Overview:
• The Yummy Brothers, a family-owned business in Atlanta run by siblings under 14, have turned their love for baking into a successful gourmet catering company.
• They have gained media attention, opened an online community for kid entrepreneurs, and share their K.A.S.H. formula.
• Their top menu items include Snickerdoodle, triple chocolate, cookies and cream, and dark and white chocolate cookies.
By Dachondra Cason
The Yummy Brothers
The Girl Scouts in Atlanta have some competition.
They are the Yummy Brothers, a successful family-owned business run by siblings all under the age of 14 — Joshua (13), Caleb (9), Isaiah (11), Micah (7), and the new addition, Baby Andrew — who turned their love for baking into a gourmet catering company delivering cookies, beverages and even dog treats.
What began as a fun hobby has grown into a full-fledged business for the Billingslea family, landing the siblings major media, from appearances on local Atlanta news to The Drew Barrymore Show and Sister Circle.
The Yummy Brothers will be at Washington Park in Cincinnati from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday July 20. Please visit them at their booth and enjoy their yummy cookies.
Asked exactly how the business began to grow, starting with the name, Caleb explained: “Well…We’re brothers, and we knew our cookies were yummy, so we decided to call ourselves Yummy Brothers.”
Apparently, the rest of Atlanta agreed, because the cookies were a hit, and news began to spread. But it took a while for the siblings to realize this was more than just a fun hobby.
Isaiah said he didn’t know until two years after they started baking that they were really on to something with the cookie business. “I thought, ‘Everyone doesn’t get on the news. We need to start taking this seriously,” he said.
As they began to take things more seriously, the business expanded. The keys to success, Caleb said: “We have great customer service, and we were very persistent. We never let the stores that told us no stop us. We just kept going.”
That persistence has certainly paid off, and the siblings now juggle a growing business with school work — with the help of their parents, of course. Caleb says the entire family works together as a team. While the boys are at school during the day, their parents, who avoid the limelight, handle the online orders. The kids take over their duties after homework is done.
“It’s about more than just the cookies. It’s way harder to run a business than we thought,” Caleb said.
They’ve all had to learn how to run a website, respond to orders, and stay consistent with social media marketing. In fact, the brothers have learned so much they’ve decided to share their knowledge with other kidpreneurs.
Kidpreneur Expo, created by Yummy Brothers, is an online community for kid entrepreneurs interested in building and expanding their businesses. Caleb shared they use the platform to teach other kidpreneurs their K.A.S.H. formula. He says through knowledge, attention, skill and happiness, any kidpreneur can grow a successful business.
As for the Yummy Brothers’ favorite menu items, they agreed the top four are: Snickerdoodle is Isaiah’s favorite, triple chocolate is Caleb’s pick, cookies and cream for Joshua and dark and white chocolate is Micah’s choice.
Head over to The Yummy Brothers website to place an order, and don’t forget to follow The Yummy Brothers on Instagram.