*Meet 17-year-old entrepreneur Cory Nieves behind the New Jersey-based dessert company Mr. Cory’s Cookies.
You might also recognize Nieves from “MasterChef Junior,” coming in 9th place overall back in 2015. He has also appeared on Ellen, Blavity reports.
The Englewood, New Jersey native started his cookie company with the help of his mother, Lisa Howard, when he was only six years old. Since then, his brand has appeared at Barney’s, Bloomingdales, Macy’s, Pottery Barn, and Whole Foods, according to the report.
“While this all started out as a way for a son to help his mom, it’s become so much bigger,” Howard recently told AfroTech. “I know it’s hard for the fatherless kids out there, but he has a drive and a tenacity that prevents him from giving up.”
“He keeps pushing through the ups and the downs. When I see my son, I see myself,” Howard added.
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“We started making cookies out of our home, but we, of course had to make sure we were complying with health regulations. We then leveled up and secured a commercial kitchen and now we mass-produce our product nationwide,” he said.
Cory’s mother building up her son’s cookie business has been quite challenging.
“When people see us on TV or read about us in magazines or on social media, they only see one side and assume we’re just a happy parent-and-son-team and everything is easy,” she noted. “But I am here to tell you that’s just not true, especially when your son is a celebrity who’s also a teen!”
“At the end of the day, I wouldn’t change things for the world. We keep pushing, keep dreaming, keep building, and keep doing—no matter what,” Howard added. “That’s the only way I know how to keep our enterprise going strong.”
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