We were lucky to catch up with Alyssa Gallion recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alyssa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

When I was in high school, my mom and I started baking and selling our family’s recipe for frosted sugar cookies. They are soft, with powdered sugar icing, and sparkle sugar. Unexpectedly, I generated nearly $5k in sales by selling to my classmates and teachers, and ever since, folks have been begging for either the recipe or for me to create an official business of selling them.

In 2015, my mom passed from breast cancer and to honor her I have decided to start Lyssie Lou’s Cookie Co., a business named after my childhood pet name. Our logo is her handwriting taken from a card that she wrote and has been magically turned into branding and hand painted signs by Modern Aquarian Designs.

Growing up my mother modeled for me the magic of making someone’s day with a compliment, a small gift, or remembering to ask about something that they had mentioned previously. I aim to infuse this feeling in our business one cookie order at a time.

Lyssie Lou’s Cookie Co, is about creating a world where people still take cookies to their neighbors, where folks listen when you speak, and where our cookies are creating memories to last a lifetime. Sure, our frosted sugar cookies are delicious, but the purpose is bigger.

Alyssa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Philosophy

We believe that cookies are more than sugar circles. They are a vehicle for connection, building memories and making someone’s day. Whether you have planned your cookie order for an event or you have spontaneously gifted an order to a friend to surprise and delight them, we believe it will leave a lasting impression.

Hiring

We seek to hire all people but are particularly passionate about hiring and elevating women to be the people they dream to be. We believe in fair pay, balanced work and life, and that whether temporarily or long term, we are stewards to get folks where their purpose lies.

Service

As each day passes it seems that great customer service is a bygone skill, but we aim to keep it alive and well. We believe that each person we interact with whether a customer or not deserves our time, love and respect. When we ask “How are you?” we want to actually know and will wait for the answer. Not only do we take the care with each step of our cookie process, but we show the same care when handling the hearts of our customers. We hope ALL people feel welcome and loved when they interact with any member of our team.

Our Offerings

https://lyssielous.myshopify.com/collections/all

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

One week while I was knee deep in baking 410 cookies, my boyfriend and I decided to try a sampling of our cookies we had already baked, frosted and sprinkled. Normally, this is something we do much earlier in the process to ensure we are on the right track.

It turns out they were a bit drier than my standards would allow. Eek! So I took to a New Braunfels group called Everything New Braunfels and asked for some help. And something amazing happened.

Not only did I sell the 410 cookies but I sold 900 more. I cried when I thought I would have to throw out the 400+ cookies but I cried again when it turned out better than expected.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

Although we do have a delicious cookie, our brand is about creating little moments of joy for people and it is my hope that wherever our cookies are taken create memories with others. When that is your mission, you have to practice what you preach! We love to surprise and delight our customers when they are having a bad day, they are celebrating a better one, and to show we care. In a world where it feels no one listens, our aim is to not only listen but show we heard what was said with a little gift here and there.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lyssielous.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/lyssielouscookieco
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/lyssielouscookieco
• Other: www.tiktok.com/@lyssielouscookieco

Image Credits
All other photos: @lyssielouscookieco Headshot: @nievesmontano