Sweet Success

ellenJAY Cookies, operating a small-but-mighty confectionary in the heart of Midtown Mobile, looks toward growth through corporate gifting and wholesale.

by Kaija Wilkinson

“Are you Ellen?” is a question Lauren Kapeluck and Jennifer Conrad got quite often in the early days of opening ellenJAY Cookies in a 1,500-square-foot shop in a former house on Airport Boulevard in Midtown Mobile 11 years ago. The fact is, there is no Ellen: ellenJAY stands for the initials — “L” and “J” of the women’s first names. At press time, Kapeluck and Conrad had just wrapped up their busiest time of year — the holiday season. Thanksgiving 2025, as usual, saw orders pour in for ellenJAY’s sweet potato cakes
with cinnamon cream cheese icing and house-roasted sugar pecans — “a slice of heaven” according to the ladies. For Christmas, the bakery’s most popular product is its Christmas Cookie Decorating Kit, each featuring a dozen blank cookies, buttercream icing and festive sprinkles. “We sell thousands every December,” Kapeluck says. “It’s a whirlwind trying to keep up!”

A Journey That Started With 40,000 Steps

Kapeluck and Conrad are in tip-top physical shape, which suggests that the pair abstain from sampling their creations. That’s not true, however. They do, but they are also fitness buffs who trace the beginnings of their business to running marathons — a challenging athletic feat that consists of approximately 40,000 to 60,000 steps — together. They met in 2008 during training for a marathon. “Running all those hours forged the best friendship as we chatted for miles and miles,” they say. “We quickly discovered we shared a passion for all things sweet, modern and simply beautiful.”

ellenJAY cookies reflect that passion. They are thick yet delicate, buttery and beautifully decorated — perfect for gift giving — including corporate gifts — or special occasions. Conrad says:

“We serve families nationwide, but we also work with many businesses. We’re proud to partner with
Yellowhammer Coffee in all seven of their locations, and we have many repeat corporate clients who trust us with their gifting year after year.”

Kapeluck’s and Conrad’s first “clients” were pro bono — Kapeluck and husband Randall’s son, Sam, and Conrad and her husband Geoff’s daughter, Cora, were treated to a sweet dessert spread when both children were celebrating their first birthdays 12 years ago in spring 2013. The pair remembers:

“We dreamed up a mega girly dessert table for Cora and then, weeks later, a totally handsome dessert table for Sam. And you know what? We got RAVE reviews. Everyone loved the cakes and cookies, but even more, we were 100% obsessed with this passion.”

Figuring It Out

Kapeluck and Conrad then focused on figuring out all they could about business permits, health code, financing, growing a team and operating a commercial-size mixer. They bought the building in which ellenJAY operates, opening their doors on October 6, 2014. Conrad says:

“Lauren and I had never owned a business before, especially not a food business with all the health rules and specialized processes. We learned everything by doing and took it one step at a time so we wouldn’t get overwhelmed. Small, consistent steps forward became our secret to making it all work.”

In the early years, pricing for profitability was the pair’s biggest challenge. “When you start as hobby
bakers, it’s tough to understand real costs and price accordingly,” Kapeluck observes. Over time, she and Conrad learned how to calculate both gross and net profit margins and gained a much clearer view of
what it takes to actually run a business. “Costs are always higher than you think!” Conrad says. Experience made the pair smarter and more confident about pricing for true profitability.

ellenJay has built a small, strong team of eight bakers through referrals from friends, family and customers. “We really are a little family here,” Conrad says.

As the business has taken off, running has slowed down, although Kapeluck and her husband are currently training for a half-marathon. Both Kapeluck and Conrad still enjoy shorter runs whenever they can sneak them in. Kapeluck’s family now includes a 10-year-old daughter, Lily, and Sam, who is now 13 (as is Conrad’s daughter, Cora.) Conrad and her husband also have a son, Gavin, who is 18. Kapeluck and her family love traveling and visiting family all over the country, and Conrad and her husband enjoy “date nights” rotating between Pour Baby, Red or White and Hummingbird Way — “All so wonderful! Life is full and fun,” Conrad says.

ellenJAY stands out, Kapeluck and Conrad believe, because of its quality and excellent customer service. “We pour so much love into what we do, and I think people really feel that,” Conrad says. In terms of getting the word out about ellenJAY, they have learned a lot through trial and error. Advertising can be good, but it must be thoughtfully targeted or it’s money down the drain, Kapeluck says, continuing:

“Locally, word-of-mouth has been everything. Even after 11 years, I’m still honored every time I hear someone recommend us. Serving our community — near and far — truly means the world to us.”