LL Cool J isn’t exaggerating when he says he loves cookies. The two-time Grammy Award winner works cookie references into song lyrics—”Forget Oreos, eat Cool J cookies,” he raps in “I’m Bad”—and fans might be able to order a Cool J cookie someday now that the artist is a Cookie Plug franchisee.
With business partner Kevin Davis, LL Cool J signed a 60-unit area development agreement to open Cookie Plug stores in several markets including the Los Angeles metro, Orlando, New Jersey, Houston and other cities across Texas. “I’ve been talking about cookies for forever,” he says, and when Davis came to him with “a nice hot batch of cookies” from Cookie Plug, he was in.
“The brand itself is heavily connected to the hip-hop culture,” he notes of Riverside, California-based Cookie Plug, which started franchising last year and has 35 stores open. Founder Erik Martinez wove his love of ‘80s and ‘90s hip hop into the concept, with graffiti and street art adorning the walls and cookie flavors with names such as SnooperDoodle (snickerdoodle), Pixie Junkie (sugar cookie), Purple Haze (purple velvet), The Mac Daddy (white chocolate chip macadamia nut) and the OG (chocolate chip).
The business model, with centralized production to ensure a consistent product with cookies—or “fat stacks,” as the brand calls them—baked fresh on site, was another selling point for LL Cool J.
“It makes the buildout not quite as complex,” he continues, with the ability to scale quickly. Their first lease, for a location near the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, is signed and the store expected to open in October.
Cookie Plug calls its extra-thick cookies “phatties,” and while production is centralized, the cookies are baked fresh daily at each store.
Davis, who is also a multi-unit franchisee of Workout Anytime and Epic Wings, says he was evaluating different concepts and the extra-thick cookies of Cookie Plug, which the company calls “phatties,” stood out. “It stays warm in the center,” he says, while the efficient model allows for lower food and labor costs. Cookie Plug’s stores are typically between 500 and 900 square feet, with an initial investment range of $94,450 to $158,300.
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Of the planned development in a wide range of markets, Davis says he was intentional with those selections as he researched “foodie markets” where other cookie brands have been successful. “We expect to open stores in quick succession,” he adds.
This isn’t the first franchise venture for LL Cool J and Davis, who have been friends for more than 20 years. The pair are also Phenix Salon Suites franchisees, with more than 80 locations open.
As LL Cool J prepares to headline a new tour, dubbed “The F.O.R.C.E. (Frequencies of Real Creative Energy) Live” and also featuring The Roots, Salt-N-Pepa, Rick Ross and many others, he says he’ll also lend some marketing power to Cookie Plug.
“Anything I invest in, I’m going to be supportive of,” he adds.