Arriving at Fancypants Baking Co.’s unassuming facility in Walpole, Massachusetts, you are greeted by the sweet, buttery aroma of baking. However, as a tour with Chief Operating Officer Justin Housman reveals, there is much more to the company than delicious-smelling cookies.
The women-owned business began in 2004, when founder Maura Duggan started making cookies in her Boston apartment kitchen. It was her way to relieve stress, inspired by childhood memories of baking with her grandmother.
Now, 21 years later, the company operates out of a 25,000-square-foot kitchen, employs 20 full-time staff (complemented by a flexible team of up to 20 temporary workers) and sells its bite-sized cookies in more than 3,000 stores across the United States.
Quality Focus
What is the company’s secret to success? The quality of its cookies is undoubtedly a factor, thanks to its use of premium ingredients – real flour, butter and eggs, without any additives or preservatives.
“Everything is Non-GMO Project Verified. Everything is what we would consider a pantry ingredient in the United States,” explains COO Justin Housman.
“So, as opposed to palm oil, it’s butter. Instead of bleached flour, we use King Arthur Flour, which is a wonderful Vermont brand of flour that is very high quality. And the same goes for the chocolate. We don’t use Hershey chocolate; we use Callebaut chocolate, which is much higher quality.”
Upcycled Ingredients
In addition to creating a premium product, Fancypants Baking Co. also cares about reducing its environmental footprint. One of the ways it does this is by using certified upcycled ingredients – ingredients which, as defined by the Upcycled Food Association, “otherwise would not have gone to human consumption, are procured and produced using verifiable supply chains, and have a positive impact on the environment.”
For example, it uses upcycled oat milk flour made from the pulp left over in the oat milk manufacturing process, sourced from Renewal Mill in California. Typically, this byproduct is either used as animal feed or sent to landfill; however, at Fancypants, it serves a higher purpose. Its addition not only increases the fiber and protein content of its cookies, which appeals to American consumers, but it also benefits the environment in two ways.
As Justin explains, there is a positive upstream impact because the upcycled flour replaces some of the traditional flour. Growing and processing wheat to make flour requires water, and energy is needed for transportation. By using upcycled flour, these resources are conserved. There is also a positive downstream effect: preventing surplus food or byproducts from becoming waste saves resources such as water.
Quoting Renewal Mill statistics, Justin asserts, “In a single kilo, if we use one kilo of Renewal Mill’s upcycled oat milk flour, combining the upstream and downstream benefits, we save over seven kilos of CO₂ gas emissions, and over 2,500 liters of water.”
Fancypants has also experimented with other upcycled ingredients, such as coffee cherries – or cascara, a byproduct of the coffee production process – and okara flour, a byproduct of tofu production.
Cookie Power
Fancypants is equally diligent about using its own “waste”. It is hard to believe that there are ever any leftover cookies, but some don’t make the grade because they are broken, burnt or misshapen. These products are taken to a seventh-generation farm in western Massachusetts, where they are converted into renewable energy. This initiative is a result of the cookie manufacturer’s partnership with the Farm Powered Strategic Alliance, part of Vanguard Renewables.
Recyclable Packaging
Fancypants’ commitment to sustainability extends to its recyclable packaging, which is made from 100% recycled bottles. However, it is not without its challenges. The type of packaging it uses, which is the best available option, is not currently recyclable through curbside collection in the United States, so it must be taken to an in-store drop-off location. To help customers dispose of their used cookie bags properly, the company partners with How2Recycle to provide clear instructions. Ultimately, though, it is the customer’s responsibility to do the right thing, which Justin acknowledges is far from ideal.
“So, what percentage of my consumers do you think are really recycling it? It’s not good,” he says.
“So, we’re doing the best we can right now, but this has to improve just by virtue of the supply chain.”
Ultimately, sustainability is a journey, not a destination, and Fancypants is ahead of many on this path, consistently pushing for responsible manufacturing from the ingredients it uses to the packaging it selects. But does the product meet expectations? Does it taste as good as it smells? The answer is a resounding yes, supported by hard evidence (the result of tasting at least five varieties, from salted caramel to strawberry shortcake, all in the name of research, of course).