Insomnia Cookies’ founder on winning in the booming indulgence category

Take-Away with Sam Oches

Nation's Restaurant News

Business, Entrepreneurship

2.5 • 15 Ratings

🗓️ 17 June 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Seth Berkowitz, the founder and CEO of Insomnia Cookies, the cookie delivery concept that has been around now for 22 years and grown to more than 300 locations in the U.S., helping to carve out an early niche in the so-called “indulgence” category that has been booming the past few years. Insomnia announced that two investors had stepped in to acquire the majority stake previously owned by Krispy Kreme, a move that the brand thinks could open the doors to another thousand-plus locations over the next decade. Seth joined the podcast to talk about the brand’s evolution in its first two decades plus how the past seven years under Krispy Kreme’s ownership helped solidify Insomnia’s corporate structure.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

Tapping into customer emotions is a sure-fire way to build trust and loyalty
College students are the perfect foundation for the indulgence category
Consistency and reliability are better at building a sustainable business than novelty
Don’t be afraid to pursue trends — but never stray from your core brand identity
Investors should not be seen as a capital provider alone

Have feedback or ideas for Take-Away? Email Sam at [email protected].

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey there, welcome to Takeaway with Sam Ocas, a podcast from Nation's Restaurant News.
0:04.5	I'm Sam Ocas, editor-in-chief here at NRN, and this is the show where I give you an all-access pass to the restaurant industry's most influential decision-makers.
0:12.8	This week I'm talking with Seth Berkowitz, the founder and CEO of Insomnia Cookies, the cookie delivery concept that has been around now for 22 years and
0:22.7	has grown to more than 300 locations in the U.S., helping to carve out an early niche in the
0:28.9	so-called indulgence category that's been booming the past few years.
0:33.6	Just last week, in fact, the day that Seth and I spoke, Insomnia announced that two investors
0:39.4	had stepped in to acquire the stake, the majority stake previously owned by Krispy Kreme,
0:46.0	a move that the brand thinks could open the doors to another thousand plus units over the next
0:51.2	decade. Seth joined the podcast to talk about the brand's evolution in its
0:55.9	first two decades, including why the introduction of Apple's first iPhone was even more pivotal
1:01.1	to the brand than the introduction of third-party delivery. Plus, how the seven, the past seven
1:07.3	years under Krispy Kreme's ownership helped solidify insomnia's corporate
1:12.1	structure, but why it was time for both brands to go their separate ways.
1:16.3	In this interview, you will learn more about why tapping into customer emotions is a surefire
1:20.7	way to build trust and loyalty, why consistency and reliability are better at building
1:25.9	a sustainable business than novelty, and why investors should not be seen as a capital partner alone.
1:33.2	As always, be sure to like and subscribe to take away on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
1:39.1	Please also leave your feedback on those platforms as it is a great way to share this show with new listeners. You can also
1:45.1	follow me online where I am most active, which would be LinkedIn as well as on TikTok, where I am at
1:51.5	Takeaway Sam. That is at Takeaway Sam. Jumping now into my interview with Insomnia Cookies, Seth Berkowitz.
1:59.0	Also, don't forget to stick around after the interview, as I will share my five takeaways
2:02.5	from this discussion, actionable insights that you can take with you on the go.
	...

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