It was 2011 and Debra Townsend needed money. She didn’t have a job and had just returned from a two-year, around-the-world backpacking trip with her four teenagers.
The holidays were just around the corner, so Debra decided to use her mother’s shortbread recipe to make and sell cookies at the Richmond Christmas Market. Douglas was her mother’s maiden name, so she called them Douglas Sweets.
“It was just supposed to be a one-time deal, but I made a ton of money on it for just one day. So, I said, maybe there’s a business here!”
She spent a few weeks imagining what her shortbread baking business would look like. Then, in February 2012, Debra took the plunge and officially launched Douglas Sweets. Her first customer was Healthy Living in South Burlington. Then City Market in downtown Burlington signed on. Other Vermont co-ops and small markets soon followed suit.
“I started making it in the house and then it took over the house!”
But Debra kept baking in her home kitchen until 2016 when her youngest, Hannah, graduated college and moved home to join the business.
All of Debra’s kids loved eating Grandma’s shortbread, but it was Hannah who enjoyed making it, when they could remember how.
“My mom is a good old Scot lady and Hannah would call her grandma and say, ‘we need the recipe again’,” said Debra.
With Hannah on board, Douglas Sweets was ready to make the leap to a commercial kitchen. They sought VEDA’s help by filling out our Contact Us form. Director of Commercial Lending Eun-Young Denny reached out to learn more.
“We were so fresh with financing,” said Hannah Townsend Allain. “We hadn’t done any before and Eun-Young was so patient with us.”
They signed on the dotted line for a 2,400 square foot production facility at the Shelburne Green Business Park, which was still under construction.
“VEDA gave us our first loan to outfit the place,” says Hannah.
Douglas Sweets moved into their commercial kitchen and were humming along, churning out biscuits to specialty markets across New England, when COVID hit. Demand dramatically dropped off, so Hannah decided to try something different to drum up business. She reached out to Erin Foster in California. Today, Foster is best known for creating the hit Netflix show “Nobody Wants This”. In 2020, she was working as an influencer.
“I just reached out to her,” said Hannah. “I’ve never done anything like that. We never worked with any influencers.”
They sent Foster some shortbread.
“I was tracking it and the moment it arrived; she texted me back and said, ‘It’s arrived!’,” said Hannah. “She took pictures and all of a sudden…”
“Oh my god. Hundreds of orders!” said Debra. “I was here with the bakers and all a sudden the computer’s going ‘BEEP’ – a thousand orders! I said, ‘How are we gonna do this?”
Foster’s help paid off. Soon their factory was floor to ceiling boxes full of shortbread to be shipped all over the country.
Today Douglas Sweets is celebrating their win as the Vermont SBA 2026 Microbusiness of the Year.* Their shortbread is sold in 48 states. You can find them at independent grocers, co-ops, specialty food markets, and retailers like Whole Foods and Market 32 at Price Chopper.
Douglas Sweets sells about 250,000 packages of cookies a year. There are eight flavors. The most popular are Traditional Shortbread, Lemon Drop, and Orange Blossom. But instead of rolling out and cutting that shortbread by hand, they now have a high-tech machine that cranks out 22 cookies per minute. When they were doing all that work manually, they made about two cookies per minute.
VEDA has helped Douglas Sweets with other financing needs. They reached out to Eun-Young earlier this year when they bought a new oven and now they’re getting ready to install a new packaging machine.
“It’s not just about getting a loan. There’s so much more. She brings people in, she calls us to see how we’re doing,” says Debra. “Their interest in you is genuine.”
Mother and daughter are working to design what their new packages will look like.
“I just was up in Montreal getting pictures. We want it to look like you can pick the cookie right off the package. Super simple, nothing fancy,” says Debra.
Just like this lean, woman-owned business. They serve countless customers all over the United States with just five employees, including Debra and Hannah.
Hannah credits her mom with Douglas Sweets’ success.
“She definitely has the entrepreneurial spirit. She has the mentality to make anything work. So, if it wasn’t shortbread, I think it would’ve been something else,” says Hannah.
Speaking of something else, the family has another project due soon. Hannah and her husband are expecting their first child in September. A sweet addition to this supportive and successful family.
*Douglas Sweets will receive their Vermont SBA Award on June 11 at Hula in Burlington. Other VEDA borrowers receiving awards this year include Rigorous Technology, Queen City Dry Goods, and Bolton Valley Resort.
The Vermont Economic Development Authority is Vermont’s statewide economic development finance lender. Created by the General Assembly in 1974, VEDA’s mission is “to contribute to Vermont’s economic vitality by providing a broad array of financing programs to eligible businesses that create jobs and help advance Vermont’s public policy goals.”
Since 1974, VEDA has provided over $2.8 billion in financing assistance to thousands of eligible Vermont entrepreneurs, manufacturers, small businesses, and agricultural enterprises, helping them realize their business goals, create jobs, and enhance the vitality of Vermont’s economy. In collaboration with Vermont financial institutions and other partners throughout the state, VEDA’s diverse loan programs help businesses and farmers grow, prosper and create a more vibrant economy for all Vermonters.
