Inspiring Conversations with Naureen ONeale of A Sugar Cookie Affair

Today we’d like to introduce you to Naureen ONeale. 

Hi Naureen, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Growing up baking was a huge part of my family gatherings, growing up on the island of St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands pastries and desserts are a huge part of our culture. From the time I could sit on the counter and help my granny stir in the butter, sugar, and eggs I knew I would love baking. I remember watching my granny make everything by hand and I was impressed that she measured things with her hands and none of the fancy measuring spoons or mixers, yet everything always tasted amazing. My granny taught me the science of baking. 

As the years passed I found myself always in the kitchen and making cookies, cheesecakes, cakes, and local treats such as coconut bread and sugar cake. When Easter came, I was in charge of baking dozens of sugar cookies and making royal icing for family and friends to decorate. At Christmas time I would host cookie swaps and make cookies as gifts for friends and family. Over the years friends and family members would encourage me to sell my cookies. After taking a few small orders, I figured I should give it a try. 

My mom and sister tested out cookie recipes and helped me to narrow down my business name. My mom has always been supportive of my creativity and entrepreneurial spirit, she invested in helping me purchase my first set of ingredients and supplies to get my business off the ground. I spent hours taking classes, watching videos, and testing out a variety of techniques to perfect my craft. My mom placed my first official business order in January of 2020, 3 dozen cookies for her sorority, and the reviews were amazing. With that boost in confidence, A Sugar Cookie Affair became a dream come through. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have been many ups and downs in starting a home-based business, being an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart. My very first challenge came with the pandemic, I started my business in January of 2020 three months before the world shut down for the pandemic. Business came to a screeching halt and I was stuck with lots of butter, eggs, and sugar with no orders coming in. I used that time to practice a variety of recipes and work on the science and chemistry involved in baking sugar cookies. 

The second challenge was learning to deal with customers who didn’t think your time and effort was worth paying for “just cookies”. The decorated cookie market in Orlando is extremely packed and learning to price your cookies competitively yet standing out from the competition was an extremely daunting task. While this was a hobby turned into a business in order for it to be successful, I had to learn how to market, advertise and use social media to reach the masses. 

Learning all of these new things while holding down a full-time Human Resources job and being a mom to my autistic son is challenging and results in many late nights decorating cookies to get them done in time for my clients’ events. But I love my little cookie business and do it to provide for my son in hopes that he can participate in the business and one day be able to use the skills he learns working with me to make a living for himself. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about A Sugar Cookie Affair?
A Sugar Cookie Affair is known for our decorated sugar cookies, our flavor profile of our original vanilla–almond cookies stand out and has a dedicated group of fans. We use the best ingredients and whenever possible collaborate with local vendors to provide seasonal offerings to our customers. 

In addition to our unique flavors, I also known for creating unique watercolor cookies that are hand-painted by me and no two cookies are alike. In recent months we have expanded our menu to deep dish cookies, drop cookies, and waffle cookies, our bestselling drop cookie flavors are brown butter chocolate chip and key lime coconut. The key lime coconut is a celebration of my Caribbean culture and a personal favorite. 

Cookies are what we do and I hope to continue to offer a variety of cookies and flavors to meet the needs of our customers. If you dream of it, we will create it and I do my best to create it! 

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Something that surprises my customers is that I am also a scrapbooker and card maker, so I can sometimes create custom greeting cards and tags that match their cookies perfectly. Being a crafter allows me to elevate my creativity when it comes to designing cookies. 

Contact Info:

• Email: asugarcookieaffair@gmail.com
• Website: https://asugarcookieaffair.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asugarcookieaffair/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/A-Sugar-Cookie-Affair-102370477967279