Business & Tech
Who's Who: Akiva Resnikoff, Owner of The Cookie Department
This young entrepreneur has a new mission for cookies.
Name: Akiva Resnikoff
Age: 29
Occupation: Owner of The Cookie Department
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Are you local to the area? I live in Berkeley.
How long have you lived in Berkeley? My whole life, minus living outside the Bay Area here and there.
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Where are you based (as a company)? Emeryville.
How often do you come to the ? Every week.
How many farmers' markets do you go to? Just this one. I’m primarily a wholesale company.
What’s been your experience of the Kensington Farmers' Market in general? So far so good. I’ve only been doing it for about a month and a half.
Do you meet a lot of interesting people? A lot of interesting people — a lot of hoverers that just talk for hours.
They need somebody to talk to? Exactly.
What started you in the cookie business? I was in the energy drink industry for five years in marketing and sales, and I went to culinary school. So I wanted to do something in food, and I wanted to do something in the functional foods industry. I felt that cookies were untapped in functionality, and so I made functional cookies.
Were you just making all sorts of different cookies for awhile just to see? I stared with one cookie, the “Café de Cookie,” and it has launched into the complete functional cookie line — each cookie does something.
Functional, meaning? Non-defunctional. Each cookie does something. (points at individual cookie samples) This one, instead of a snack, has one cup of coffee in it and it will jack you up. This one, instead of a snack, is a protein bar and has ten grams of protein. That one, instead of a snack, is a libido enhancer. (Laughs.)
So that’s the deal, cookies that have more than one purpose? Exactly.
What do you do for fun besides make cookies? Walks on the beach, romantic dinners. (Laughs.) Besides working, I play pool, I like rock climbing, I like camping, nature, anything outdoors.
Editor's note: Another photo of Resnikoff, along with a caption containing a brief description of his cookies, is attached to our article, "."
