Host and Guest

Host: Rose Hamilton, Founder of Compass Rose
Guest: Kathryn Bricken, CEO and Founder of Doughlicious

About Doughlicious

Doughlicious produces premium cookie dough with natural, gluten-free ingredients. Their products include dairy-free, vegetarian, and vegan options. Everything is made in the UK using free-range eggs, organic sugars, and no artificial additives.

Episode Highlights

• Kathryn began her career on Capitol Hill before pursuing her passion for food.
• A friend’s request for cookies inspired her to create innovative recipes with high-quality ingredients.
• She grew Doughlicious from a home kitchen to a large-scale manufacturing facility.
• She shifted from direct-to-consumer sales to retail, increasing the brand’s global reach.
• Social media and influencer partnerships helped expand their customer base.
• Kathryn values authenticity and personal involvement in building her brand.
• She encourages others to follow their dreams, regardless of the timing.

Join the Conversation

Hear how Kathryn turned her passion for baking into a thriving global brand. Learn her strategies for success and growth.

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Visit Doughlicious to explore their products and story.

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A Conversation Between Rose Hamilton and Kathryn Bricken – Episode Transcript

Introduction

A friend of mine came to me and she’s like, you make the most amazing things, but can you just make a chocolate chip cookie?

And I was like, yeah, that’s the easiest thing ever. So I made this chocolate chip cookie, but I decided that I wasn’t going to do what everybody would do. I’m not just going to take the butter, the sugar – so basically the fat, the dry ingredients, and the emulsifier (the eggs) – and put it together. I’m going to make this better.

I’m going to use amazing flours that are milled locally, like oat flours. I’m going to play around with different butters – from Irish butter to English butter from different fields because they all had unique tastes. Then I also decided to work with different ingredients. For example, if I was going to make a peanut butter cookie, I’d look for roasted peanut butters, not just the regular kind.

And that’s how Doughlicious was born: with better-than-normal ingredients that made these amazing-tasting cookies that just happened to be gluten-free because of the oats I was using. I was always looking for alternative sugars too. Instead of white sugars, I used raw cane sugar, coconut sugar, and maple syrup – figuring out how to make a cookie that stayed soft in the middle and slightly crispy on the outside.

Rose Hamilton: Hi, Story of a Brand listeners. I’m so excited to be with you today. I’m Rose Hamilton, co-host with you for the day from Compass Rose Ventures. I’m thrilled to be talking about one of my favorite topics: innovation.

Innovation can mean creating a whole new category or product – really complex ways of building new things. But on the other hand, it can also mean taking something that already exists in the hearts and minds of consumers and doing it so much better than anyone else. Innovation can happen with things consumers already love.

Today, I’m so excited to bring you Kathryn Bricken, the Founder and CEO of Doughlicious. Kathryn’s journey spans from Capitol Hill to culinary training, into cookie dough. This business has grown 400% month-over-month for the last several years, and I’m thrilled to unfold her story.

Welcome, Kathryn! It’s a pleasure to have you here.

Kathryn Bricken: Thank you, Rose! I’m really excited to be here and so grateful to share my story with your audience.

Rose Hamilton: Your story is so fascinating, Kathryn. Let’s start at the beginning. How did you go from working on Capitol Hill to creating one of the most innovative cookie dough brands?

Kathryn Bricken: Thank you, Rose. I think there are two types of people in this world: those who live to eat and those who eat to live. I’m someone who lives to eat.

When I think of Capitol Hill, I remember where to find the best tuna sandwiches or croissants – those things stick with me. After graduating from university, I had an internship on Capitol Hill. It turned into a full-time job with a congressman, and later I worked with a senator on healthcare and transportation issues. It was an exciting life.

But in the background, I was always a foodie. When my husband’s job moved us to Toronto, I realized it was my opportunity to pivot. I took culinary courses and focused on desserts, especially cookie dough.

Rose Hamilton: It’s amazing how your passion for food turned into this business. Can you tell us more about how Doughlicious began?

Kathryn Bricken: Sure. In 2008, we moved to the UK, and I started experimenting again. I baked for school fundraisers and created my own recipes. One day, a friend asked me to make a simple chocolate chip cookie. I saw it as an opportunity to do something different.

I decided to use locally milled oat flours and play with different butters and sugars. That’s how Doughlicious was born. It was about better ingredients that made better cookies – and they happened to be gluten-free. People loved the cookies so much that I started selling them out of my friend’s art gallery. By 2017, I realized this was more than a hobby. We officially launched Doughlicious, and it’s been an incredible journey ever since.

Rose Hamilton: What an incredible story! Doughlicious has grown so much. Can you share how you went from selling cookies locally to becoming a global brand?

Kathryn Bricken: In 2017, we exhibited at a food show. The response was overwhelming. Buyers from Whole Foods, Planet Organic, and Marks & Spencer’s loved our products. That gave us the confidence to invest in a factory and scale up. By 2020, we moved into a larger facility, and now we’re in over 9,000 points of distribution across Europe, the US, and beyond.

Our focus has always been on creating innovative, high-quality products. For example, our cookie dough and gelato bites took two years to perfect, but they’ve become a global success. It’s been an exciting, challenging, and rewarding journey.

Rose Hamilton: You’ve clearly built a strong foundation for Doughlicious. How do you manage such rapid growth while staying true to your values?

Kathryn Bricken: It’s all about culture and staying aligned with our mission. We’ve established pillars like sustainability, zest for life, and striving for greatness. We’re committed to using renewable energy, sourcing ethical ingredients, and maintaining a strong team culture. These values keep us grounded as we grow.

Rose Hamilton: You’ve also made bold decisions about your distribution channels. Why did you pivot away from direct-to-consumer to focus on retail?

Kathryn Bricken: Direct-to-consumer was challenging because our products are chilled or frozen. Issues with delivery impacted customer satisfaction, and I felt responsible. Retail has allowed us to reach more people while maintaining quality and consistency. It was the right move for us.

Rose Hamilton: As you look to the future, what’s next for Doughlicious?

Kathryn Bricken: We’re expanding into new markets like Asia and continuing to innovate. We’ll be at Expo West this year, which is exciting. We’re also launching new flavors and products while staying true to our mission of delivering joy through cookie dough.

Conclusion

Rose Hamilton: Kathryn, thank you for sharing your inspiring journey with us. Doughlicious is truly an incredible brand, and I can’t wait to see what’s next for you.

Kathryn Bricken: Thank you, Rose. It’s been a pleasure to share my story. And to anyone listening: it’s never too late to pursue your passion.