Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
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This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.
Most families have a heritage of "hand-me-downs" ranging from quilts and paintings to instruments and recipes. Well, there is one such recipe that is now recognized in 38 states. You may have heard of it, in fact, you may have even tasted it. It's a round sugar cookie with pink frosting and sprinkles. This famous pink cookie is a Granny B's favorite and comes from a recipe dating back to pioneer times.
Diane Homolik, a.k.a Granny B, never believed the cookie she made as a young girl would hit the spotlights. The pink cookie made its debut about 18 years ago in a pizza restaurant called Papa de Marcos in Orem. Diane had experience in the pizza business and ran the restaurant with her husband, Wes. A lady from a radio station suggested Papa de Marcos serve dessert as well. Diane's mother told her the pink cookies would be perfect and she was right. Customers loved them! When Wes and Diane got a large cookie order from Las Vegas, Papa de Marcos never made another pizza. Since that time, more than 40 million Granny B's pink cookies have been frosted.
Wes tells me they began with a Granny B's bakery near BYU. At the time, real estate prices were bad, so Wes traded his boat that was worth $15,000 for a two-year contract for a building near campus. Granny B's has since expanded to distributing in convenient stores, grocery stores, vending machines and hospitals.
The pink cookie is the most popular choice, but Granny B's also makes seven other flavors. When I asked Wes and Diane why the pink cookie is the most popular, they told me it's the frosting. There's something special in that frosting, but they wouldn't tell me what. Wes and Diane have tried blue and red frosting, but the pink is what people buy.
In conclusion, I'll quote one of Granny B's first customers, "I love these cookies more than life itself."
For Zions Bank, I'm Fred Ball. I'm speaking on business.
