Cookie kiosk rolled out in the city
A New Zealand cookie business is hoping to bake itself a bigger slice of revenue, on the back of a new site concept and a new factory.
Mrs Higgins opened its 11th store, in The Plaza shopping centre in Palmerston North, on Saturday.
Head of sales Troy Culpitt said it was the first time the business had used a kiosk-style store front in its 30-year history.
While the company usually aimed to set up on the main street of a city, like it’s Wellington site on Lambton Quay, Culpitt said malls were a logical move for the Auckland-based business.
‘‘[The Plaza] is rated third in the country for foot traffic in a mall. For us, it’s all about having foot traffic going past.’’
Having strong foot traffic helped expose more people to the smell of the company’s soft American-style cookies, which are all baked on site from dough manufactured at a plant in Auckland, Culpitt said.
The company is in the process of building a larger production plant, which should be operating by December.
Culpitt said that would give the business the opportunity to look at more sites, and store more ingredients.
‘‘When you’re making lots of frozen cookie dough, you need a lot of space for storage.’’
While many know Mrs Higgins for its cookies and shops, Culpitt said there was a lot of growth in other areas of the business.
Bliss balls were a big seller in supermarkets, while pre-packaged cookies were being sold in Australia, he said.
The company also has a franchise store in Shanghai, China, and was looking at opening in Hong Kong.
Culpitt said the cookie recipes had to change depending on the country.
The Chinese palate, for example, liked less sweetness in cookies than in New Zealand, he said.
‘‘China is a big market, but it’s also about trying to find that right mix.’’