Q&A with Bart Greenhut: Bart & Judy’s Bakery Co-founder Adds Vending and Micro Markets to His Recipe for Success

Bart Greenhut, a lifelong inventor and entrepreneur, and his wife Judy set out to sell the world’s best homemade chocolate chip cookies almost 20 years ago and have translated their passion into a millions-of-cookies-a-week success story. Their namesake chocolate chip cookies are best sellers in leading grocery and natural food chains for over five years including California divisions of Whole Foods, Ralphs and Kroger and are provided in boxed meals on Amtrak trains. And now they’re making their way into vending machines and micro markets. Bart shared with Automatic Merchandiser what sets his cookies apart.

As an engineer with many high-tech inventions under your belt, what inspired you to pursue the ultimate chocolate chip cookie as your next big thing?

In the late 1970s, the best fresh-baked cookie I ever had was at a kiosk on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood where Wally Amos of Famous Amos got his start; crowds of people lined up around the block for them. He was eventually bought out by a large corporation that changed his original cookie to one that was more economical and easy to mass produce, but it lost everything that made it the best. I promised myself one day I’d recreate that original delicious cookie. I reverse engineered them and overcame all barriers by applying economy of scale, founding the only bakery of its kind dedicated exclusively to clean and natural chocolate chip cookies. 

What makes Bart & Judy’s “The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie In The World?”

There are many delicious, fresh, regional and local brands, but we’re the only national brand with a long shelf life with the same standard as if you baked it at home. People can call and speak to Bart himself.

We develop our own proprietary recipes, source superior ingredients and bake every one of our cookies in our own facility. We use creamery butter, dark Belgian chocolate, eggs, Madagascar vanilla and no artificial ingredients or chemical additives.

We make our cookies small, with a big taste so you can eat what you want without feeling over-full, wasteful or guilty.

We ship every batch fresh-baked, never warehoused, with a 12-month shelf life, without any preservatives through our proprietary process.

Tell us more about Bart & Judy’s recent entry into vending and micro markets …

I’m really enjoying and excited about the vending business because it’s filled with entrepreneurs like myself who are attuned to what their customers want and have the power to take action, and Bart & Judy’s fills a void for a clean, higher-quality indulgence.

California’s Sacramento Vending, an industry pioneer, reports, “We were skeptical at first; however, Bart & Judy’s cookie rankings improved week-after-week from day one. Once customers try the product, they return for more!”

Savannah Healthy Vending in Georgia is another Bart & Judy’s partner, meeting its customers’ desire for premium products without synthetic ingredients and seeing the value in making all-natural, affordable [products] to its customers, but not selling on price over quality.

Our vending/micro market packs come in 2oz. and 3oz.“home-style” Double Chocolate Chip, Extreme Chocolate and Organic Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. They come in 48-count cases and retail for $0.99 to $2.99. 

Stay tuned for an innovative and addictive new product line extension coming in March!

Samples of Bart & Judy's cookies are available, call Tracy at (800) 873-5957 or email: [email protected]