The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan
Episode 607: How I Built a $120M/Year Cookie Business From My Apartment | Loren Castle
Date: November 20, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features Loren Castle, founder of Sweet Loren’s, who turned a personal cancer diagnosis and passion for clean eating into a nine-figure cookie business. Loren shares her journey from baking cookies in her apartment with $25,000 in savings to building a $120M/year brand that’s sold in over 5,000 supermarkets. Host Nathan Chan explores the pivotal choices that shaped Sweet Loren’s—bootstrapping, recipe development, the bold allergen-free pivot, and lessons on mentorship, resilience, packaging, product obsession, and the power of customer feedback.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. From Cancer Survivor to Founder: The Origin Story (02:01–06:14)

• Personal Health Catalyst: Loren was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma at 22, just after college, which forced her to focus intensely on nutrition and clean eating.
  • “You are what you eat. I directly saw a correlation between the types of food I ate and how much energy I had.” – Loren (03:14)
• Early Experimentation: While recovering, she taught herself to cook, focused on whole foods, and began making healthier versions of her favorite treats, especially cookies, driven by her own sweet tooth.
  • “I started to make my own recipes out of that personal need. It was not a business idea yet.” (04:26)
• The Aha Moment: Friends and family loved her creations, leading to a realization—others want healthier treats as long as they taste great.
  • “Everyone is looking for a healthier way to satisfy their sweet tooth. As long as taste is there…I could turn this into a brand.” (05:10)

2. Starting Small & Finding Product-Market Fit (06:14–12:19)

• Bootstrapping & Intuition: Loren acknowledges she had no grand vision, no market data, and started with gut instinct, focused on “what are people getting excited about?”
• First Break with Whole Foods: A connection from a business writing class led her to an impromptu meeting with the head buyer at Whole Foods, despite having no real products or packaging.
  • “My website said coming soon. I literally didn’t have a product yet...But I took the meeting.” (07:31)
• Iterative Learning: She listened to in-store buyers and identified that “no one’s built the next brand name in natural cookie dough.” With customer tastings and feedback, she landed her first order with Whole Foods.

3. Lean Launch: Demoing, Learning, and Iterating (10:47–15:04)

• Ultra-Lean Start: Began with one store, small runs at a factory that had never made cookie dough before, and did weekly in-store demos herself.
  • “I demoed in that Whole Foods every week to make sure it was selling…I kept the business really quite small.” (11:28)
• Hands-On Customer Feedback: Loren directly engaged with thousands in stores, using their feedback to iterate on packaging, recipes, and portioning.
  • “People are honest in New York. Very honest...It really helped me lead the future of it.” (13:55)
• Biggest Misconception: Customers assumed ‘better for you’ products can’t taste good.
  • “The hardest thing is to get people to try it. Once they try it, they’re like, ‘this is delicious.’” (15:33)

4. The Allergen-Free Pivot: Building a Moat (17:10–25:53)

• Responding to Demand: As the brand scaled nationwide, Loren received daily pleas for allergen-free options. She reformulated the cookie dough to remove the top allergens.
  • “I made it for you without even meeting you yet. I was like, this is an unmet need. We can solve it.” (19:58)
• Game-Changing Results: The allergen-free SKU became their #1 seller in six months, bringing entirely new consumers to the refrigerated dough category.
  • “What seemed niche about being allergen-free actually became our superpower.” (21:56)
  • Data insight: 50% of Sweet Loren’s customers were new to the cookie dough category entirely.

5. Packaging, Pricing, and Standing Out on Shelf (25:53–29:13)

• Packaging Strategy: Focused on making packages vibrant, approachable, and not “screaming” allergy callouts, to attract both allergy consumers and the wider market.
  • “Make sure taste comes off as number one…If you’re not so delicious, no one’s going to buy it.” (28:17)
• Pricing Power: The allergen-free formula justified a higher price, which, paired with a loyal customer base, created healthy margins and allowed the business to remain profitable.
  • “We raised our price point like a dollar to pay for the gluten free and allergen free ingredients…and we have been profitable ever since.” (29:48)

6. Competing with Giants & Staying Focused (29:13–31:42)

• Narrow Product Focus: Instead of launching dozens of SKUs, Sweet Loren’s kept under 10, allowing the company to build deep expertise and brand equity in cookie dough.
• Not Just a ‘Better’ Product: Full differentiation (not just “a little better”) created a durable competitive advantage even against legacy brands like Toll House and Pillsbury.

7. Advice on Getting Shelf Space & Product Iteration (31:42–33:24)

• Solve a Real Problem: The product has to be delicious and solve a real problem—no amount of marketing will move mediocre product.
  • “Find a product that you see that kind of reaction you’re looking for in dozens and dozens of people.” (32:06)
• Obsess over Iteration: Willingness to do “hundreds and hundreds of trials” before landing on the final recipe is critical.

8. The Toughest Times: Grit and Resilience (33:24–37:52)

• Low Points: Loren openly shares about late nights, exhaustion, and moments where she wanted to give up.
  • “There were definitely nights I was completely exhausted, completely upset, hopeless...But the next day, always something magical happened.” (34:12)
• Cancer as the ‘Poorly Wrapped Gift’: Facing illness radically reoriented her life, fueling her gratitude and passion for her work.
  • “Every day is a gift. I live my life 110% every day…I was abruptly woken up at an early age.” (37:09)

9. The Power of Weekly Mentorship (37:52–43:25)

• Regular Accountability: Weekly meetings with mentors (not from the food industry) became a game-changer.
  • “She suggested I’ll meet with you every Friday for two hours and I’ll help you stay focused on your business goals.” (38:36)
• Value of Coaching: Mentors helped her see priorities, manage chaos, and dream big. Loren urges founders to be coachable and to invest in mentorship, whether through payment, equity, or other structures.
  • “If you are coachable and can work on yourself…throw your ego out the window and just work on growing the biggest, best company you can.” (41:36)

10. Solo Founder Reflections & Team Building (44:21–45:12)

• Solo vs. Co-Founder: Loren values her independence but now keenly understands the importance of hiring top C-suite talent and a true #2.
  • “If it was my vision and my idea…it's just hard to bring on a co-founder.” (44:40)

11. Viral Marketing Moment: The ‘Ryan’ TikTok Mishap (45:19–48:49)

• Turning Mistakes Into Gold: When her intern accidentally renamed the TikTok account ‘Ryan’, the team leaned into the situation, creating authentic content that went viral and spiked a 46% increase in website sales.
  • “It’s really the whole mission of Sweet Loren’s: turning lemons into lemonade…Instead of being embarrassed about it, how cool to lean into it and have fun with it.” (47:15)

12. Final Advice for Founders (49:16–50:24)

• Product is Everything: Obsess over making the product the best possible user experience.
  • “Product, product, product. Work on that product and make it the best user friendly, greatest experience product.” (49:21)
• Team & Trust: Build a complementary, trustworthy team.
• Brand with Soul: Companies need personality and values that connect emotionally with customers.
  • “People want to trust a brand. They want to know what you stand for…If it’s product and packaging that does it, or…it’s a service, that’s how you build something really sticky.” (49:52)
• Customer-Obsessed: Never stop listening to your customer.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Everyone is looking for a healthier way to satisfy their sweet tooth. As long as taste is there…I could turn this into a brand.” – Loren Castle (05:10)
• “You can have a great idea but…find a product that you see that kind of reaction you’re looking for in dozens and dozens of people.” – Loren (32:06)
• “What seemed niche about being allergen-free actually became our superpower.” – Loren (21:56)
• "In a weird way, Sweet Loren saved my life...It gave me purpose." – Loren (33:54)
• “If you are coachable…just work on growing the biggest, best company you can possibly grow. It’s been magic for me.” – Loren (41:36)
• “Turning lemons into lemonade...Instead of being embarrassed about it, how cool to lean into it and have fun with it.” – Loren, about the TikTok ‘Ryan’ story (47:15)
• “Build a brand that has soul and a personality. Long gone are the days where a company can survive being pretty one-dimensional.” (49:35)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Cancer diagnosis & early motivations: 02:01–06:14
• First Whole Foods meeting and early demos: 06:14–12:19
• Iterative product and packaging learning: 12:19–15:04
• Allergies and the allergen-free pivot: 17:10–25:53
• Packaging and retail shelf lessons: 25:53–29:13
• Competing, margins, and growth philosophy: 29:13–31:42
• Getting shelf space & iteration lessons: 31:42–33:24
• Toughest moments & resilience: 33:24–37:52
• Mentorship as a founder advantage: 37:52–43:25
• Solo founder & building a team: 44:21–45:12
• The viral 'Ryan' TikTok incident: 45:19–48:49
• Final advice for founders: 49:16–50:24

Takeaway for Listeners

Even the most successful founders start impossibly small, follow their passion, and iterate relentlessly based on honest customer feedback. Differentiation, resiliency, and a product that solves a real need are non-negotiable. And as Loren’s journey highlights, mentorship and authenticity (even in moments of viral mishaps) are powerful growth levers for building lasting brands.