Ross chugs milk as part of Midnight Cookies’ “Pattern interrupt” marketing strategy

The first night of sales for Midnight Cookies ended with sophomore Carter Ross running to McIntyre Residence with the last of his batch.

Midnight Cookies is a student-run business that sells cookies in the dorms late at night, as part of the Kehoe Family Initiative for Entrepreneurial Excellence, a program designed to teach students about entrepreneurship through real-world business experience.

Ross and his team sold out on their first night of operation Feb. 26. The team divided the cookies between men and women’s dorms, and had 120 cookies for each. After selling out of cookies for women’s dorms, Midnight Cookies headed to Simpson for the last stop of the night. When he got to Simpson, Ross got a text that made him change his plans.

“Where are the cookies? The Mac girls are ready to take you to the guillotine,” sophomore McIntyre Resident Assistant Savana Greb texted Ross.

“We took all of Simpson’s cookies, which was around 20 at that point, and zoomed down the road toward McIntyre,” Ross said. “When we rolled up, the lobby was packed.”

Ross said he did not anticipate such a high demand for cookies, but the team is planning to increase inventory this week. They are currently selling chocolate chip cookies at $1 per cookie, but this is subject to change in the future.

“The first night went far better than expected,” Chief Executive Officer of Midnight Cookies sophomore Katie Ozog said.

Ozog said working on Midnight Cookies has given her insight into business management.

“I never realized how much work was behind this business, from just figuring out how to source the product, to making a delivery schedule, to the actual delivery,” Ozog said. “Plus, I’ve learned that running a business with a team is significantly different than doing it on your own.”

Ozog said working with a team allows each of the students to focus on specific areas, such as marketing or finances.

Sophomore Ike Lindley came up with the idea for Midnight Cookies, which he said was a way to make students happy while studying at night.

“I thought a cookie delivery service would be a good idea, because that’s what I would’ve wanted when I was a freshman in Simpson,” Lindley said. “It’s still what I want now.”

The business’s marketing strategy includes Ross wearing a cookie suit when promoting the business on Instagram and when tabling in the union, which Ross said is a way to get more students interested.

“You have to do a lot to stand out when it comes to marketing,” Ross said. “I usually would not put on a cookie suit like this, but it’s a lesson in not caring what people think. To get people’s attention, we have to be willing to do stupid things.”

This style of marketing is called a “pattern interrupt,” which uses dramatic gestures, words, or images to capture attention, according to Ross.

“We would like to get more flavors of cookies and maybe even milk,” Lindley said. “And we just want to get our schedule down better and serve as many people as possible.”

Midnight Cookies plans to sell again March 12 with a larger inventory. Times are posted on the business’s Instagram page, but they plan to visit New Dorm, Benzing Residence, Mauck Residence, McIntyre Residence, The Suites Residence, Niedfeldt Residence, Simpson Residence, and Galloway Residence.

“Cookies obviously taste better late at night when I’m not making good decisions anyway,” sophomore Peter Kaiser said. “The sugar stimulates that because it helps me stay awake when I should be sleeping. I’m going to be buying a lot, so hopefully I don’t gain too many pounds.”