Black & White Cookie Co.'s New Plan to Roll In the Dough

NEW YORK (MainStreet) -- What do the future of Brooklyn basketball and black and white cookies have in common?

If The Black & White Cookie Co. CEO Joshua Auerbach gets his way, patrons of Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. will be able to snack on a cookie from the company he founded as they watch the Brooklyn Nets tip off next season. It's a revised playbook for both NBA franchise and cookie entrepreneur that Auerbach hopes will lead to his company rolling in the dough as the Nets roll out their new home.

Lady Gaga-designed black and white cookies

Auerbach, 43, who calls himself the CookieMan, is still negotiating with the arena's owners, however it's this agreement that he hopes will -- finally -- solidify the future of his company.

Black and White Cookie has seen a few ups, but mostly downs, throughout the recession, even though it's clear that consumers love the idea of gourmet black and white cookies -- a popular dessert treat. The company's Twitter page has more than 18,000 followers, including celebrity gossiper Perez Hilton. That's pretty big validation of the market for his product, but it's a bigger testament to Auerbach's social media proficiency, particularly since the company is currently only selling cookies through QVC and all of his production is being outsourced.

As the economy gets back on track, Auerbach is trying to reposition the company for success.

Beginnings
An entrepreneur who grew up on Long Island, N.Y., Auerbach's friends and family were used to him brainstorming business ideas, most of which were nixed. In 2001, living in New York City and seeing the proliferation of niche restaurants and bakeries, he came up with the idea based on one of his favorite treats -- the concept of a bakery that sold customizable black and white cookies (the icing can be changed in color, design and flavor preferences). It seemed to get a lot of interest, he says.

With all the positive reinforcement, Auerbach immediately realized no one had seized that name for a web page and registered Blackandwhitecookies.com in 2001. (He picked up blackandwhitecookie.com just this year, he says.) But Auerbach didn't do much else until 2005 when the company's legal name was filed.

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