Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcie Garza.
Hi Marcie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My connection to baking goes back generations! But it was my Grandma Perez and all of my tias that ignited a figurative and literal fire for cookies within me. My grandmother – the smartest, most determined, boss babe I’ve ever known – was a teacher and mother of 5 kids, and also sold cookies baskets seasonally.
Some of my earliest memories include walking through her cookie room stocked with every cookie imaginable and filling a solo cup to the brim with sand tarts and pan de polvo. I quietly watched her prepare these cookies for years before I built up the courage to try and imitate them myself.
Fast forward 25 years, I was gifted two of her top-secret recipes after she passed away, and while the familiar smells of her cookies brought me comfort, it also gave me the confidence to try other things.
When I was pregnant with my son, we were hosting a gender reveal party for family and friends. I knew I wanted to have decorated cookies at the gathering, but when I couldn’t find someone to make them for us in the small town we were living in, I decided to take my cookie-making confidence and direct it at sugar cookies.
The results – at the time – thrilled me! Even the harshest cookie critic in my family was impressed with the fiesta-themed cookies I had decorated. I got asked several times that day, and over the course of the next two years, if I would consider turning my cookie hobby into a business. My answer was always no.
At the time, I worked full-time as a Registered Dietitian. It seems like a conflict of interest to preach health and wellness during the day while decorating cookies by night. But over the years, I realized that my hyper-fixation on what I thought was health was actually an unrealistic and restrictive approach to food. And with that, I took a leap of faith and dived into the world of cookie decorating!
My favorite thing about being a Dietitian that bakes is that I am able to take my formal education in nutrition, food science, and dietary restrictions and apply that to make cookies that taste great and can, when necessary, be altered for those who need to avoid gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, and tree nuts.
Over the last two years, my skills have improved through countless hours of practice, endless streaming of online tutorials, supportive networks of other cookiers, trial and error, and the loving support of my husband, my son, and this incredible community.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Building Sweet Occasions Cookie Co while raising a toddler, being a supportive partner to my husband, making connections in a new town after moving here in late 2019, getting enough exercise, staying hydrated, and maintaining my own identity for the last two years has been the wildest ride!
Please hear the overwhelm, humor, and gratitude in that last sentence.
Some things came easy to me: the name, the flavors, the dietary modifications, the authentic desire to connect with my community.
Others have been particularly challenging: balancing my time between all the things I love, asking for help before I’m overwhelmed, judging my own work kindly.
But this experience has been so rewarding! The pros always outweigh the cons – even on the hardest of days.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Sweet Occasions Cookie Co was born from the idea that every occasion could and should be celebrated – from the grand opening of a long-awaited business venture or college graduation to successfully potty training a toddler or the season premier of your favorite show.
Sweet Occasions specializes in crave-worthy decorated sugar cookies that impress the taste buds as much as they do the eyes. We have a wide range of flavors like vanilla bean (a Sweet Occasions signature flavor), vanilla almond, dutch cocoa, churro, chai, pumpkin spice, browned butter bourbon, margarita, and lemon – to name a few. And I am particularly proud to offer options that are also vegan and made without the top food allergens so that more people can comfortably enjoy them. I cannot emphasize enough how moved I am when a customer expresses their gratitude for the opportunity to enjoy a “fancy cookie” like everyone else. Creating an environment where everyone feels welcome and included is so important to me.
Just as I am passionate about creating an environment centered around inclusivity, I also feel it is important to support the community that so generously supports Sweet Occasions. Cookies with Benefits was an initiative that started after the Valentine’s Day freeze of 2021. After realizing the damage and loss suffered by so many in our area and across the state, I felt compelled to help. As soon as my power was restored, I started baking! Within a week, the community rallied to raise over $1000 for a local non-profit that feeds children in need in and around Houston. Since this initiative, we have donated over $3000 to combat local food insecurity, support bereaved families of infants, reduce animal euthanasia due to the inability to pay for care, and provide support to refugees of war. This community is second to none!
Over the last year, I have also had the opportunity to teach cookie decorating skills to members of the community through public and private cookie decorating classes. These have been especially popular with residential communities, local moms groups, corporate team-building experiences, and a fun twist on a traditional friends’ night out. It is a great time to relax, flex your creative muscle, and walk away with a delicious treat (and maybe even a new passion)!
One of the trends that have really taken off in the last year has been orders for logo cookies and business card cookies as part of gifts and favors for salespeople and businesses of all sizes. My favorite so far was for a residential community that is branded around the concept of a type of orange. The planning committee for this order was a dream to work with and trusted my vision 100%. They were completely on board when I pitched the idea of developing a new cookie flavor for their order – summer citrus – that really helped highlight the brand. The result was better than my vision and the flavor ended up being a customer favorite at markets over the summer.
I strongly believe that it’s this level of attention to detail that has helped establish the reputation for high-quality cookie creations at Sweet Occasions Cookie Co. It is such an honor every time a customer reaches out and extends trust in me over a part of their special celebration. After 2 years in business, I am starting to get repeat orders for a subsequent birthday of a past client or a pregnancy announcement set for a couple whose wedding cookies I completed some time ago. I feel like in a small way, I get to celebrate these milestones right alongside my clients, and it is such a humbling experience and an absolute joy!
How do you think about happiness?
Impressing clients with my work is a tried and true way to spark joy in my heart. Getting photos of customers and their families enjoying the cookies I made is such a fulfilling experience. But more than anything, what brings me the most happiness in business is the relationships I have been able to make in an area that just 3 years ago was completely new to me.
Personally, I am happiest when surrounded by friends and family, enjoying sweet and slow moments like making s’mores on the back patio on a cool fall evening, drinking (hot) locally roasted coffee in the stillness of the early morning, and cuddling on the couch watching a feel-good, totally predictable holiday movie at Christmas time.
Contact Info:
- Website:www.SweetOccasionsCookieCo.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/sweetoccasionscookieco
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/SweetOccasionsCookieCo
Image Credits
Little Fig Photography
