Community Feature: Roozie Doozie Cookies in Waupaca WI

We've already been greeted by several dogs at the dog friendly coffee shop, Aquamos, in downtown Waupaca. Drinks in hand, Paige and I find a cozy table to sit down and chat. We talk about everything from chickens to weddings before we buckle down and talk about the most delicious subject of all – the cookie business!

SteadGoods: "So to get started, lets find out a little bit about you, your business and how long you have been selling cookies."

Paige: "So I am Paige, from Waupaca, and I started Roozie Doozie Cookies. And I basically sell gourmet stuffed cookies. I actually have only been in business since last August, so not even a year old yet. But it's grown very quickly, and I have a lot of different flavors I make and experiment with."

SteadGoods: "Ok, I'm going to go off script already... *starts laughing* I have seen the variety of cookies and cookie flavors you make. How much time does it take you to get those recipes to the point of being ready for markets? And how do you find so many unique recipes?

Paige: "Online sources generally are where the recipes start, but my cookies tend to have a lot of detail and attention needing paid to them. They all have special toppings and many of them have fillings, so I am often forming a recipe that combines multiple recipes and filling types until I have the combination I want. For instance, a key lime pie cookie with lime filling and graham crackers and frosting. Or a cookie recipe based off of an ice cream flavor that combines different flavors of cookie recipe. I just find them so fun to experiment with!"

SteadGoods: "And how much time and how many renditions do you generally spend creating a new cookie type? And who does all of the testing?!"

Paige: "Usually its 2 or so tries! I make an initial attempt of the flavor combination, have my fiancee and coworkers try them and critique them, and then I make another version to tweak the flavors a bit. I am generally doing weekly markets though, so sometimes I just don't have a ton of time for version after version! But I've gained quite a bit of experience and have been very lucky to be able to get most recipes right pretty quickly."

SteadGoods: "So how long would you consider that you've been a 'baker' before opening up your cookie business?"

Paige: "I spent a lot of time baking in the kitchen when I was younger, as a kid even. I stopped for a while, and then recently picked it back up as an adult. I would bake and create recipes for friends and bring cookies and desserts in for coworkers because I just loved the fun of baking and creating new recipes. Eventually, everyone was so encouraging and so insistent that I try out selling cookies that I finally tried it out last August at my first market. And I guess I've been doing it weekly since!
I was a little uncertain about it at first. You know how people can be so so nice...I was insecure about it and figured they were just saying I should sell cookies because its the really nice thing to say. It took a lot of convincing to get me to believe them and really try it out.
It started out as an opportunity to try and sell the cookies. But really the most fun part is the other vendors. Its like a little community. We know everyone's spots and the stuff we don't sell we trade or exchange for each other's goodies at the end of market. Its just too fun...even if I don't sell everything for whatever reason that week, the market and vendor experience is just awesome."

SteadGoods: "So, for your Saturday markets, when are you preparing everything? I mean, you work a full time job too. So when does the baking and prep happen?"

Paige: "Yeah...so, I do sometimes prep dough or fillings or frostings throughout the week, but everything gets baked on Friday morning, and then packaged after I get back from work Friday night. Each cookie is individually packaged, and there are all the labels and stickers for everything to prep...so its pretty tedious! Sometimes I am going to bed in the early morning hours and then getting up to set up the market stand first thing on Saturday. BUT its just so FUN! Its always worth it for the vibes and the experiences with the customers and the other vendors."

SteadGoods: "Did you have any specific inspiration in your life that motivated you to bake? Maybe a family member or idol of some sort?"

Paige: "So, actually, my mom HATED being in the kitchen. She did it, but it was all crockpot meals and casseroles, because family dinners were important to her – but the making of the food was not fun in her mind.
My dad would actually help me stay stocked with all the baking stuff needed. I would call him or leave him message about needing sugar or flour or whatever and he would either send me on my bike to the grocery store, or he would stop to pick up baking supplies on his lunch breaks. He'd be in full police uniform gathering items from the baking aisle in the middle of the day. He was so sweet like that."

SteadGoods: "If someone wanted to learn from your experience, what would you say is the most important first steps for someone who may want to start an in-home baking business?"

Paige: "Honestly, I think the first thing is to find a place to sell. Especially if you can just try it out once or twice, to learn and figure things out. Markets will give you guidelines that you need to meet, which will help you understand what it takes to sell in that setting. Also, you will learn what is needed for a booth, and to best serve customers, that kind of thing.
The other thing to do is to check out the cottage laws for your area, and for the type of food or baked good you want to sell. That information will be really important.
Finally, I love the Facebook groups as a resource. You can join all kinds of baking and cottage industry groups where you can ask all your questions and get all kinds of suggestions. The people on there are so, so nice and they are so helpful!"

SteadGoods: "What would you consider your biggest challenge so far as you've built Roozie Doozie Cookies?"

Paige: "I haven't been doing this super long, and most of it I find very fun, so I don't feel like I have had a lot of really challenging aspects yet. Probably the hardest weekend was this one time I attempted two markets in one weekend – Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday one went well, but I had put tons of extra time into preparing for the Sunday market, and then a huge storm hit that same day. I sold, like, 3 cookies all day! I had so many goodies to give away...which is just kind of disappointing. But events and days like that are going to happen, so you kind of need to be prepared for the possibility with in person events."

SteadGoods: "You've talked some already about the camaraderie and community with the other vendors at markets...are there any other experiences with Roozie Doozie Cookies that have turned out to be really rewarding or enjoyable for you?"

Paige: "I do love the fellow vendors, but something that I didn't expect was ending up with 'regulars' who consistently come to purchase cookies from me at markets. Like, I get to know people on a weekly basis, and they purchase cookies weekly from me as part of their Saturday routine. I think that customers prioritizing me like that is just the most amazing and sweet thing! I meet people from so many walks of life that I wouldn't otherwise meet...and now I look forward to seeing them and catching up as well. Its initially kinda weird to me to be a part of someone's 'schedule' like that, you know? But its, like, so sweet and fun."

SteadGoods: "Tell me about any short or long term goals you have for Roozie Doozie Cookies."

Paige: "Well, I have a milestone approaching this summer – 1 year selling my cookies - so that's really cool! And I am actually planning to reduce my hours at work this summer so I can focus more on the baking side of things and increase my one weekly market to two! That will be a change, so we will see how that goes.
I recently also got a call about providing goodies to another business for their birthday parties...so that will be new, and may help increase sales without adding even more markets to my schedule.
I have a lot of supportive people in my life that say I could absolutely get a brick and mortar location, or a commercial bakery to work out of, but I really want to try and be realistic! I worry because there are already so many bakeries and coffee shops out there - what if there isn't enough demand? Most people can't eat a cookie everyday... * laughs *
I've even considered a 24/7 set up to serve the Waupaca Foundry round the clock workers...my boyfriend says they would definitely come for food and cookies! And there aren't many 24 hours places around Waupaca.
I am open to new things down the road...just want to be realistic too. So we will see...maybe. Possibly!"

SteadGoods: "If people are interested in knowing more about your cookie baking, where can we tell them to find you?"

Paige: "Roozie Doozie Cookies can be found on both Facebook and Instagram!" .

SteadGoods: "Finally, anything fun you want people to know about Roozie Doozie Cookies?"

Paige: "Well, my name is pretty meaningful to me. I had tried lots of ideas, but they were all taken. And I was trying to figure out something that would be specific to myself that wouldn't already be claimed. Well, when I was a kid, my dad used to call 'Roo' as a nickname, right? And over time nicknames tend to evolve, you know? So it was Roo, and then it was Roozie, and then it became Roozie Doozie. And that's how my business name became 'Roozie Doozie Cookies'!"

Roozie Doozie Cookies can be found on Facebook and Instagram. She is also regularly selling at the Waupaca Farmers Market on Saturdays. Many thanks to Paige for sharing her story, and all the best as she pursues new business adventures!