Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tiffany Biddle. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Tiffany thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.

How we received our first customer is hilarious but I love our story. I had been playing around with cookie recipes for awhile. I finally developed one that I liked and decided to go with the idea of premium stuffed cookies with a southern accent. During the beginning of the pandemic, I developed the recipe and just sat on it. My husband asked me when was I going to start selling cookies and I just wasn’t sure. I also run and operate a food and travel blog and Instagram handle called Pursuit of Delights. I made a few batches of my cookies and shared them to Pursuit of Delights Instagram stories. It gained quite a bite of attention. This was in June. I had still not sold one cookie. Well at the end of June, beginning of July, one of my followers that saw my story reached out. She said “Hey did you ever start that cookie business that I remember you sharing in June. I am turning 35 in July and I would love to purchase some for my birthday.” I was so nervous but excited that someone reached out to me and wanted to buy my cookies. I told my husband and he said “Yes, yes you are selling cookies”. As they say the rest is history and we have been selling cookies ever since. My first customer’s name is Jenny and we are forever grateful for her!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hello, my name is Tiffany Biddle. I am the CEO and Co-Founder of Sweet Mae’s Cookie Co. Sweet Mae’s is a premium stuffed cookie company with a southern accent. I grew up in the south, Alabama to be exact. I come from a southern family who loves to cook and bake. It all started with Mama Clara and Fannie Mae. Mama Clara could make biscuits by hand that no one could recreate, not using a single measuring utensil. Fannie Mae is Mama Clara’s daughter-in-law. The two of them cooked and baked for many people. Fannie Mae is the mother of my grandmother, Linda, and also who my company is named after. My grandmother also loves to cook and bake. As they say, food brings people together and I truly believe this! Baking is a hobby that has been taken on for generations in my family. I can remember being in the kitchen with my grandmother and mother making different goodies. It was something that I clung to and became a natural at. Ultimately, my goal for our company is to be an extension of my family’s legacy, make the best cookies, put smiles on people’s faces and make people’s bellies happy. Also, I am the mother of two beautiful girls, Berkeley and Robyn Biddle. I am the wife of Andrew Biddle (the other Co-Founder). Lastly, I am an engineer by trade, turned cookie monster :p

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I come from a family that is in business. My grandfather ran an engineering firm/defense company for years. When he passed away, he passed the company down to my mother. My grandfather always told me “You have to spend money to make money.” Why is this important in the social media world of a food business? Give away free samples when you can in the beginning. I know this may sound bizarre and some people, even my own friends who have food businesses are against it.

As I mentioned earlier, for me building my social media presence was a little different. Because I ran and operate a food and travel platform, it was easy for me to reach out to other influencers to help post about my brand to get the word out. People love supporting small businesses that they believe in. I was grateful enough to have these individuals help build my social media presence. I also gave away a lot of free samples. I would reach out to some influencers and some would reach out to me. No, I did not say yes to everyone. I pick people that I feel fit our brand and can convey the message great to their audience. Not everyone that reaches out to you is a good fit. Some people will just want to try your product because they can and have a page to post it on. Some people influencers will want to be paid. I have done free post in exchange for product as well as paid post. Do what is best for your company’s budget. However, remember you have to “spend money to make money” Do not be afraid to give away free samples to the right people.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

We started this business from the ground up. We started from our home, went to a commercial kitchen and now have a co-packer. Starting off as your own manufacturer is a lot of time and commitment, but you do save a lot of money. It also allows you to become familiar with your processes before getting others involved. We worked from our home until the business grew enough to need a commercial kitchen. This means when we started having to make hundreds or thousands of cookies for one order, and when you need more space and a bigger oven. Once we decided we would take on retail (i.e. big box retailers) we knew we had to find a copacker. The process of finding a copacker can be easy or challenging depending on your product. For us it was a little more challenging due to the type of product we have and our process. We were fortunate enough to find a local copacker that could do what we needed. It takes a lot of time when you first onboard with a copacker. They have to make tons of batches of your product to get the same product you make and something you are comfortable putting your name and brand on. Its a lot of trial and error. Find a copacker that is patient and wants to help you grow and see your success.

The lessons I have learned with working with a copacker are just double checking the product and processes. They are human and will make mistakes, but it is your job as the business owner to guide them and speak up when you see things going wrong or off course.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sweetmaescookies.com
• Instagram: @sweetmaescookieco
• Facebook: Sweet Mae’s Cookie Co.
• Linkedin: Sweet Mae’s Cookie Co.

Image Credits
Please credit @kaitskravings (her Instagram handle) for the photos