LocalBusinessSpotlight

Caroline Merryman opened her storefront at just 20years-old, and her kindhearted nature combined with her fast-paced talking makes her a perfect southern baker. Getting to know Caroline in the kitchen was truly a wonder to witness. She gracefully frosted the freshly baked cookie cakes as she answered each employee’s passing questions with ease.

Caroline shared that her hope is for children to think of her cookies when wanting a sweet treat after dinner. With the bakery’s signature customer service and phenomenally tasting product, it has started on its path to becoming a namesake.

Half of the bakery’s menu changes monthly, keeping flavors creative and interesting for dessert lovers. Each month Caroline will introduce two new flavors as well as bring two “throwback” flavors back. The bakery maintains four regular flavors including a classic chocolate chip. The creative flavors reflect many southern desserts including king cake and cornbread, Caroline’s late grandfather’s favorite. Cookies are baked fresh daily, and leftovers are boxed and delivered to businesses around Lafayette.

She enjoys being able to surprise various businesses with free treats, showing a bit of her southern heritage. Caroline said she can count on her hands how many times they have not sold out as she has gotten better at gaging customer traffic on a day-by-day.

Caroline credits her baking skills to YouTube, Pinterest and Google, but hopes to eventually attend a baking and pastry school.Opening a bakery was something Caroline had always dreamed of as a girl, but saw it as, “just one of those things you think you're never gonna do.”

Caroline graduated high school in 2020, and when COVID-19 caused the infamous shutdown, Caroline began baking in her parents kitchen. She began baking out of boredom, seeking to make a similar cookie to that of Levain Bakery based in New York. Remembering the thick, gooey cookie led her to bake day after day, perfecting her recipe. Soon after her baking venture began, Caroline’s brother, Reece Merryman, encouraged her to create an Instagram account to show off her creations. She created the account not thinking of selling the cookies, but decided to pursue the opportunity once she began receiving requests. Caroline began doing pop-up events at local boutiques, coffee shops and flower shops, baking each cookie by herself. Caroline noted that her mother would help where she could, typically with dishes, by saying, “She’s a phenomenal person, but she doesn’t know how to bake.”

Caroline and her family realized there was something special about her cookies during their first time as a creator at the Lafayette Farmers and Artisans Market. Around Christmas time in 2020, Caroline looked up from her register to see roughly 40 people waiting patiently to try her creative cookies. As her cookies gained more and more followers on Instagram, Caroline baked more and more, roughly 900-1,000 per event. She credits her brother to her 10,000 follower milestone on Instagram, growing the business without having to use traditional ads. Beginning college didn’t stop Caroline from baking as she still put much of her energy into her craft. Caroline’s Cookies quickly reached a point where the business capped out on the legal selling limit for an at-home bakery. Reaching a point where Caroline had to decide between her cookies and her degree, she asked Brandon Robinson, her best friend’s father and a businessman, for advice.

Brandon encouraged her to pursue the cookie business, explaining that college would always be there if she sought to return. Becoming her business partner, he helped her lease a small storefront. Once she had the lease, she discussed the opportunity with her parents, and they cautiously encouraged her to pursue her dreams of opening a bakery. Caroline sought out a new take on desserts, noticing that many of the bakeries around Acadiana were older. She sought to keep the menu simple, focusing on cookies, and intended to keep with the gooey consistency. Caroline recounted when preparing to open her storefront, “It was so hard to go from my parents' kitchen to this massive kitchen.” After purchasing a commercial-sized oven and mixer, Caroline realized, “I didn’t know how to make my batch of 12 cookies go to 60 cookies.”

For the grand opening, 2,500 to 3,500 cookies were prepared. From 3:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M., the bakery had customers wrapped around the store. Noting one employee ran the register for all five hours of opening, Caroline is still grateful for the hardworking staff she has.

After that first day of opening, Caroline thought, “It was bigger than we thought it would be,” and she rented an additional kitchen for preparing dough. The bakery quickly jumped from 4 employees to 20 and now sits at 35 employees.

Now offering cookie cakes, catering and deliveries, Caroline at present is trying to perfect a system for the many employees of her small business. “I can't make every batch of dough,” Caroline commented, even if it makes her nervous. Caroline explained, “It's hard taking your hands off,” especially if the business is your baby.

During the first year of opening, Caroline spent much of her time stressing about the quality of the cookie with so many hands involved. She noted it was easy to maintain consistency when she was baking the same cookie every day, but it took some leadership practice to be able to train employees to maintain that consistency. Caroline hopes to soon be able to step away from the day-to-day tasks to focus more energy into creating a test kitchen to perfect new recipes!

As for the present Caroline’s Cookies, the beloved baker is beginning to step out of the kitchen to see what her employees need and what she can do as a leader. She plans to never stagnate and always improve by listening to customer reviews.

Caroline is beginning to have records to reflect on as the bakery settles into the community, allowing her to note how varying flavors sell.

Believing that they are about ready to consider a second location, Caroline holds the mentality of, “if it's not broken, don’t fix it.”

“I don’t want to take over the world or anything,” emphasized Caroline, “I really love small businesses.” Caroline appreciates the impact she can have on Acadiana as a small business, explaining that she is able to directly give to families and other businesses.

Caroline sought to take this opportunity to thank all the women who have worked so hard to make the bakery what it is today.

She began by saying when the bakery sells out, the girls don’t just go home. They spend hours preparing dough for the next day as well as cleaning and sanitizing. The bakery may open at 11:00 A.M., but prep starts at 6:00 A.M.

Caroline seeks to create an environment where workers feel valued because she finds herself extremely lucky and blessed with the team she has. The first thing Caroline did when she raised the price of her cookies was give her girls a raise.

Believing in a work/life balance, Caroline’s Cookies is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and she provides employees with a flexible work schedule. She keeps shifts short enough that employees aren’t overworked, but long enough for them to be fairly paid.

A message from Caroline

message from Caroline

Caroline expressed that she is genuinely appreciative of every person who walks through the door, but that the best compliment is to recognize a customer’s face.

When someone leaves a comment online for her to read, she considers it going out of their way to show appreciation for her cookies. Caroline knows she’s making tasty treats when customers travel miles to her bakery or when someone puts on a smile after a bad day.

Caroline hopes to keep customers coming back for her cookies and will forever be grateful for Acadiana’s patience with their “growing pains.”

Caroline wanted to especially thank her brother Reese for encouraging her to create the Instagram account that started it all. She credits him as her rock that always lends a listening ear or shoulder to cry on. Haley, Caroline’s sister, has continued to show support for the bakery.

Caroline is very thankful for her parents, Dawn and Jim, for finding the courage and confidence in their daughter and her dreams. Caroline noted that her mother would do anything for her, often coming to the store during late hours to sit with her or help in the kitchen.

Caroline is a true force of nature in her wonderful shop of cookies. To be a “fly” on the wall and witness this team enjoy what they do and put so much “love” into every step is a joy to experience. Her heart and talent is merging with her growing business and places her way beyond her young years. I only see great things to come for Caroline’s Cookies and the wizard behind the scenes. She is the definition of an Innovator and we are so lucky to have her on board this issue and here in our 337.

Interviewed by: Elisse Nielson

Written by: Celeste Denova

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