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Building a Brand with a Mission for Mental Health
Any entrepreneur should know the what, how, and why of what they’re selling — yet most times, the “why” is missing.
The businesses that stand out and succeed most often do so because they’re able to tap into the broader mission their specific product, service, or cause is supporting, and the “what” and “how” simply become the vehicle for an entrepreneur’s more significant impact.
At Doughp, a cookie dough company founded by Kelsey Moreira in early sobriety, her “why” of selling cookie dough taps way beyond the indulgent taste of her sweet desserts, which with no eggs and heat-proof flour can be eaten raw or baked, and taps into crafting cookie dough as a platform for mental health and addiction recovery, which Moreira herself connects with.
“The story to Doughp begins in early sobriety, jumping back in the kitchen and baking nights and weekends,” Moreira recalls, adding that her free time spent baking was “really kind of a self-discovery moment to figure out who ‘Kelsey’ was and what she likes to do.” Coming off of the heels of a ten-year career in tech,
Moreira soon made the jump full-time to launching her own cookie dough company after receiving enough encouragement from friends, family, and colleagues who all enjoyed the treats she’d often gift them with.
Cookie Dough on the Ride to Recovery
Opening her first storefront on Pier 39 in San Francisco in 2017, Doughp initiated #Doughp4Hope that same year “to break the stigma around mental health and addiction recovery,” Moreira emphasizes.
The company quickly launched into the big-time as Moreira was soon featured on a hit reality television series Shark Tank and recognized as an honoree of Forbes 30 Under 30. Yet with Doughp’s growth topping the charts at 219% each year, the same mission has carried through to make a difference. “This is so much more than cookie dough to me.
In fact, I would say we’re not a cookie dough company — we’re trying to give people a chance to make an impact around issues that matter to them, with mental health and recovery at the forefront. That’s really what we’re selling: the chance to make an impact,” Moreira underscores.
In 2021, Doughp partnered with, SHE RECOVERS Foundation to provide 1% of all sales to support the non-profit’s initiatives. As Moreira explains, “they also support mental health challenges, life challenges, substance abuse disorders, eating disorders,” mentioning that SHE RECOVERS takes care to acknowledge that “we’re all in recovery from something.
I certainly really aligned with their philosophy and I’m proud to be a partner of theirs.”
Looking ahead, Moreira sees expanding the company to crafting cookie dough as a platform for mental health while including a broader palette of indulgent desserts, with expansion still geared towards raising awareness for mental health and addiction recovery.
“Looking at Doughp as just a cookie dough company would be short-sighted, so I really see evolving the business into a food platform for mental health and addiction recovery,” she adds.
To order Doughp cookie dough and support their mission, visit doughp.com.