Rather than winding down after a long day of school, one student entrepreneur’s night is defined by the sweet hum of an oven.
Just a month ago, Cait’s Cookies was born as the product of Caitlyn Shim’s, ConEd ’27, disappointment in cookie options on campus, and her love for baking. Selling her freshly made and individually wrapped cookies from $3 to $3.50 each, Shim’s baking and persistent marketing has propelled Cait’s Cookies into the Queen’s entrepreneur space.
“I realized how limited the options were for fresh, high-quality cookies to buy on campus,” Shim said in an interview with The Journal. “I’ve always loved baking for my friends and my family, and I was obsessed with watching [videos of] my inspiration, Brooki.”
Brooki is a well-known Australian baker and bakery owner who frequently posts lifestyle content on YouTube, primarily day-in-the-life videos.
“I kept telling myself I wanted to start my own cookie business [like Brooki], but for years I never actually acted on it,” Shim added.
to assist with baking, but before that she made every single cookie herself. Shim’s student house oven only permits one cookie tray—or eight cookies—at a time, making baking incredibly time-consuming.
Baking is only one of the responsibilities that comes with Cait’s Cookies. Marketing is another integral component to Shim’s business model.
Social media platforms are becoming an increasingly more valuable marketing resource for businesses given its wide reach and high audience engagement. Cait’s Cookies promotes itself on TikTok and Instagram, with both platforms doubling as space for customers to submit a pre-order form if they don’t want to place bets on securing a cookie at one of Shim’s bake sales.
“I think TikTok has been the [] people are noticing,” Shim said. Drawing inspiration from Brooki, she shapes her marketing strategy to be relatable and keeps the content fresh and relevant to students.
Shim’s marketing efforts have proven to be successful thus far—she consistently sells out pre-orders, capping them at 20, and completely sold out of product during her first bake sale on Feb. 12. Shim projects she’ll sell over 200 cookies during her next one.
After one month of Cait’s Cookies, Shim is beginning to earn a profit via two forms of sales: pre-ordering and bake sales.
[During my first bake sale] I didn’t make any [net profit]. There’s so much going into it that people just don’t see [such as ingredients, packaging, and decor] and I spent hours by myself baking the night before,” Shim said.
Shim has collaborated with Project Smile Kingston—a student-led non-profit fighting oral health disparities—and is collaborating with the Queen’s Dance Team for a bake sale on March 14 in the Queen’s Centre.
Through Shim’s trials and triumphs, she’s learned a lot about what it takes to run a business, especially at the student level. Now, Shim is considering the next steps for her business.
“I definitely want to change [my pre-order] system as I grow, but as of right now that platform is free,” Shim said. “I have really big dreams of opening a real storefront one day […] but that’s going to take a lot of time.”
For those looking to a Queen’s student-run business without purchasing, Shim says engaging with marketing content and providing is impactful.
“If you’re thinking of starting something, I would just say do it,” Shim advised. “I’m still learning […] and every time there’s a struggle or something doesn’t go right, I learn from that and do better next time.”
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