Costa Mesa kid entrepreneur finds sweet spot in cookie biz
Jasper Rogers was 11 and looking for ways to turn a buck last summer, when he and his sister, Elise, made a batch of cookies and chanced upon an alchemy of ingredients that would inspire a full-fledged business.
Sea Monster Cookie Co., which recently secured a Costa Mesa business permit, will be dishing up sweets at Tuesday evening’s “Concerts in the Park” performance at the city’s Fairview Park while supplies last.
There, attendants can purchase Anzac (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) rolled oat “biscuits” — an homage to the native land of Jasper’s mom, Yvette Rogers — and the company’s signature Sea Monster cookie, named for its colossal size and signature hint of salty sweetness.
In the past year, Jasper has plied his wares at school and at summer camp, where kids, teachers and counselors alike offer high praise. Sea Monster Cookie Co. publicly debuted at Costa Mesa’s Fish Fry in June, selling 150 bags of cookies before the event had ended and earning him a following on Instagram.
Yet, for as successful as the enterprise has become, Jasper will tell you the business began on a lark. The family was heading off on a trip to Catalina Island, so he and his sister decided to whip up some snacks for the voyage but soon realized they were missing a few key ingredients.
“We had everything — the flour, the salt — but we had a couple of holes,” the youth, now 12, recalled. “We were originally supposed to make them with baking soda, but we didn’t have that, so we decided to make do with something different.”
Feeling creative, Jasper threw some chocolate candies and pieces of marshmallow treats into the batter. The duo put the cookie sheet in the oven not knowing what the outcome would be.
“They were delicious. So good,” sister Elise Sechrist, 25, said of that first fateful batch. “I think we were surprised.”
The cookies were a hit on summer vacation and were so good Jasper began selling them to kids for $1 apiece at Costa Mesa’s Halecrest Camp, where he attends programs. After one sample, the kids were hooked.
“The thing that makes the cookies sell, I think, is just giving people a taste if they’re not already convinced,” he said, describing his ooey gooey, colorful creations, which now come in a bag of four for $8. “After they try these, they will be convinced.”
Halecrest activities director Sharon Comer recalled encouraging Jasper to sell his cookies at the camp snack bar, where older kids take turns at the register.
“I thought since he had these cookies that were so good, maybe he could sell them,” she said. “He did and sold out — there was just no stopping him.”
The cookie biz isn’t Jasper’s first brush with capitalism. He’d tried buying and selling Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon trading cards, but the overhead was too high to realize a profit — a week’s worth of chores netted a small income that was summarily blown on purchasing inventory.
But with their relatively low overhead and the fact that many could be made at once, cookies presented the perfect sweet spot for the budding entrepreneur. Jasper sold cookies at Halecrest’s fall boutique last October and a chili cookoff this spring.
Come graduation time, he was taking and delivering special orders from his California Elementary School classmates who’d insisted on having Sea Monster cookies at their parties.
“I’m doing some side hustling from here to there,” he said of his current activity.
Rogers — who helped her son secure a permit from the Orange County Health Care Agency to produce homemade food and a business license to sell it — said aside from the money, running a small business comes with a lot of valuable lessons.
Whether it’s learning how to divide or double recipes, make change for customers or considering brand logos and pricing, they’re both learning new things constantly.
“It’s interesting having discussions in the car about the economy and just talking about things, so when he hits that point in his education, he has a reference for it,” she said. “And Jasper runs all of his own sales, so he has to do cash [using] math.”
“Math is useful,” Jasper concurs. “I remember thinking, when am I going to use fractions in my life? Now I know.”
The Costa Mesa youth has so far socked away a bit of savings. He now buys grocery supplies and plans to use a portion of the funds to help grow the business further, while searching for the next investment opportunity. He’s also got his eye on a new mixer.
Sechrist said she’s super proud of her brother for turning a day in the kitchen into an ongoing enterprise.
“He had a vision,” she said. “He wanted to make some money and learn how to run a business. I think it’s turned out well.”
Comer said for a kid like Jasper, the sky’s the limit.
“I think the cookies are only the beginning,” she said. “I definitely can see bigger things in his future.”
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