How to Sell Homemade Cookies and Make a Small Fortune

It probably comes as no surprise to learn that Americans have a serious sweet tooth.

Although we’re told to eat our fruits and veggies, in a moment of weakness the average American still reaches for the bag of chocolate chip cookies to satisfy their sugar craving.

This creates an opportunity for you. If you enjoy cooking and have some skill at creating sweet items in your kitchen, why not make a business out of selling homemade cookies? Everyone loves a delicious cookie and the market for these little indulgences has never been stronger. Who knows you just may become the next Mrs. Fields!

To sell homemade cookies, it’s best to start with a single cookie recipe you can perfect before branching out into multiple types of cookies. This will help to keep your overhead down and allow you to refine your product. A perennial favorite is the chocolate chip cookie. These seem to sell no matter the time of year or the state of the economy. Start by experimenting in your kitchen with various chocolate chip cookie recipes until you come up with a product you’re satisfied with.

Once you’ve created the ultimate chocolate chip cookie, give some as gifts to friends and get their honest feedback. Make changes to your recipe based on their input until you have a product that you know is marketable.

Once you’re ready to start selling homemade cookies, you’ll want to consider where you’ll produce them. Health department requirements vary from state to state. Some states will allow small scale commercial food production in a home kitchen while others require that you use an approved kitchen facility.

If you can’t produce them at home, see if you can use an approved kitchen in your area during off hours to make your cookies. You may be able to use the facilities at a local restaurant, school, church, or cooking school for this purpose.

Now that you have the capability of making your cookies, it’s time to market them. Here are some ideas for selling homemade cookies:

Sell homemade cookies at shows and fairs.

Why not take your chocolate chip cookies on the road and sell them at arts and craft fairs, street festivals, and other events? People really work up an appetite walking from booth to booth and you’ll be there with your scrumptious cookies to satisfy their craving. Be sure to give out lots of business cards.

Make cookie baskets for college students.

What college student wouldn’t love to receive a cookie basket from mom and dad when they’re away at school? Prepare a brochure with photos of your cookie baskets and information on how to order them. Then, set up an online site to take orders. Place flyers on local bulletin boards, grocery stores, and on university boards with tantalizing photos of your cookie baskets. Wait for the orders to come rolling in. This is a concept that could catch on quickly.

Sell homemade cookies at local convenience stores.

Ask your local convenience store if you can sell your cookies in a basket by the counter. Offer to give them a percentage of the profits. You’ll need to individually wrap each cookie in plastic wrap and make a label for each one. Give the label a homespun feel and talk about how your cookies are made just like grandma used to make them. This will help to differentiate your cookies from store bought ones.

Use them as non-profit fundraisers

Non-profits are always looking for ways to raise money. Offer to make cookies for them to sell to their members. The cookies can either be sold door to door or you could offer to host a chocolate chip cookie bake sale for them on a Saturday. The advantage to this marketing method is the non-profit would do most of the promotion for you. Your only job would be to sell homemade cookies. Of course, the non-profit would get a portion of the profits.

There are lots of other outlets for selling homemade cookies since they’re such a popular item. If the demand for your cookies is strong enough, you can consider expanding your cookie line and opening a small retail outlet or kiosk in a mall to sell them. This is a business that knows no limits if done correctly.