Cookies are no longer just treats—they’re growth engines. In today’s baking world, they’ve become one of the smartest ways for artisan and semi-industrial bakeries to build loyalty, boost profits, and speak directly to the next generation of customers. If you’re not using cookies to scale your bakery business, you’re missing one of the most powerful tools at your disposal.
This guide is your data-backed blueprint for turning cookies into a cornerstone of your strategy. From cost-efficient production to marketing that helps you grow. Find out how you take a simple dough and turn it into a business advantage.
The cookie boom: not just a trend, a bakery revolution
We’re in the middle of a cookie boom. The numbers speak for themselves. In 2023, the UK cookie category grew over 6%, and it wasn’t driven by tradition. It was driven by Gen Z. In France, cookies have officially dethroned croissants as the top sweet snack for under-25s. That’s not just a shift; it’s a generational takeover.
What’s behind it? Simplicity, indulgence, and versatility. Cookies are portable. Affordable. Customizable. And when done right, visually irresistible. With TikTok and Instagram serving up gooey cookie-pull videos daily, they’ve become the example for modern snacking.
Cookies now occupy a unique space in the consumer’s mind: part comfort food, part status symbol, part shareable experience. That’s an incredibly valuable intersection. And bakeries are perfectly positioned to own it.
Why bakeries win where supermarkets can’t
Supermarkets can put cookies on shelves. What they can’t do is give you that warm, soft-center, fresh-baked hit of joy the moment it comes out of the oven.
That’s where bakeries shine. As an artisan or semi-industrial baker, you have something no big retailer can replicate: immediacy, freshness, and soul.
People associate bakery cookies with authenticity and care. Research shows 86% of consumers see fresh bakery products as higher quality than packaged ones. That stat alone should make you double down. Because while retail cookies are built for shelf life, yours are built for moments. For memories. For now.
Cookies make money. Period.
You want a high-margin, low-waste, scalable bakery product? Cookies tick every box.
Start with one good dough. From that, create five, ten, even fifteen variations. Rotate flavours, use leftover inclusions, respond to seasons, trends, or viral flavours with minimal overhead. There’s no fermentation. No laminating. No fragile prep windows. Just mix, portion, bake. Your cost-to-profit ratio is stellar, with individual cookies retailing at €3–5. And because they’re easy to batch and freeze, you control inventory and waste like a pro.
Need to expand your appeal? Replace traditional butter with Be Better plant-butter. Your customers don’t notice the difference and you save significantly on ingredient costs. It also simplifies your allergen list and allows you to produce one cookie that serves all, regardless of allergy or ideology.
Cookies don’t just make sense. They make money.
The perfect cookie line-up (and why simplicity sells)
Here’s the formula: three types of cookies, one smart base, infinite opportunity.
Start with a classic bestseller. A chewy chocolate chip, a brown butter vanilla. Something familiar, comforting, and deeply satisfying. It anchors your range.
Add a seasonal or limited edition cookie. This creates urgency, gives people a reason to return, and lets you play with flavours. Think pistachio and white chocolate in spring, or a cinnamon-spiced apple cookie in autumn.
And then? Drop a signature cookie. Make it big. Make it stuffed. Make it outrageous. This is the one people photograph, tag, crave, and gift. Your statement piece. Your “you’ve got to try this” cookie.
Don’t overcomplicate. Nail these three and you’ve got a cookie menu that can stand against anything on the market, packaged or fresh.
Cookies that sell themselves. If you let them
Cookies aren’t just delicious. They’re viral. That limited cookie with matcha, ruby chocolate, or caramelized banana? That’s your product launch.
Tell the story behind your ingredients. Feature the quality of your chocolate. Talk about taste. Show the moment the cookie cracks in half. Share it. Tag it. Let it spread.
Cookies are natural upsells. Put one at the till, and you’ll see your average order value grow. Pair them with coffee. Offer mini versions as add-ons. Create gifting boxes. Launch cookie-of-the-month subscriptions. Lean into the experience, not just the product.
Your cookie isn’t just a treat—it’s a marketing tool.
Scaling with soul. The semi-industrial cookie opportunity
Larger bakery operations aren’t excluded from the cookie game. In fact, they may be in the best position to win big—if they keep the heart in the product.
Centralise your dough production. Distribute frozen dough balls for daily bake-off. Maintain freshness, boost consistency, and streamline operations.
Create a core menu of proven sellers, and rotate 1–2 flavours monthly to keep it interesting. Use clear packaging and freshness-forward messaging—Baked today, No preservatives. And yes, plant-based butter plays a strategic role here too. Be Better plant-butter simplifies allergen handling, reduces cost swings, and makes product development smoother across your bakery portfolio.
This is how you scale cookies without sacrificing the craft.
Stop waiting. Start baking
If you’re not leading with cookies, you’re leaving money, and attention, on the table.
Start with one dough. Build three killer flavours. Price it proudly. Promote it visually. Bake it fresh. Repeat.
Because cookies aren’t just a trend. They’re the future of modern baking.
Written by Marike van Beurden and Joost Lindeman, co-founders of Be Better My Friend
