Mixing Up Success | EllenJay Cookies
Posted on July 28, 2026
Jennifer Conrad ’02 helped bake ellenJAY Cookies into a local destination and national brand.
She and business partner Lauren Kapeluck are the L and J behind ellenJAY, the Midtown Mobile bakery known for hand-decorated sugar cookies, buttercream sammies and custom cakes from its cottage on Airport Boulevard.
Started as a passion project after an over-the-top sweets-themed birthday party for their toddlers, ellenJAY now ships cookies nationwide, partnering with companies like Williams Sonoma, Yellowhammer Coffee and Confetti, a tech company that hosts events for Google, Amazon, Netflix and other major brands.
Conrad didn’t plan on owning a bakery. After graduating from the USA Mitchell College of Business with a degree in economics, and later earning an MBA from Tulane, she expected her path to follow the numbers. In many ways, it still does.
“Econ just clicked for me,” she says. “Back then, I never would have guessed how much it would shape my future as a business owner, but it’s the reason I can read P&Ls and understand gross profit margin with confidence. Without that, we might’ve sold a cake for $20 that cost $80 to make.”
That financial foundation guides pricing, forecasting and product decisions. It also led ellenJAY into South’s Real Advice Mentoring Program as the bakery began to scale. “The relationships we built through RAMP are still vital,” Conrad says. “Our mentors are a phone call away, and we try to pay it forward whenever we can.”
Opening the bakery was Conrad’s biggest leap of faith. She and Kapeluck had to learn staff management, marketing and baking for crowds as they went, relying on long hours, customer feedback and a focus on what people loved most.
“In the early years, we said yes to everything, and it nearly wore us out,” she says. “Once we focused on what people loved, especially hand-decorated sugar cookies and buttercream sammies, we could scale, serve customers well and make it home for dinner with our families.”
Today, ellenJAY’s growth recipe is simple: Use real ingredients, streamline designs and build operations for scale. Rather than franchising, the bakery is focused on wholesale and B2B gifting while maintaining an upbeat workplace, playful menu and commitment to customers in Mobile and beyond.
This article appeared in the 2025-2026 issue of the Mitchell Magazine, an annual publication of the Mitchell College of Business. READ THE FULL ISSUE >>>
