Conversations with Natalie McCosh

Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalie McCosh.

Hi Natalie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstory.
I have been baking quite literally since I could sit up! My mom would set me on the counter and let me dump cup-full of various ingredients into a bowl to “help her out.” I received an Easy Bake Oven for my sixth birthday and began setting up “restaurants” for my siblings and parents to order lunch from. In fourth grade, I pawned off chocolate cake pops to my classmates and parents. Word quickly spread, and I was making more cake pops than I could handle, which, as a 10-year-old, was few. Let me tell you, cake pops are difficult for me now; it was a trainwreck in fourth grade.Once I decided that those were too difficult, I pivoted to cupcakes and shortly after that, found a love for custom buttercream cookies! Currently, I only take orders for custom cookies and the occasional cake. I baked as much as possible after school and extracurricular events throughout middle and high school. I am blessed to say that I never had to flip burgers, as my “side hustle” was more like a full-time job! I took a year off my home bakery, Sweet Pieces, by Natalie, during my first year at K-State while I lived in the dorms and got used to college life. This school year, I moved my bakery to Manhattan and can apply amazing amounts of my Entrepreneurship major to running my business. I have found incredibly supportive customers!

Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Since moving to Manhattan, I have noticed the intense copy culture. Many other bakers are in the area, but each of us has our niche within the community. A few, however, like to post other bakers’ product photos with captions such as “making something similar to this, DM me to order.” This has been discouraging as I have new ideas to bring to the area, but I am nervous about them being copied and quickly becoming unoriginal.

Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Something that sets me apart from others is my buttercream frosting. I often get comments such as “These taste just like my grandma used to make” or “This frosting brings me back to my childhood,” which was exactly my goal when I created the recipe. I have never loved the chemical taste of royal icing (the type that sets up hard-on sugar cookies), and most of the community doesn’t. My solution to this realization was to make cookies equally as beautiful as the ones with royal icing, only with a more homey and buttery taste.

So, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you before we go? How can they support you?
Please feel free to follow my social media! Each share and comment helps boost my posts to get to potential customers, and they make me do a little happy dance:) For those wanting to order custom cookies, please email or DM me on social media for a price quote.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweet_pieces_by_natalie/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sweetpiecesbynatalie/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-mccosh-17b790231