A Good Mix: Susan Nolte's Line of Cookie Products is Naturally Delicious
The launch of the May Cookie Company features three cookie lines: Triple Chocolate Chip Oatmeal, Hardy & Wholesome Oatmeal Cranberry and Rich & Chewy Chocolate
Chocolate Chip, the latter of which is vegan.
"I'm working on some new recipes," Nolte said, "a ginger molasses, a healthier whole wheat chocolate chip and one I can't divulge yet."
Each of the cookies has less sugar than conventional cookie mixes, contains whole grains but no preservatives or trans fats.
"Most of the organic mixes I researched," she said, "and I did research a lot of them, are just as unhealthy as the cookies mixes out there that aren't organic." What really sets these cookie mixes apart is that each ingredient is packaged separately.
"No other mix combines separate packaging like I do with healthy ingredients," Nolte said.
"That changes the texture of the cookie, it makes it more versatile. There's raw sugar in the boxes, but you don't have to use it. You can use Splenda instead, if you want.
When everything is all put together in one mix, you can't change it."
May Cookies ask for real vanilla to be added, instead of the powdered vanilla that is standard in conventional cookie mixes. The triple chocolate chip oatmeal cookie mix,
for instance, needs a small amount of vanilla extract, one egg and butter added.
"You can add unsalted butter or Smart Balance, you can make as pure and healthy as you want," she said.
The cookie boxes are prepared at a factory in New York and then shipped to her 1,300-square-foot office on Day Street for distribution. The kit costs $9.99 and depending on the mix, makes between 16-24 cookies.
Right now they are available online at www.maycookie.com. Nolte also sells them direct and to corporate clients.
John Hesslein is a fan of May Cookies and uses them to fill corporate client gift baskets.
"I'm suspect of anything all natural. I'm an Oreo guy, but after I had the double double chocolate cookies, my Oreo days are over," he said. "I also put the mixes in baskets for clients all over the country and I've had to send them more."
Nolte calls her foray into the world of small business "the weirdest thing." A human resources recruiter for 12 year, she left the job "unsure of what I was going to do," as she put it.
"I knew I wanted to own my own business. I've always been a healthy eater and I always had done healthy baking," mostly cookies.
"I got feedback from neighbors and friends that my cookies were awesome," she said.
"But I decided to take my recipes and turn them into mixes, not prepared cookies, because mixes are less perishable and easier to produce from a business standpoint."
"These are the best cookies ever," said Marsha Gaulin, a neighbor of Nolte's who considers herself one of the lucky recipients of Nolte's test recipes.
"I finally made them in my 1958 Thermidor oven and they came out perfect. My kids are addicted to them, too."
She has some help in the form of part-timer Tracy Fiedler, whom she said "handles anything that is needed. My business could not thrive without her." Fiedler, too, appreciates what she has been learning.
"It's been an experience to learn the business from the ground up and to help in bringing it to fruition," she said.
"Susan is wonderful in letting me experience all facets of the business. It's so exciting -- a real breath of fresh air."
Another breath of fresh air is the name of the company.
Nolte chose the name May to celebrate her grandfather, Herbert May, her birthday in May and the initial founding of the company in May of 2008.
Professional packaging and a fun slogan: "Make a Good Cookie" came naturally to her.
"As a recruiter, you have a lot of hidden marketing and sales in the job," she said.
She's also enjoying everything about being a small business owner.
"This is the most fun I've ever had, doing this," she said. "I work constantly, but I don't mind. There are no weekends when you own your own business."
She's joined a number of chambers of commerce and the Entrepreneur's Circle based in Hartford, and loves to network through all of them.
"I am meeting incredible people and they're all just so helpful and interesting. There are so many networks," she said.
"My lifestyle has changed in a good way. I feel in control of my destiny."
Visit www.maycookie.com or call 306-3916.
