Hello! We're Fancypants Baking Co. It’s our mission to make consistently delicious natural, non-GMO, nut free & allergy friendly cookies. With a history of hand-crafted products, we’re dedicated to customer happiness, absolute quality, and healthier foods that always taste great!
How We Got Here
From an apartment kitchen to a state of the art manufacturing facility, we’ve come a long way in 15 years and can't wait to see what the future holds.
2004
A small, cramped Boston apartment: Where it all began!
After graduating from Harvard with a master’s degree in Neuroscience and Education she quickly realized that statistical analysis was definitely not for her. While trying to figure out what her next move was she started to bake – and was hooked. Justin at the time was a elementary school teacher, but was also a foodie at heart and couldn’t resist joining the team.
2005
In 2005, we received our largest order to date for the July Democratic National Convention. Justin and Maura worked non-stop for 3 days with no sleep to keep their little oven running 24/7 because they could only bake 18 cookies at a time. After this order was fulfilled it was clear that they were outgrowing the space. So in October Fancypants moved into a 1,000 square foot commercial kitchen in Walpole, MA.
2008
Our Big Break
We began working with Whole Foods Market and expanded beyond the Northeastern region for the first time; we also bought our first commercial rack oven!
2010
Cripsy & Crunch (and New!)
We launched our crispy cookie line, now one of our most popular lines offered in nearly 20 seasonally inspired flavors!
2014
Moving on Up
We moved into our 20,000 square foot facility which included a bevy of new equipment like a dough press, sheeter, and additional commercial ovens.
2017
Award Winning Cookies— Now in Bulk!
Things really took off in 2017! We were lucky enough to be the recipients of some awesome awards, including a Griffin Report 40 Under 40 nod for Maura, and features in a number of publications such as the Boston Globe Foodie Section, Walpole Times, Baking News, Project Nosh, and Whole Foods Market magazine. This year, we also expanded our crispy & crunchy cookie offerings into Costco.
2019
Talk About Team Building
In 2019, we employed 90 people during our peak season!
2020
Millions of Cookies!
We now bake millions of cookies per year, but still decorate each on by hand. We are so proud that our growth has allowed us to further our mission of sustainability; this year, we initiated partnerships with 1% for the Planet and launched new waste-reduction initiatives and upcycled products. The future if bright... and filled with cookies!
Simple Ingredients, Delicious Cookies
We’ve always believed in the basic principle that simplicity is the key to making great cookies, which includes mindfully sourcing clean label ingredients. We also believe that EVERYONE should be able to enjoy delicious cookies, so our cookies are always peanut and tree nut free and school safe. And we offer cookies for vegan and keto lifestyles. Last, but NEVER least, we take sustainability seriously; we aim to reduce our impact through our efforts to reduce food waste, use upcycled ingredients, and source recycleable packaging.
When not being the hockey mom of 2 growing boys, you can find her working on transitioning our company to a certified B-CORP, improving our sustainability programs, or excelling in her role as head purchaser of beverages for the office.
If he is not happily traveling for sales, you can either find him coming up with recipes for our product development team or hosting a bourbon tasting for the office staff after-hours.
Favorite Cookie?
Does it have sugar in it? Then yes!
Josh
Sales & Chief Cookie Taster
Probably our hardest employee to describe. Those that meet him adore him and those that work with him, love him. Looking for a good laugh- he’s your guy. Looking for a cookie description- he’s your guy (mouthfeel descriptions are his forte). Looking for someone to make the oddest yet most thought-provoking observations – you guessed it, Josh is your guy. From making sure that sales run smooth, to taste testing every small local brew in New England, he is one of the Fancypants lifelines. Needless to say, when Josh is on vacation the office seems very empty.
Favorite Cookie?
S’mores Crispy Cookies
Steve
Marketing & Innovation
His business cards read Marketing Director, but that’s just one of his jobs. On any given day, Steve can be found anywhere in the facility, helping someone out and driving innovation. Every day is different – from setting up brand new equipment, to brainstorming packaging design changes, to figuring out the answer to the day’s problems (remember, we’re a manufacturer!). He’s not one to sleep much, so he also manages to fly cross-country for sales meetings, keep tabs on brokers, and write countless emails to keep our sales rolling in. If he’s not at work, find him hunting in his hometown of Buffalo, sipping on whiskey at the newest Boston restaurant, or planning his next trip to the beaches of Coronado.
Favorite Cookie?
Vegan Sugar Cookie
Matty
Can Fix Anything & Everything
The closest we could get to a nickname would be Macgyver but even that does not capture his ability to fix things any and all things. When not fixing things, getting production back in line, or helping out with some product development, you can find him whipping up a nice vegan meal, hanging around the beer fridge talking “shop,” or starting a new campaign of the two yearlong nerf-gun war that continues between office staff. (We would be remiss if we did not mention that he also has the best ZZ-top looking beard this side of the Mississippi.)
Favorite Cookie?
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip
Claudia
QA Director & Product Developer
If she had her choice, you would find her decorating cookies elaborately in the corner. But unfortunately she is also awesome at running our QA department which means you can usually find her examining all our cookies or training our employees on GMPs.
Cookie-powered sustainability!
As a natural part of our day-to-day production, we end up with a lot of broken cookies. But we're not willing to just say "that's the way the cookie crumbles." Which is why all of our food waste gets turned into renewable energy through our partnership with Farm-Powered. This partnership is just one example of how, every day, we are working to improve efficiency, decrease waste, and source better ingredients.
