Today we’d like to introduce you to Rana Lustyan.
Rana, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
In 2009, a national news story cut through for just a moment and it changed everything for me. News of yet another massive recall of almost 4 Million units of “big food” cookie dough (we’ll leave name calling out of this, you can look it up) was being pulled off shelves as many consumers were getting sick and nearly 90 people were hospitalized due to eating their cookie dough raw when it is meant to be baked. This was my moment. My passion for all things sweet and sugary, my Le Cordon Bleu culinary degree, my pastry chef experience at Spago in Beverly Hills, my deep love for eating raw dough as I bake cookies on the regular all kicked into high gear as this question burned in my brain: why does edible cookie dough NOT EXIST?! We should be able to eat cookie dough as a dessert the same way we eat ice cream or cupcakes! My entrepreneurial spirit was sparked in that very moment as I realized A) I’m not alone, lots of other people love to eat raw cookie dough, B) there were no options for those of us that loved the cookie dough more than the cookies, and C) I was gonna be the first to do it and make it taste amazing!
Has it been a smooth road?
Hahahahahaha. The road has been similar to the texture of freshly whipped cookie dough made with REAL and premium ingredients: a bit gritty. The food manufacturing world is extremely different than the world of cooking as a chef at a restaurant. Sure, there is overlap but not as much as one would think. I was thrown into food manufacturing when my passion is hospitality, connecting with my customers, and high-quality ingredients that become the star of the show. A major struggle is margins. In food manufacturing, meaning large scale production of items you will find at your grocery store, the margins are low, the quality is much lower than what you find at a premium restaurant, and the way to win is volume, in the industry this is called ‘velocity’.
One thing I just can’t get myself to compromise is our quality. Although Edoughble can be found in Whole Foods and Gelson’s locally, amongst other grocery stores like Wegmans, Central Market, Raley’s, the Nugget and Meijer, we still make all our cookie dough with all-natural, non-GMO ingredients, no preservatives and no artificial colors of flavors. We also make all dough in small batches and mostly by hand. Other brands in the store get those low prices by using 50% water, bleached flour, preservatives, emulsifiers, and flavorings and they are so large scale, they cut out humans and rely on machines to just pump out the dough. They have higher margins, despite their lower price and the customer doesn’t get the quality product they deserve. It is a struggle to stay premium and make cookie dough the old fashion way – by hand – and it takes education for customers to pay the extra $.75 because the product is so much better for you.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Edoughble Cookie Dough – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Edoughble is the first all-natural, non-GMO, premium cookie dough dessert meant just to eat raw! Edoughble comes in 14 unique flavors and we launch over ten new flavors a year for a limited time. We also just launched doughy delicious cookies in boxes of 12 and 20 that are insanely good. We make Edoughble the same way you make cookie dough at home, freshly whipped butter and sugar, salt, Madagascar Vanilla, flour and Belgian chocolate chips! We leave out the eggs and chemical leavener (baking soda) and use applesauce and we use a commercially pasteurized flour, as you may not know but raw flour may contain e.coli!
Our mission is to bring people moments of happiness. Cookie dough is special because it is often nostalgic and connects people to fond memories of their childhood – happy and simple times.
We are also known that our customers are all fortunate to be able to spend money on all-natural, premium dessert when there are so many people who don’t know where their next meal is coming from. We donate 5% net proceeds annually to help end hunger in the US.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I grew up in LA and I never knew how unique that was until my late 20s when people started telling me they had never met anyone native to LA! My whole circle of friends and all my family is native to LA so I was living in a bubble until grad school at USC when I realized that most people really aren’t from here originally. I love the weather in LA, I love meeting so many people now who aren’t from here and hearing about their decision to move here (because clearly I have never moved away from my family) and that is a big decision! I love all the outdoor adventures from the beaches to the hiking to the 1 and 2 hour drives into mountains and more nature or even to the snow. There is so much to do and nothing is that far away.
I don’t like how expensive it is to live in LA, I mean I get it, but thats one of the main reasons I would potentially leave one day, sadly. Another challenge as a small business owner is minimum wage is really high now because of cost of living, but that is tough as a small business owner with a very manual process. For example, we have to tape up corrugate boxes to pack our containers to go out to grocery stores and we have to manually apply the date on a sticker to the containers and put lids on the containers and all that is done by $15/hr employees when just last year it was a $12.50/hr employee and the year before that it cost $11/hr. To put things into perspective, I worked as a pastry chef for $8/hr. This makes it tough to be a small business owner trying to build a business in LA.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2625 S. Robertson Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90034 - Website: www.edoughble.com
- Phone: 424-326-9123
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edoughble/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edoughble/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/edoughble-sweet-shop-los-angeles-2
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/edoughble/
Image Credit:
Audrey Ma (product), Tamara Muth-King (headshot)
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