Donna Reeves-Collins
is hoping to get a hefty scoop of the $21 billion
U.S. frozen-food market with a new egg-free frozen
treat.
Reeves-Collins, founder
and CEO of Cole & Parks Bakery Cafe &
Coffee Co., has set up shop at the Cornell Agriculture
and Food Technology Park Corp --- also called
the Technology Farm --- in Geneva to manufacture
and further develop the patent pending DoughNuggs,
bite-sized frozen chocolate chip cookie dough.
DoughNuggs were introduced
last spring and since January the operation has
been run out of the Geneva site. Reeves-Collins
is working with food scientists at Cornell University
and the New York State Agriculture Experiment
Station next door for additional DoughNuggs flavors,
including ones that are ofganically based and
high in antioxidants.
Reeves-Collins, a
former telecommuniations executive, came to the
Technology Farm after approaching Olga Padila-Zakour,
associate professor of food science and technology
at Cornell and director of Food Venture Center
at the Ag Station. They had worked together previously
on a healthy cookie recipe.
Padill-Zakour suggested
the site. Reeves-Collins was not familiar with
the site but, once she saw it, realized it was
a perfect fit for her business.
"The site has
the resources we need to get this venture off
the ground, " Reeves-Collins said.
Cole & Parks
has some 900 square feet of space at the Technology
Farm, along with access to common areas. She employs
three staffers there and expects to add more as
product demand grows.
She estimates with
equipment and the Geneva site, mainly, some $100,000
has been invested in the product launch.
Having Cole &
Parks on site complements the vision of the Technology
Farm, a 72-acre site that enables collaboration
among Cornell University faculty and Tech Farm
tenants, officials said.
Robert Seem, a plant
pathologist at Cornell's New York State Agricultural
Experiment Station and president of the Technology
Farm's board, said Cole & Parks is an excellent
expample of where the park has been able to assist
an existing food company to develop and produce
a new product.
"By locating
their new production at the park, they have ready
access to food scientists at the Experiment Station
and president of the Technology Farm's board,
said Cole & Parks is an excellent example
of where the park has been able to assist an existing
food company to develop and produce a new product.
"By locating
their new production at the park, they have ready
access to food scientists at the Experiment Station
who can assist them as they bring DoughNuggs to
market, " Seem said.
Reeves-Collins said
the Technology Farm would be an ideal place to
build a stand-alone business.
She expects demand
for the product to grow, noting it is something
different in a crowded market. She pointed to
other successes in the frozen-food market that
were a draw because they were not typical products.
They include Dibs bite-sized ice cream snacks
from Edy's Grand Ice Cream --- which made some
$67 million its first year --- and Dippin' Dots
Inc.'s ice cream beads sold at fairs and other
events, as well as online.
A television advertising
campaign is aobut to launch and, in late July,
DoughNuggs will make its debut at the International
Food Technology show in Chicago, which specializes
in new product launches.
The treat has appealed
to all ages, she said, adding that mother who
have come into Cole & Parks like that the
dough does not contain uncooked eggs that could
make their children sick. Businessmen have been
known to sit down and order DoughNuggs with cappuccino.
Reeves-Collins developed
the recipe after customers at Cole & Parks
in Victor asked for one of the company's Dough
Eggs, individual ready-to-bake cookie dough sold
that the eatery.
Aware that people
love to eat the dough --- it is the second most
popular flavor of ice cream at Ben & Jeffy's
Homemade, Inc. --- Reeves-Collins realized that
some have concerns about the rqw eggs in the dough,
so she set out to create a recipe that eliminated
them.
In addition to being
egg-free, the DoughNuggs have no trans fats, preservatives
or artificial ingredients. The treat can be eaten
either raw or mixed into ice cream.
The DoughNuggs come
in two sizes --- pint and single serve --- and
rand in price from $1.79 to $5.99, depending on
the size. They are sold in bulk to distributors.
It is availalble
at Cole & Parks; all Tom Wahl's Restaurants;
Clawson's in Fairport, Lasca's Inc., a restaurant
in Auburn, Cayuga County; and most recently, Rochester
Institute of Technology. They soon will be available
at several independent grocery stores in the region
and Reeves-Collins is in talks with other vendors
as well.
"The product
has proven to have been a huge draw to customers,"
said Keith Herman, Tom Wahl's regional manager,
in a statement. "We see moms saying yes when
their kids want to eat cookie dough. Parents very
much like the fact that it doesn't contain egg."
The chocolate chip
DoughNuggs are the only type available, but Reeves-Collins
envisions differnt types of cookie dough, including
peanut butter chocolate chip. The firm is working
with Cornell personnel andsoon, students there,
to develop a berry-based dough recipe, which is
high in antioxidants. Also planned are an organic
offering --- oatmeal raisin --- and seasonal doughs,
including molasses-based treats.
Other opportunities
includ enrobing the DoughNuggs in chocolate, co-branding
with ingredient companies and licensing agreements,
Reeves-Collins said.
She envisions a tie-in
with a bigger company or a distributor as demand
grows. The would give her more access to national
markets.
Reeves-Collins is
working with Mary Maida, president and CEO of
Clerisy Corp., who is helping her market the DoughNuggs.
The firm specializes in marketing and distributing
over-the-counter health care products. She is
helping Reeves-Collins negotiate with Wegmans
Food Markets Inc. to bring the DoughNuggs to those
stores.
Maida said the DoughNuggs
fit Clerisy's specialty since they address medical
issues, particularly those facing children. Eggs
are one of two food ingredients that most commonly
cause allergic reactions in children, she said.
Eliminating trans fat in the DoughNuggs also helps
with child obesity issues, which can lead to cardiac
problems and type-2 diabetes. The antioxidant-enriched
DoughNuggs on the horizon also will have health
benefits, she said.
"It is cookie
dough, but Donna has actually done a very responsible
thing." Maida said. "She is putting
the fun back in functional foods."