Cookie Co.

Cookie Co. was founded in 2020 by Elise Thomas, a mom of four, who began baking gourmet cookies in her garage during the pandemic. What started as a neighborhood comfort project has grown into a multi-location franchise operation with 10 locations across the country. The company specializes in soft, pillowy, jumbo-sized gourmet cookies made with real sugar, eggs, and butter, featuring a signature chocolate chip cookie and rotating specialty flavors from a library of nearly 80 recipes. Cookie Co. operates through corporate and franchised locations with nationwide e-commerce shipping, DoorDash delivery integration, and catering services. In May 2025, the company was acquired by Fleetwood Snack LLC, the parent company of Hot Box Cookies.

1. Founded in 2020 by Elise Thomas during the COVID-19 pandemic, growing from a home garage operation to 10 locations nationwide
2. First location opened in August 2020 in Redlands, California with fresh daily baking of nearly 80 recipes
3. Company operates both corporate and franchised locations with expansion plans for 100+ new franchises in two years
4. Acquired by Fleetwood Snack LLC in May 2025, signaling capital investment and infrastructure scaling
5. Founder Elise Thomas nominated for EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards and published cookbook Elise's Home Kitchen

Cookie Co. is positioned as a premium gourmet cookie brand emphasizing neighborhood connection, family values, and real ingredients, expanding from a California garage startup to a nationally franchised operation. The company differentiates through founder storytelling, real ingredients with no artificial preservatives, high-frequency recipe innovation with weekly new flavors, and community-focused charitable giving. The brand targets quality-conscious consumers willing to pay premium prices ($5+ per jumbo cookie) for locally-made, freshly-baked products with transparent sourcing and authentic entrepreneurial heritage.

• Chocolate Chip Cookie (signature gourmet cookie with real eggs, real butter, real cane sugar)
• Frosted Sugar Cookie (soft buttery cookie with buttercream frosting and colorful sprinkles)
• Monster Cookie (soft cookie with mix-in ingredients, gluten-free option available)
• Rotating Weekly Specialty Flavors (70+ recipes including Dubai, Biscoff, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Raisin, Apple Pie, Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Crumble)
• Catering Services (fresh-baked cookies for events and occasions)
• Packaged formats (individual jumbo, 4-packs, 6-packs, party packs of 12, mini-sized cookies)
• Nationwide e-commerce shipping and DoorDash delivery integration
• Brownies, cookie pies, and cookie cakes in development
• Cookbook (Elise's Home Kitchen)

A packaging provider should approach Cookie Co. as a high-growth, multi-location food operation with immediate infrastructure scaling needs following its May 2025 acquisition by Fleetwood Snack LLC. The prospect requires standardized secondary packaging solutions for scaling production across 10+ existing locations plus 100+ planned franchise units, creating demand for custom 4-pack, 6-pack, and 12-pack configurations optimized for freshness, DoorDash delivery, and e-commerce fulfillment. Position sustainability-aligned packaging options aligned with the brand's community-first messaging as a strategic differentiator in franchise standardization and quality control.

Cookie Co. demonstrates strong capability fit for packaging providers across multiple dimensions: daily production of 500-1000+ cookies per location requiring high-barrier moisture and oxygen control for 4-5 day shelf-life windows; multi-pack portion-control secondary packaging (4/6/12 configurations) for standardization across corporate and franchise locations; e-commerce protective packaging with dimensional weight optimization for shipping; allergen labeling and FDA compliance infrastructure; and franchise standardization templates with vendor pre-qualification support. Value-add services include custom shrink-wrap and flow-pack solutions with tamper-evident seals, protective corrugated inserts for e-commerce, sustainable compostable packaging aligned with brand positioning, regulatory compliance support, franchise standardization consulting, and print-on-demand capability for rotating specialty flavors and limited-edition packaging. Potential challenges include high freshness-sensitivity requiring rapid turnaround alignment with daily production cycles, franchise inconsistency risk across multiple units, seasonal volume volatility particularly around holidays and celebrations, and cost-per-unit pricing pressure (multi-pack retail price point of 18-20 dollars constrains packaging margins requiring efficiency and automation). A packaging provider is well-suited because food packaging specialists bring expertise in perishable-product barrier materials, high-speed secondary packing automation critical for daily production runs, print-on-demand capabilities for rotating seasonal flavors, and supply-chain agility for franchise network coordination. The contract-packaging vertical (valued at 83.55 billion and growing 11.7% CAGR) is designed precisely for this use case of branded, portion-controlled, regionally distributed food production.

The U.S. packaging market was valued at USD 201.12 billion in 2024, estimated to reach USD 209.16 billion in 2025, and projected to reach USD 286.26 billion by 2033. The contract-packaging segment specifically attained a value of USD 83.55 billion in 2024.

The U.S. packaging market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.98-4.0% from 2025 to 2030-2033. The contract-packaging segment is growing at a significantly faster rate of 11.70% CAGR during 2025-2034, making it the fastest-growing packaging subsegment.

• Food Packaging Dominance: The food packaging segment held 47.3% of the U.S. packaging market share in 2024, sustained by portion control innovation and cold chain expansion
• Flexible Packaging Growth: Flexible plastic films segment experiencing 6.8% CAGR driven by lightweighting mandates and shelf-life extension requirements
• Sustainability Shift: Paper and paperboard are the fastest-growing segment due to environmental concerns and stringent regulations restricting single-use plastics across the U.S. and Canada
• E-Commerce and Automation Expansion: Packaging automation market expanding from 78 billion in 2025 to 134.6 billion by 2032, addressing labor shortages and improving output consistency
• Contract Packaging Explosion: Contract packaging growing at 11.7% CAGR driven by rising preference for sustainable solutions, demand for green contract packaging technology, and increased adoption of automation services

Cookie Co. was founded in 2020 by Elise Thomas, a mom of four, who began baking cookies in her garage during the COVID-19 pandemic to bring comfort to neighbors. Elise Thomas was nominated for EY's prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year Awards and has stated Cookies are her way to spread hope and create opportunities for others through franchise expansion. In 2023, the company hired Pamela Fazio as Chief Executive Officer, though Elise and co-founder Matt Thomas remain actively involved in operations.

No verified revenue figures available in public sources; company is private and post-acquisition financial data not disclosed. Revenue estimates would be highly speculative without financial disclosures, though 10 current locations with planned 100+ franchise expansion in two years suggests multi-million dollar growth trajectory.

In May 2025, Cookie Co. was acquired by Fleetwood Snack LLC, parent company of Hot Box Cookies, signaling capital injection for franchise expansion. In November 2025, founders Elise and Matt Thomas reopened locations in Kansas with a new corporate location at 7765 W 159th Street in Overland Park and grand openings planned for December. Cookie Co. announced a grand opening of its newest franchise location in Twin Falls, Idaho scheduled for March 23.

Prospect details are not publicly visible.