Episode 272: Collettey’s Cookies – with Collette Divitto, entrepreneur with Down syndrome

The episode transcript is below.

Carolyn Kiel: Welcome to Beyond 6 Seconds, the podcast that goes beyond the six second first impression to share the extraordinary stories of neurodivergent people. I’m your host, Carolyn Kiel.

Carolyn Kiel: On today’s episode, I’m speaking with Collette Divitto. Collette is an entrepreneur, disability rights activist, author, global speaker, and thought leader to anyone who’s ever been told they’re not good enough or intelligent enough to pursue their dreams.

After being rejected from many job opportunities, likely due to her disability, which is Down syndrome, Collette decided to launch her own cookie company. Before she knew it, the company and her story blew up to global status. Today, Collettey’s Cookies have sold over 950,000 cookies and stays true to her mission of creating employment for people with disabilities and advocating for change.

Collette also started a nonprofit organization called Collettey’s Leadership, which offers workshops, webinars, and mentoring for the neurodiverse community. Collettey’s Cookies donates a percentage of profits each year to this charity and its programs and goals.

We’ll also be joined a little bit later by Collette’s mother, Rosemary Alfredo, who works with Collette. She’ll be helping to share some more details about Collette’s businesses during this interview.

Collette, welcome to the podcast.

Collette Divitto: Thank you for having me on your podcast. I’m really, I’m truly honored, to be part of your podcast. I’m so excited to talk about me and my company.

Carolyn Kiel: Yeah, I’ve been following your story actually for a while, and you have just done so many amazing things with your businesses and continue just like as time goes on, that you have so many amazing ways that you’re building a business and impacting the world.

So I guess we can start with the business that started it all: Collettey’s Cookies. So like what inspired you to start Collettey’s Cookies?

Collette Divitto: That is a really good, great question. What inspires me to start my own company? Well, actually since I first moved to Boston, I’ve been on job interviews for almost three years, and also I faced a lot of rejections, and also no one would hire me.

So it’s very hard, particularly for me, because honestly, I really want to do is find a job. I really want to do is make money to earn a living. I want to live independently and also pay my bills on time. All they did do was actually send me home and days later they did not call me. They sent me this long email saying Collette (that, that is me), it was great to meet you in person, but at this time we feel you’re not a good fit. Because of me, who have a disability, so.

Carolyn Kiel: Yeah. Yeah that’s really hard, and I know that’s something that you as a business owner and a leader are really advocating for, how important it is for people with disabilities to have those employment opportunities. Because we face so much more discrimination in the job hiring process, and it’s just so much harder. The disability statistics in terms of employment are, really challenging.

So yeah, wow. So you weren’t getting the opportunities that you wanted and, so you decided to create your own opportunity with your cookie company. So was baking something that you really liked to do before? Why did you choose baking as a good idea for a business that you wanted to run?

Collette Divitto: That is a great question.  So actually, I learned baking in high school. I always love baking as my fun hobby, but now I turn baking as a passion. So actually, I started my own company since 2016. I love baking so much, I make really great cookies within my company. But actually, not just baking, but I love doing is actually creating more jobs for other people with disabilities. That is the most important thing of my company.

Carolyn Kiel: Yeah. Wow, that’s cool.

You started your business with one particular cookie flavor. So what was that first cookie flavor that you created for your business?

Collette Divitto: Another amazing question. So actually, I brought samples of my Amazing Cookie, I actually called the, I called it Chocolate Chip Cinnamon, to this local market in Boston nearby my home, to talk to the owner there if he don’t mind if he would sell my cookies right on their shelf space. Everyone loves them. And it turns out they purchased 100 packages by the end of the week.

Carolyn Kiel: Wow.

Collette Divitto: That is how I started my own company since then. So.

Carolyn Kiel: You have some other flavors as well. So, like, how many different flavors of cookies do you sell now?

Collette Divitto: So right now I have 14 different kinds of cookies. I do have on my website those are actually called a classic Oatmeal Raisin Cookie. My mom’s favorite kind of a cookie is called a healthy Breakfast Cookie. That’s my third kind. And my fourth kind is Chewy Peanut Butter Cookie, if you are a peanut butter lovers, and this is actually all-natural peanut butter. And my fifth one is actually gluten free. My other ones I do have is called Dark Chocolate Espresso Cookie, and there’s coffee in those cookies. What else? My new cookie I did I, already came out with, it’s called Chocolate Chip Mint, that is with peppermint. I have Classic Chocolate Chip without the cinnamon. And also I do have Classic Chocolate Chip gluten free as well. And also I have a protein power cookie. Those are like really good. That one is low in sugar and it’s low in calories. And also high in protein.

Carolyn Kiel: Mm-hmm.

Collette Divitto: I make treats for dogs. I use unsweetened applesauce and all-natural peanut butter for dogs.

Carolyn Kiel: Wow!

Collette Divitto: And also, I have Crispy. I have it here. This is Cinnamon Chocolate Chip. And my other one, this is called Crunchy Oatmeal Raisin. So I have these two bags here. They’re on my website, and I market too, so.

Carolyn Kiel: Wow. That’s really cool.

Collette Divitto: It is!

Rosemary Alfredo: Those are really light. They’re bite-sized cookies, and they’re crispy. There’s like 18 in a bag or something.

Carolyn Kiel: Oh!

Collette Divitto: That is correct. Thank you, Rosemary, for saying that.

Carolyn Kiel: It sounds like you have something for everyone.

Collette Divitto: I do, yes! And, dogs too. And no cats.

Carolyn Kiel: No cats yet. Oh!

Collette Divitto: No.

Rosemary Alfredo: Not yet.

Carolyn Kiel: So, like, how do you decide what cookie flavors to create?

Rosemary Alfredo: She has a big Italian family and we tell her.

Collette Divitto: Oh yeah, 100%.

Rosemary Alfredo: Like, your Uncle Tom said you should make a peanut butter, and you started working on test trials for a peanut butter. And then your Aunt Karen said, “What about a protein cookie?”

Collette Divitto: And I did make those.

Rosemary Alfredo: And your mom said, “I would love a breakfast cookie that’s low in sugar, low in fat for my coffee,” so you made me the breakfast cookie.

Collette Divitto: That is correct.

Rosemary Alfredo: And your grandmother said, “I like regular chocolate chip cookies with no cinnamon.”

Collette Divitto: Yes.

Rosemary Alfredo: So pretty, pretty much family influence, right, Collette?

Collette Divitto: Oh my gosh, all my family loves every kind of cookies I make. So yes.

Carolyn Kiel: Wow. Oh, that sounds great. Yeah, your market research from family. That’s awesome. Yeah, it’s really great variety.

You have a lot of repeat business. A high percentage of people come back. Is it like 70%, did I read?

Rosemary Alfredo: It’s just a little over 70, believe it or not. But I think it’s nice ’cause Collette keeps introducing new flavors. And also, like around October she has… You have like a pumpkin cookie that you do around October.

Collette Divitto: Pumpkin chocolate chip.

Rosemary Alfredo: Yeah, like you… She, kind- she has fun things that like pop up at certain times of year.

Carolyn Kiel: Mm-hmm.

Rosemary Alfredo: And she has gift boxes for like every occasion. Even a “just because” occasion.

Collette Divitto: Yeah, exactly.

Rosemary Alfredo: Just because I’m thinking of you occasion.

Collette Divitto: Yeah, exactly. I have many more of my gift boxes. They’re on my website.

Carolyn Kiel: Yeah, so they make great gifts as well. That’s awesome.

Rosemary Alfredo: She’s got a really cute Christmas holiday gift that she ends up, I think this past year Collette, I think in like six weeks you sent out, like, 33,000 cookies.

Actually it wasn’t even six weeks. I think it was three weeks, ’cause it’s from after Thanksgiving to like December 19th. It’s a lot. All gift boxes or companies having parties.

Collette Divitto: Yeah, and corporations.

Carolyn Kiel: Yeah, that’s a busy of year, so that’s great that you had so much business during that time.

Rosemary Alfredo: It’s really nice.

Carolyn Kiel: Yeah. That’s great.

Collette, you were telling me earlier that one thing you’re really passionate about is employing other people who have disabilities through your own business. So I wanted to learn more about how you do that. How do you recruit your employees, and what kinds of jobs do they do at your company?

Collette Divitto: I have 15 employees. I give them a daily kind of, of jobs to learn what to do on their own. I have been training one of my employees doing is make some boxes, packing cookies. They go on the computer, it’s called ShipStation, is to have all of the customers place their order in.

I have been teaching about how to make one of the cookies with me by my side, is to teach them how to do make the roll, and there’s a rolling to do. It is to do is line one of the cookies on my pan sheets and then put it on my racks.

Rosemary Alfredo: And inventory too.

Collette Divitto: Yes an inventory on cookies and boxes and stickers and bags, all of those things.

Rosemary Alfredo: Yeah, and to answer your question Carolyn, about where, how she recruits…

Carolyn Kiel: Yeah!

Rosemary Alfredo: She does get regularly emails with resumes, but we also work with some of the organizations throughout Massachusetts, employment agencies and vocational rehabs. So if they have somebody who kind of looks like they would align with Collette and her company, they’ll reach out to Collette and they’ll say, “Hey, I have this member who’s ready to graduate. Do you need any help? Can I give you his or her resume?” So yeah, through that.

Carolyn Kiel: Wow.

Collette Divitto: Yes, so a resume is so important thing, to learn, so in a company, like my company, so yes.

Carolyn Kiel: Yeah. ‘Cause it sounds like there’s a lot of work to do, ’cause it’s a lot of work to run a business and need all kinds of help.

So you don’t just have one business, you actually have your cookie business and you have a nonprofit organization that you started, Collettey’s Leadership Program. Tell me about that.

Collette Divitto: Sure. So actually, not just as a cookie company one, I do run a second company. It is called Collettey’s Leadership. I actually do all these workshops, is to mentoring other people who really want to learn about how to become as an entrepreneur. That is my first class. I do it in person and then also by online as well.

And my second class is learning about independence. That is actually about managing your own bank account and cooking, paying your bills. It’s part of what independence is.

And my third one is about how to start your own company. So, yes. And also, I teach those kind of classes, is to empowering other people who can do is start their own company someday.

Carolyn Kiel: That’s great to have someone with your experience, like real-life experience, be able to share all of the things that you learned in the last, I guess it’s now 10 years, of running a business, and that’s really awesome.

And you are obviously very passionate about helping people with disabilities find employment. And you have so many different ways that you’re impacting the world. You’ve got your business, your nonprofit, and you do other things, too. So like what are your current or future goals for helping people with disabilities get better job opportunities?

Collette Divitto: So actually, right now, I am working on is actually creating my own new policy for all the people with a disabilities to get them more jobs. I’m working on that right now. Because honestly, I really want to do is make a amazing difference for them who really want to do is learn about how to, yes, to learning about how to get their own jobs someday.

Rosemary Alfredo: So we work with Able Americans. We’ve been actually working on this for a couple of years and what we can do, we can actually get passed, that will help employ individuals that are neurodivergent.

Carolyn Kiel: Mm-hmm.

Rosemary Alfredo: So some of the things that we do is just bringing a lot of awareness. We do a lot of films, we do a lot of clips. Collette speaks all over at different capitals. That’s what we’re doing at this point. We’re also involved in some other, also with Able Americans, some other coalitions that are just allowing people to save money that have a disability and not lose Medicaid or their benefits. We’ve been working on that.

And we do a lot of videos, and we do a lot of speaking on behalf of both of those things. And what we’re trying to do more than anything is bring as much attention as possible to the abilities that a neurodivergent has, and how a lot of those abil- abilities, just like you talk about Carolyn, a lot of those abilities can be hidden when you first meet somebody, six seconds. But one of the things that Collette has taught me as well as her employees is how incredibly strategic they are, and how they’re very compassionate with one another, and they work as a team very easily looking to support one another. And it just, it’s almost like such a different type of employee that is kinder, more empathetic, very loyal and wanting to do the best that they can do.

So we’re trying to bring as much attention to that as possible, to just try to change the minds or open the minds of these hiring managers.

It’s hard to get a policy, to ask for a policy that, that demands companies to hire a certain amount of people per population that they have. But you can’t really do that. You can request it, but to be honest with you, the best thing they could do is just keep pushing it out there in the media and pushing it out there in the media.

Carolyn Kiel: Yeah.

Rosemary Alfredo: And then Collette getting all these speaking events. And there’s other individuals like Collette as well that are getting speaking events. That just hopefully opening the minds of these individuals to give this population more than six seconds.

Carolyn Kiel: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Collette Divitto: Exactly.

Carolyn Kiel: So even if that’s looking at, like, hiring practices, like making those more inclusive, that is a way to open it up more.

Rosemary Alfredo: Yeah. I mean there’s a percentage now of how many people that you should be checking the box off and hiring that have a disability. But it doesn’t really tap into the neurodivergent world. We’ve worked with a lot of businesses in Boston that have said to us, “Help us hire someone who’s neurodivergent. Shameful to say we never have. We do hire people with disabilities, but we just have not tapped into the world of neurodivergent. Not because we don’t want to, just because we don’t wanna fail them, ’cause we don’t even know if we’re, we’re set up to create a better…”

So that’s kind of the angle that we come in at. We’re working with some other big organizations that have already done this and mastered it, so we’re trying to put them in the forefront of teaching everyone else.

Carolyn Kiel: Oh, that’s great. Yeah, there’s just so many different ways from you creating your own opportunities for people to get employment to working on policies that would make it easier for people with disabilities to, like, earn and save money, which is, I know is another thing.

And is also with hiring companies as far as how do we hire more people with disabilities or people who are neurodivergent? How do we support them once they’re here and help them excel in their jobs? Yeah.

Rosemary Alfredo: Exactly.

Carolyn Kiel: Yeah. Well, that’s great. Wow.

Well, yeah, Collette I have to say it’s it’s around dinnertime in my time zone where we’re recording this, so talking about all the cookies is starting to get me very hungry.

So I would love to know where can people buy your cookies? I know you have a website. You’re in some stores. Like, where can they go buy cookies?

Collette Divitto: The best way to buy cookies is on my website, and my website name is actually Collettey’s Cookies.

Rosemary Alfredo: And also, Collette, you should mention that you don’t use any preservatives or chemicals in your cookies.

Collette Divitto: It is 100% correct. 100%, it’s actually all true, so.

Carolyn Kiel: That’s great. And I think I saw on your website that you have free shipping within the United States. Is that true?

Collette Divitto: That is.

Rosemary Alfredo: Absolutely.

Collette Divitto: Yes.

Carolyn Kiel: And you do ship internationally, but that shipping is just at cost, but it is possible. If you’re not in the United States, you can still order cookies from the website.

Rosemary Alfredo: Well the only thing with that is that, Collette, that would mean the only thing that you would offer international, like when you ship to Canada, is not your soft cookies, but those crispy and crunchies.

Collette Divitto: Yeah.

Rosemary Alfredo: Because they have a long shelf life, so they can sustain. But the other ones, because they are not preservatives, and when you ship international, you really have no control over when they’re gonna show up. Like, Collette was shipping to Canada prior to January with no problem, and now the cookies, sometimes they don’t arrive for three weeks.

Carolyn Kiel: Wow.

Rosemary Alfredo: Until that changes again, it makes it a little tough.

Carolyn Kiel: Okay. That’s a lot of factors with the mail that’s out of your control. But yeah, that’s good to know that’s how you, what you offer there.

Collette Divitto: And also I published three books. They are on Amazon and my website. So I have it as Collette in Kindergarten, that’s my first book.

Carolyn Kiel: Oh, great. Oh, that’s cool.

Collette Divitto: And my second one is in the third grade. And my third one is in, is Collette in Middle School.

So actually, those are on my website also and Amazon too. But I am working on now is actually, I’m going to keep on writing more of my own little book series about my life. I’m going to talk about is me in high school, then college, move to Boston to create fun jobs, face rejections, and then cookie company.

So I’ll keep on writing more of that.

Carolyn Kiel: That’s great. That’s great because I think it’s really valuable for people to be able to read what your life was like and what you were thinking and going through at different stages of your life. So that’s a great series.

And so if people want to learn about your leadership programs, is there a separate website for that?

Collette Divitto: It is, yes. So my nonprofit is actually called ColletteysLeadership.org.

Carolyn Kiel: Okay, great. I can put links to the websites in the show notes that go with this podcast so people can just like click and go right there, so.

Collette, thank you so much for being on my show. You’ve had so many amazing experiences in the 10 years of running your business and doing advocacy and all these other great things.

What advice would you have for people with disabilities who might be struggling to find a job right now?

Collette Divitto: I know this sounds crazy, but I, this is so easy question. I can easily answer it very quickly.

So one of those best advices is, believe in yourself. Second one is, don’t let other people bring you down. And also, I would say is, no matter who you are, you can make a big difference in this world.

Carolyn Kiel: Yeah, that’s great. Really foundational things. So yeah, thank you for sharing that. And yeah, thank you so much, Collette, for of the great work that you do for the entire community of people with disabilities and the ways that you give back and create amazing things for everyone to enjoy.

So yeah, and thanks for being on my show.

Collette Divitto: Of course. I am really honored just being on your podcast. This is a amazing thing to do because honestly being on the podcast, it helps a lot to promote, promote company out there and grow much bigger, so.

Carolyn Kiel: Yeah. Yeah, I know my listeners are gonna love learning about your company and the great work you do. So yeah, it was really great to meet you and thank you again. I’m happy that you were here!

Collette Divitto: Yeah!

Carolyn Kiel: Has this podcast had an impact on your life, your heart, or your perspective in some way? If so, I’d love to hear about it. Send me a message on social media or through my website at beyond6seconds.net/contact. Your feedback means a lot to me, and it helps keep me going with this show. Thank you.

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