Photo courtesy of Taylor Chip.
No doubt about it, Doug and Sara Taylor are a couple of smart cookies.
What started as a home baking challenge between the couple nearly a decade ago has since expanded into Taylor Chip, a cookie and beverage enterprise based in Lancaster County.
The husband-and-wife team’s confections are produced and shipped nationwide from the company’s main base in Intercourse and distributed to Taylor Chip stores in (so far) Lancaster, Intercourse, Hershey, York and the newest location inside Harrisburg’s Broad Street Market, which opened in May. A Philadelphia location is expected to debut this fall, with plans for further expansion on tap.
And these aren’t just any cookies, mind you. These are Taylor Chip’s “Delightfully Perfect Cookies,” weighing in at more than 5 ounces in 30 dense varieties and dubbed, “Big enough to share,” according to the company’s slogan.
“We want to brighten people’s days and bring families together,” Doug Taylor said. “Our cookies are the size of four Subway (sandwich shop) cookies. Our cookies are meant to share. At 5½ ounces, our price per ounce is competitive.”
The sweets are made with all-natural ingredients, using fresh butter rather than vegetable shortening. The recipes also exclude high-fructose corn syrup.
“When my husband and I were dating, we loved to make cookies,” Sara noted. “I made our chocolate chip cookies from a friend’s mom’s recipe with Crisco (vegetable shortening), but I said to Doug that we can’t be doing that. That’s when we decided to try making the cookies with a butter base.”
Easier said than done, the couple soon learned. Their first few rounds of chocolate chip cookies with butter weren’t so good, coming out of the oven too flat and crispy, each said. The next several batches weren’t great, either. In fact, Sara and Doug experimented for another 18 months before arriving at what they deemed butter-based perfection.
In August 2018, the Taylors officially began sales in a 13-by-8-foot stand in a Lancaster market. From there, they drew upon their previous business in branding and marketing while keeping Taylor Chip’s operating costs as low as possible and expanding by only as much as they could afford.
“If you’re not growing, you’re dying,” Doug said. “Sara and I both believe this business is something that has been gifted to us. We’re Christians. We’re motivated by our morals and ethics.”
Cameron Broadhurst, the company’s creative director, said that he shares the Taylors’ business approach despite a pressing challenge of “people’s interests and tastes changing so often.”
“We remain true to our values and not letting social media algorithms and trends alter our values and staying true to the vision we have for our company,” he said. “A lot of companies make choices due to social pressure and drive away from the heart of why they started in the first place.”
Sara’s favorite part of running the family’s business is “our team” of 40 employees.
“I love creating a culture where you have team players, and it’s a place where everyone wants to work,” she said.
The Taylors. Photo courtesy of Taylor Chip.
Since its inception five years ago, the Taylors’ enterprise has grown by 2,000%, Doug Taylor said. The company was named by Inc. 5000 as the 285th fastest growing business in the country and seventh in Pennsylvania. Doug said that he expects the company’s 2024 revenue as “pacing for $7 million,” possibly even topping $10 million.
Meanwhile, Taylor Chip continues to aim even higher with an ultimate goal of attaining “over 40,000 stores in 100 countries,” according to Broadhurst.
“We’re growth-oriented but not profit-oriented,” Doug stated. “Our profits are invested into our business. We’re self-funded and diligent with our capital.”
They’ve now begun entering related food categories.
This year, Taylor Chip expanded its menu to offer a select line of beverages. The company also offers gluten-free and vegan cookie varieties, as well as cookie cakes.
In addition, Taylor Chip has a new creamery “in the works” for its own natural ice cream line scheduled for launch later this year, according to Broadhurst. A full-scale creamery plant is under construction in Lancaster County and slated for completion in June 2025.
“We’ll do the same approach with ice cream as we do with our cookies. We’ll do our ice cream with a base of milk, cream and sugar,” Sara said. “My husband has always loved cookies, and I love ice cream.”
Taylor Chip is located at the Broad Street Market in Harrisburg, among other area locations. For more information, visit www.taylorchip.com or on social media.
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