Sweet Sea Cookie Co.
A Cause in Need of a Cookie
Photos by Nicole Wolf
Leigh Kellis made her name in doughnuts. Her company, The Holy Donut is truly the holy grail of donuts here in Maine, with lines stretching down the street on any given morning of both tourists and locals. I promise we’ll talk about the life-changing chocolate sea salt donut another day. Today is about cookies.
Recently, Leigh had an epiphany. “I need to start a cookie company” she blurted out while sipping coffee at Coffee By Design with friend Chris Kast. “I don’t even remember saying it! I think it was divine intervention.” Leigh is both a baker and an activist, with a particular passion for reducing plastic use and getting it out of the ocean. She spent last year in Hawaii with her teenage daughter, and they were both astonished, and horrified, at the amount of plastic in the water and on the beach.
“I realized I can make delicious things that make money and do something that matters,” Leigh tells me. She knew from the start that she wanted to make a vegan product, because it’s more earth-friendly. Sweet Sea offers three kinds of cookies: Oatmeal Raisin, Sunflower Crunch and Sweet Sea Salt Belgian Chocolate. I met Chris, who is now the company’s VP and COO, in the parking lot of Whole Foods one morning to receive a three-pack of each type. I immediately assumed that Belgian Chocolate would be my favorite, because…chocolate. But it turns out the Sunflower Crunch, with its crisp bite, nutty flavor and a smattering of chocolate chips was the winner. As a vegan cookie, full of oats, brown sugar, nuts it does taste “healthy” but that’s not a problem when there’s also so much deliciousness. I enjoyed the oatmeal raisin more than I anticipated – I don’t usually support raisins in anything. But their chewiness lent the perfect contrast to the snap of the cookie. And yes, the Belgian chocolate sea salt is excellent, especially when I took Chris’s suggestion to heat it up in the toaster oven for a couple of minutes. Each cookie is a treat, but due to the healthful ingredients, it doesn’t feel overly indulgent. None of the flavors are overly sweet, and they have an old-fashioned, baked-at-home look and taste.
A percentage of sales of Sweet Seas cookies will be donated to local organizations that work to reduce the use of plastic, so less ends up in the ocean. The team is working with the city of Portland on a campaign to help accomplish the mission. “Business can be used for the greater good,” says Leigh. “We have the ability to make change here.”
The cookies are currently being produced at Barista + Bites, a small café in Portland. They’re available to order on line, and also to purchase at Lois’ Naturals Market, Monte’s Fine Foods and El Rayo. According to Leigh, “there’s something sweet about treating yourself and contributing to a nicer planet at the same time.”