“410 Degrees” is the name of the sound of the new cookie company, which was started by two entrepreneurs in San Diego and is taking off like lightning. 410 Cracker Levels discovered my work on the Forum, which I wrote in AC in my article, “La Jolla California’s Open Air: Capitalism Is Alive and Well.” Here, I meet chef and owner, Derek Jaeger, who explains some of the secrets of his company’s cookie business success.
Lorraine:Hello, Derek. Thank you for part-time business taking this interview. Im Lorraine, I am also known as the “cookie monster” among my colleagues and cookie experts on the baking side. I noticed the lines that set up at your cookie booth at the Open Air Market in La Jolla. I had your cookies; they are delicious. What is your secret?
Derek: Undercooked. This word is slightly harsh, only that can scare users. We bake our cookies at 410 degrees and take them out of the oven for a minute in the morning. Our cookies are baked the way we think all cookies should be baked everywhere: for the crust has a similar texture on the outside and is soft on the inside. Most people bake their cookies until they are perfectly cooked. The problem is that it continues to cook after 4-5 minutes from the oven. Overbaked cookies are a sad outcome.
Lorraine:The first cookie I bought from you cost $2.25. Last time it was $2.00. I’m glad to see you’ve lowered your prices, but don’t you think two dollars for one cookie is a little small?
Derek: Ambitions are high, and even though our price point may seem high at first, that “two dollar cookie” is the first thing people think of, we absolutely stand behind our pricing.
We know that we are bringing something completely new in the field of bakery goods, i.e., the highest quality and flavors of original cookies. But the public sense of the pre-determined amount of cookies is worth. So our crazy goal is to break this concept of value and create a whole new cookie. We have convinced people that this is not just a cookie, but something else: it is a new experience. We can’t do it otherwise because of the taste and quality of our product, which is why we taste samples in the Market and why we bring so many new flavors in every week.
Where Pinkberry took yogurt and where Ben and Jerry took ice cream and Ben and Jerry, we want to make that cake. When Ben and Jerry’s first started selling ice cream, people thought their prices were crazy, almost four times normal. ice cream But today, when they think Ben and Jerrys, they think “high end,” “premium,” “unique;” and many have no less difficulty because they know how to get quality.
We have done our research including our cookie prices. Uncle Biff’s cookies are the main competition in San Diego; people know Uncle Biff cake. They cost $1.75 each, they are smaller than ours. A dozen cookies in Austin, Texas, for $46 online. I looked for the most precious cookies and found them, waiting to extinguish me. They are even smaller than ours, and really nothing so wonderful has ever existed. Whether they are more expensive or less, we can truly say that we believe our cookies are better than the competition.
Lorraine:Your constancy shows. Besides the price, what else is special about your cookies?
Derek: Each cookie is individually handcrafted by us. We weigh and roll every cookie to ensure perfect consistency and quality. We also work on two extra, intensive steps to really make the flavor stand out. It’s cliché to say we use the best ingredients, but we really do: Callebaut Chocolates, organic butter and peanut butter, as opposed to dried berries . We roast all the nuts that go into our cookies with fresh organic herbs, but we don’t use any cosmetics, oils, or artificial ingredients . . We also use beet extract to color our Red Velvet Cookies.
Lorraine:How do you measure luck?
Derek: Regardless, I want people to be happy and enjoy our cookies. While people are dying to try new stuff, I feel like I’m doing my job.
Lorraine:tell me a little about how you started.
Derek: Adam, the other owner, and I both graduated from the University of Arizona. The idea for the company’s customizable cookies was his project through the Entrepreneurship Program in business college. I plan to graduate with my nutrition degree and pursue a career in the outdoors. Adam showed me his business plan and the concept of this company. I told him I wanted in.
We had a mutual friend in college, and since we both had a crazy passion for food, we decided to have them all tend to dinners. That night we started experimenting with flavors and ideas. The first cookie we came up with was our Rosemary Balsamic Oil cookie. We took our first bite out of the oven, looked at each other, and said “wow”. From that day we knew we had something. I dropped all the pharmacy plans and went 100% on board with the business plan. We moved to San Diego with two friends, and Adam and I started a business. At present it is still two of us working very long and doing very well.
Lorraine:How did you come up with your name?
Derek: “410 Degrees” is our name because that is the temperature at which it is cooked at the time. Actually, we worked to come up with a name for our company for two months and came up with probably 100 ideas. But we realized that we would have an odd baking temperature, hence the original name. We came for him.
Lorraine:The only company name is for sure. The cookies are red. Are Red Velvets your signature cookie?
Derek: We currently have 18 Signature Cookies. Signature Cookies or completely original cookies (e.g., our Cinnamon-roll Cookie), or proven combinations that we know people love (e.g., some Mores, based on a chocolate bar with marshmallows cooked between graham crackers). Our Red Velvet is a popular cookie, which is why I call it our signature cookie. The cake is in Red Velvet. Of course, many people have not had a Red Velvet cake, and our cake is the first experience in the Red Velvet mini-craze. Unfortunately for these people, they will be confused with cake after trying our cookie.
For those who don’t know the history of Red Velvet, it’s quite interesting. Back in the day when cocoa was not so heavily processed it had a red color. Cocoa with acid in the Red Holoseric like buttermilk or vinegar mixed with traditional ingredients, was from the red ram. People really like our Red Velvets because it’s not vanilla, it’s not chocolate, it’s different, but it’s still a flavor that’s recognizable to our palate. But the color is amazing. We use beetroot powder for the red color.
Lorraine : How did you choose San Diego for your project?
Derek: We chose San Diego not only because of the weather, the tourists and the community, but because no one ever says anything bad about San Diego! Tucson, our home town and college town in Arizona, was not the right market for us. Los Angeles would have been too fast for us initially. But most of all I love the city alone. The diversity of the people, the weakness of all so refreshing.
Lorraine:You are pretty laid back, but driven by your love, savvy with business sense, and a strong, brave, energetic, young entrepreneur. I wish you and Adam business success and two dozen Red Velvets to go, please. i>
Oh, and I got milk?
