I’ve always had a sweet tooth so decided to sell biscuits at uni as a little earner – now my business makes £156 million
A MAN has revealed how he turned his passion for baking into a £156 million business.
Seth Berkowitz, has always had a sweet tooth and one night when he was at university, he was craving a late night snack.
He didn’t want to order a pizza or chips, and was instead craving a warm cookie, but he couldn’t find anywhere that would deliver.
Seth decided to take matters into his own hands, and began formulating a plan for a business that would stay open until 2am.
He spent £120 on baking supplies, and spent the whole summer formulating recipes.
His wife then came up with the name Insomnia Cookies, as she felt it spoke to those who struggle to sleep at night, and want something warm and comforting to help them through.
Seth began selling cookies on his uni campus, and even went door to door around student housing.
“It wasn’t that popular initially, it took until the school newspaper wrote an article about me”, Seth told CNBC.
After the article was published, Seth went from having three orders a night, to 80.
By the end of the university semester, he had made £8,000 from the business.
In his next semester, Seth created a website, and juggled baking cookies in his kitchen, with studying for his exams.
In his final year of university, he rented out a kitchen off campus, and hired staff to help him out.
He started delivering to other universities and then opened up a shop in New York.
Business continued to boom, and Insomnia cookies now has over 260 stores across the UK, US and Canada.
And in 2018, Krispy Kreme bought a majority stake in the business, for approximately £109 million.
The business sells a wide range of cookies, cakes and brownies, and some locations are now open until 2am.
“I take a lot of pride in seeing the growth around me”, Seth said.
How to start your own business
Dragon's Den star Theo Paphitis revealed his tips for budding entrepreneurs:
- One of the biggest barriers aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners face is a lack of confidence. You must believe in your idea — even more than that, be the one boring your friends to death about it.
- Never be afraid to make decisions. Once you have an idea, it’s the confidence to make decisions that is crucial to starting and maintaining a business.
- If you don’t take calculated risks, you’re standing still. If a decision turns out to be wrong, identify it quickly and deal with it if you can. Failing that, find someone else who can.
- It’s OK not to get it right the first time. My experience of making bad decisions is what helped develop my confidence, making me who I am today.
- Never underestimate the power of social media, and remember the internet has levelled the playing field for small businesses.
- Don’t forget to dream. A machine can’t do that!
“I take a lot of pride in seeing insomniacs enjoying our product.”
“I really can’t thank enough people for enabling this, for making it happen, and for supporting me on this crazy journey”, he continued.
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