsletter, now is your chance to subscribe below! Never miss out on a new recipe, technique, business strategy, free printables and more! Happy Baking, Bestie!