Supplier Spotlight: The skinny on running a cookie business

This post is the second installment in our new blog series, Supplier Spotlight. This series will feature suppliers, their stories and how RangeMe has played a part in their journey.

Have a great story to tell? Let us know at supplier@rangeme.com.

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Emme Tyler, creator and owner of Skinny Batches, is dedicated to perfecting her craft–running a dynamic business and baking the tastiest natural desserts on the market. Growing up with several food allergies, it was a daily challenge for Tyler to find something to eat– especially when she craved something sweet. As a self-taught baker, she was inspired to bring science, math and creativity into the kitchen to construct desserts that were healthy, satisfying and allergen-free.

As much as one can hope that starting a business focused on your passion would go seamlessly, Tyler will be the first to tell you that it’s important to anticipate unexpected detours along the way. It prepares you to meet life head on as a business owner.

Meet Challenges Head On

As a business owner, one of the first challenges many people encounter is how much money to invest in your business.

“It’s hard to get profitable if you’re throwing a lot of money at the business,” Tyler says. “It’s also hard to become profitable if you’re not throwing money at it.” She advises business owners to have a year’s worth of cash expenses set aside to anticipate extra costs.

Another challenge new business owners may not anticipate is the longer-term goal: getting a customer to purchase your product a second, third, fourth, or more time. Tyler says keep this in perspective: “People think it’s such a feat to get your stuff on the shelves of a store. It’s not. The hardest thing is getting people to take it off the shelf twice.”

Innovation vs. Trendiness

“Coming out with a trendy product is not the idea, it’s coming out with something that is innovative,” Tyler notes. “You want to make something that will expand or create a new category.”

One innovative way to grab the attention of buyers and consumers is through packaging. People are visual beings. Packaging is the first thing that catches the buyer’s attention, and what motivates consumers to pick the product off the shelf for further consideration. If you have ever walked down the cookie aisle in your local grocery store, you’ve probably noticed the array of package types, from paper bags with paper cups, boxes, plastic bags, plastic sleeves and boxes with a bag inside. Tyler recommends choosing something that’s “going to be attractive but also something that is going to give your product the best protection. It’s not worth sacrificing one for the other.”

Recently, Tyler updated her packaging of one of her products in order to keep a competitive edge. By changing her package, she was able to test out new materials, colors and package shape. Changing your packaging can be a gamble but if you have to “eat (the costs) a little bit to see if it works and it does work, that’s great.”

RangeMe as Your Business Partner

Tyler uses RangeMe to showcase her Skinny Batches products. “It was incredibly easy to get setup,” she says. So easy, in fact, that she was able to list her products and receive interest from a Target buyer within less than a week–four days, to be exact.

What Tyler enjoys the most about RangeMe, though, is the fact that it’s a reputable space for making professional connections with buyers. “If you can find a platform like RangeMe that you know is credible and that you know is bringing in buyers who are there for the sole purpose of finding products, it’s so much more important [to your business].”

RangeMe believes that strategic choices and innovation can play a large part in a seriously positive outcome. And having baked more than a million cookies, we hope Tyler and Skinny Batches’ partnership with RangeMe continues to open (oven) doors so she can expand her gluten-free goodies to retailers near you.