| |
 |
|
Business First
5/18/2007
By: Ed Green
Small Business Snapshot
Sweet opportunity - Najla Aswad built her cookie business on family traditions
Business First of Louisville - May 18, 2007by Ed GreenStaff Writer
Print this Article Email this Article Reprints RSS Feeds Most Viewed Most Emailed
Photo by Ron Bath
Najla Aswad, CEO of Najla’s Catering Inc.
View Larger Najla Aswad loves to cook. It runs in her blood.
The New York native has Lebanese and Scotch-Irish roots. One thing both cultures have in common, she said, is a love of family gatherings that often center around food and festivities.
Aswad inherited that love of food, and it is a reason she opened a bed and breakfast near Binghamton, N.Y., after college. It later evolved into a catering business.
A staple of those businesses were her cookies, she said, which she makes using all-natural ingredients. They also have been designated as Kosher foods for those who follow Jewish traditions, as Aswad does.
"I was born to be in this business," she said. "I feel very lucky to be paid for what I like to do."
Her cookies, called Gone Chunky, have gained national attention. They were selected as finalists in two categories of the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade's annual awards. And they were featured in Good Housekeeping magazine and on ABC-TV's "Good Morning America" and NBC-TV's "The Today Show."
As a result of the success of her cookies, Aswad decided to focus solely on making and distributing cookies and nuts when she moved to Louisville in January 2006 after her husband, Steven E. Goldberg, joined Humana Inc.'s operations here.
Cookie maker added retail component
In New York, Aswad made cookies in a commercial kitchen in the basement of her home and distributed the cookies to caterers and retailers who sold them either as fresh cookies or frozen dough, she said. In Louisville, she decided to open a retail store so she could sell some cookies directly while continuing sales through other businesses.
That has worked out, she said, and the business turned a slight profit in 2006 despite her undisclosed investment to buy equipment and open her store in Lyndon. She declined to disclose revenue but said the sales from the store alone cover rent payments for the 1,875-square-foot space.
Aswad said 99 percent of her business comes from sales "through the back door" to caterers, distributors and other retailers. But she is trying to increase her retail sales by marketing her fresh cookies to companies and individuals to be used as part of thank-you baskets or congratulatory gifts.
|
| |
|
|
