Viswa Vanapalli
When Kelsey Moreira initially appeared on ‘Shark Tank‘ in 2019, the Sharks chose not to invest in her business for various reasons. However, since then, Kelsey’s company Doughp (pronounced dope) has seen a lot of success. It sells cookie dough made from all-natural ingredients. So, in season 13 episode 23 of ‘Shark Tank,’ Kelsey was invited back as a featured guest to share her story since then. So, if you’re intrigued about Doughp and how it has grown since then, here’s what we know!
Doughp: Who Are They and What Do They Do?
The idea for Doughp was envisioned by its founder and Fearless Leader, Kelsey. She started her career in the tech industry when she was just a teenager and worked in product marketing for a decade or so. After dealing with her issues with alcoholism, she became sober in 2015. Kelsey then began baking, and cookie dough was something that helped her in her journey toward recovery.
Kelsey then stumbled upon an excellent substitute for egg, making her cookie dough edible. The dough is made out of just six natural ingredients, including heat-treated flour. At the time of her appearance on the reality show in 2019, she lived in the Bay Area in California and ran a cookie dough bar, serving over 20,000 people every month. Doughp now sells its products online and includes exciting flavors like chocolate chip, cookies & cream, chocolate s’mores, and snickerdoodle.
The customer can mix and match while ordering a 2, 4, or 6-pack of 8 oz cups of different cookie dough flavors. Apart from that, the website offers the option of corporate gifting. Interested customers can even buy merchandise such as mixing spoons, mugs, hats, sweatshirts, and T-shirts, among other things. Through her venture, Kelsey has also encouraged conversations about mental health by providing mental health days to Doughp’s employees. Furthermore, 1% of the profits go toward She Recovers Foundation, a nonprofit that supports women in recovery or seeking recovery.
Where is Doughp Now?
When Kelsey appeared on the show in 2019, she asked for $450,000 in exchange for a 10% stake in her company. But at the time, the panel of investors wasn’t interested. A few months after that appearance, another investor got in touch with Kelsey, leading to her opening a new store on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. Furthermore, in January 2020, they set up vending machines at the Las Vegas airport. However, as the product was gaining popularity, the pandemic hit the world and changed everything.
Kelsey had to furlough her staff at the beginning but ultimately laid most of them off. She said, “The cost of keeping those salaries ongoing was substantial. We let much of our retail staff go and only had three of our furloughed workers return to the storefront.” Since then, Doughp made the pivot to e-commerce which paid great dividends. With COVID-19 wreaking havoc, Kelsey and her husband decided to shutter all their brick-and-mortar stores. In January 2021, Kelsey said, “By April, we were shipping 3,000 boxes a week! The growth was incredible. The growth was incredible we did 50K online in 2019 and we did 2.5 million online in 2020!”
A two-pack of 16oz cups of cookie dough currently costs $14.95, while the four and six-packs cost $24.95 and $34.95, respectively. Now, Doughp is also available at retailers like Walmart, Dashmart, Macy’s, and Amazon. As of May 2022, the company has sold more than $10 million worth of cookie dough, marking an incredibly successful phase for the venture.
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