Dreaming Big, Starting Small: The Cookie Fellow Story

“Houston has a reputation as kind of a foodie city. I've actually never been, but I've heard the food scene there is really, really good. So that might have something to do with it!”? From her home base in Dallas, Marin Longfellow tries to answer why the cookies she began cooking just for fun are flying off shelves more than two hundred miles south.? In fact, Marin’s The Cookie Fellow chewy delights are available from our DashMart locations around Dallas Fort-Worth, Houston and San Antonio.?

This week I’m celebrating Marin’s story and reflecting on our journey together so far. Like The Cookie Fellow,? DashMarts are only a few years old. They are a new type of neighborhood store offering customers thousands of fresh groceries, household essentials, local treats and more. Local favorites like Brothers BBQ in Denver, Colorado have found new distribution channels there, for their made-from-scratch BBQ Sauces and BBQ Seasoning. And as I mentioned in a previous story, the DoorDash Accelerator for Local Goods enables participants to have their products sold through at least one DashMart each.?

Like many young entrepreneurs I’ve met, Marin didn’t start by running her own company. A graduate of Pepperdine University, she initially wanted to be a journalist and got some great experience in a short amount of time. Interning at CBS, Zoe Media Group and NBC Universal, she even launched the E News Style Closet on Instagram, attracting more than a thousand followers in two months.

The story of how Marin became an entrepreneur is even more intriguing, given that she left journalism and moved into real estate in 2018: “I used to bring cookies into the office where I worked, and was just baking for pleasure. But at the same time, a friend and I would be complaining about our dating experiences. And we started naming each new cookie after one of those experiences. My colleagues kept telling me they were so tasty, I could sell them.? I always knew I would have my own business. But until that point, I didn’t know what it would be!”?

The pandemic arrived, and Marin was let go from the company where she was working: “It was actually kind of a blessing. My parents threw their weight behind my business idea, and I got plenty of advice because they’re both entrepreneurs too.”

Marin then began putting her writing talents to use with her cooking skills. Take her description of The Situationship, a sugar cookie with Oreo drizzled with white chocolate (below): “Just like a chopped up Oreo, situationships can be a little messy. Sometimes lines are crossed and the cookie crumbles, leaving the relationship undefined. But don't worry, this cookie will leave you satisfied.”

Marin is now happily planning her wedding, so of course she named a cookie The One to commemorate the event.? But in the same way you often have to experience failure in dating to find the right one, baking wasn’t always smooth sailing: “I used to have a flavor called The Rebound, which was dark chocolate and peanut butter flavored. But when we shipped it, the peanut butter didn’t have the staying power, and would melt. They say rebounds don’t last. So we stopped selling that one!”

Treats like Player (above) are undoubtedly hard to resist, whatever your dating history, and as Marin likes to say: “If you break them in half, all the calories fall out’!” Her culinary talents have attracted media attention, and one podcast host called her the Taylor Swift of the cookie world. But like all good entrepreneurs, she knows she can never stop learning.?

I was intrigued to find out that someone who taught her the most was entrepreneur Dee Simmons, featured on Bravo’s Real Housewives of Dallas. Marin asked her to meet for coffee, and 30 minutes turned into a three hour conversation, which eventually led to her appearance on the podcast I Don’t Give A Rip, on which Dee said: “It takes a lot for me to endorse something at 79 years young, but these are the best cookies I’ve ever had in my life.”

Marin reflects on what Dee taught her: “That asking never hurts! The worst answer is no! If I had never met up with her, I wouldn’t have been able to get on the podcast and also have her connect me to other people that she knew in her friend group. I was able to sit down with another baker in Dallas and learn so much, and it was all because of Momma Dee. She is such a sweet lady and genuinely cares. It’s important to always be kind to everyone.”?

Marin started out hand delivering her cookies all over Dallas. Her first retail success came when she landed them in Royal Blue Grocery and then Foxtrot. But things really took off after the Dallas DashMart General Manager, Fiona Maguire discovered and began stocking her cookies, first in one DashMart and then expanding to more. Marin said: “DashMart brought me to thousands of new customers, while also tackling the logistics of distribution, And that enabled me to triple my business in over a year.”

Marin’s mother became her first employee, giving her time to focus on the best ways to expand the business. And if you’re starting your own culinary journey and live in the Dallas area, there’s now an opportunity to join in the adventure, as a Baking Assistant.?

I asked Marin what she hopes to do next: “I would just like to continue growing more and more with DashMart, because I really like the idea that they have endless amounts of opportunities, with locations that they just keep expanding. They helped me become a six figure business in just a few months. Ideally, if I find an assistant to help me, I’ll start shipping all over the States across the country. So that would probably be my end goal.”