Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan McClain. Them and their team share their story with us below:
When the pandemic shut down schools in their hometown of West Plains, Missouri, Jessica McDaniel had to quit her job to care for and homeschool her four children. To makes ends meet, she started selling cookies using recipes she developed over the years of being an amateur-turned-professional baker.
Jessica’s twin sister, Megan McClain, has professional experience in the dessert franchise industry. After a year of poking and prodding, Megan finally convinced Jessica to move from Missouri to Chattanooga, TN so they could start The Chattanooga Cookie. They officially opened for business on July 30, 2022 and have been bringing sweet treats to Chattanooga’s Northshore ever since!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t been close to a smooth road! Construction costs more than quadrupled since we first signed our lease (we went from a $75,000 estimate to a $300,000 estimate). We had to re-prioritize and re-budget the entire concept! This pushed back our projected date of profitability and increased our overhead so much so that we would have been thrilled with our current numbers had everything panned out how they started. Unfortunately, we’re barely making enough to cover our expenses now.
We have a plan, though! After the holidays, we’re targeting our social media campaigns, looking at adding some machinery, and emphasizing our catering program.
As you know, we’re big fans of The Chattanooga Cookie. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
The Chattanooga Cookie is a gourmet cookie bakery serving up traditional classics with a modern twist and new feature flavors every month. The Chattanooga Cookie combines confident and defined flavors to give you a cookie that shatters expectations and sets a new standard for this often-overlooked underdog dessert. We hear every day that we’re better than our largest competitor (Crumbl) and that the flavor in our cookies is out of this world! We’re the first bakery in the Chattanooga area to offer a Chocolate Chip-less cookie (a chocolate chip cookie with no chocolate chips) AND we offer free samples to help you pick your favorite!
One thing I’m personally extremely proud of is the amount of people who ask if we’re a franchise. As a one-location brand, it’s extremely flattering to have people assume every day that our branding is the result of market testing and paid executives!
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I’m sure the dessert industry will have its share of trends over the next five years! I think the big, overpriced dessert items always eventually lose popularity because they can only be an every-once-in-a-while indulgence. However, good-quality desserts that are sized and priced right will always be “in.”
Sweets always thrive during economic hardship, so the future of the industry will depend heavily on several bigger issues like the war in Ukraine (wheat prices have increased), overall inflation (butter prices are finally falling after increasing over 20% in a matter of weeks), and general economic stability.
What trends do I think will pop up? I’ll save the speculating for more imaginative bakers than myself. But I do know it’ll be delicious!
Pricing:
- 2.97 one cookie
- 9.97 four cookies
- 18.31 eight cookies
- 27.46 twelve cookies
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thechattanoogacookie.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechattanoogacookie/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChattanoogaCookie/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-chattanooga-cookie-no-title
