Looking for that perfect cookie with yummy, crispy edges that holds a super soft, gooey centre right in the middle?? Still waiting for that “heaven-in-your-mouth” escapade? Well, I believe we've hit a home run with this one.
Hi!! Online proudly presents “COHO”, a dessert delivery start-up that have captured the hearts of many comfort foodies here in Colombo and all over the island with their freshly-baked cookies! It’s fascinating to see how the latter term charges one’s mind with a rush of adrenaline and enthrals people to order a boxful for themselves so they can indulge each bite thoroughly. In less than a year, COHO has managed to receive over 1600 5-star reviews on platforms such as Google, Facebook, and Uber Eats and today, they happen to be Sri Lanka’s fastest-growing food initiative that deliver scrumptious, custom-packed treats with happiness & consistency!
COHO - which springs up from the words "Cookie House" - began as a side hustle during the initial days of the widespread corona-virus. Riz, the Founder of COHO, travelled to Sri Lanka from the United States in early 2020 to establish a BOI (Board of Investment of Sri Lanka) project with foreign investors. Unfortunately, the outbreak began to rapidly spread across the world, halting Riz's initial plan since this type of venture would not go as planned in a chaotic environment.
Riz has a remarkable sweet tooth; back in the States, he developed a fondness for cookies and frequently ate them as comfort food to treat himself after a long day. When he returned to Sri Lanka, he wish to pursue this practise and so he went in search of good cookie spots in Colombo. However, he wasn’t entirely satisfied with the results because cookies here tend to be too crunchy and biscuit-like thus, not appealing well to his taste. Ultimately, Riz decided to bake his own cookies; he retrieved an old recipe, gathered the necessary ingredients and created some mouth-watering delights to complement his palate! Despite the fact that he has no professional baking background, he went on to learn everything on his own and approached this challenge scientifically. Step by step, he realized how precise one must be in terms of temperature, humidity, and measuring raw materials to obtain the best outcome - if not, even the slightest change can make a significant difference. He continued to experiment with different flavours, and after sharing his cookies with friends and loved ones, he received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback, sparking a small fire within him. All of this A/B testing convinced him to try his newly discovered passion on Uber Eats and see what happens, kicking off COHO’s journey for him and thousands more!
At first, it was only Riz who would wake up at 4 in the morning to make the dough and bake the cookies. Within a short period of time, he was able to assemble a team of ten people, including bakers and those responsible for customer service and order processing.
Currently, COHO’s product line includes six different cookie flavours and cookie slabs that can be ordered for any special occasion. Their most popular cookie flavours are Chocolate-chip and Triple Chocolate cookies. Although these are rather traditional flavours for comfort food, customers enjoy these cookies, especially since they are soft-baked. White Chocolate, Birthday Sprinkles, Oatmeal Raisin, and Cinnamon Core are the other flavours available in-store. The Cinnamon Core cookie is very cinnamon-y and sugary, and it appears to be fluffier than the others.
The Birthday Slabs are the most popular Cookie Slabs among customers. It is a one-of-a-kind gift because you can personalise the wording on the slab with whatever you want; the wording is created with hand-made chocolate, making your slab look rather appetizing to eat! "We've seen some crazy messages sent; the wordings range from extremely intimate to downright hilarious, and it's very convenient too because you can order and gift it on the same day," Riz told us. So, if you've received a Facebook notification stating that it's your friend's birthday and you've completely forgotten about it, don't worry because COHO has your back :P
COHO recently partnered up with Food Studio to make their cookies physically available at One Galle Face and Colombo City Centre. They have yet to consider opening a physical location in the future, but for the time being, COHO would like to focus on gaining complete control over delivering fresh, custom-packed, delicious treats to their customers on time. Currently, they deliver to customers within Colombo in 4 hours, while other parts of the country may take 2-7 days.
If you're a parent and your child is having some friends over for a playdate, if your girlfriend's birthday is approaching and you're at a loss for what to do, or if you've had a long day at work and believe you've earned a treat to Netflix n’ chill, COHO is a great choice to make!
If you're on TikTok or Instagram, you've probably seen COHO's massive Give-away a while back. Riz and Team COHO would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the participants, as the Give-away was a huge success for them. COHO received 5000 direct messages via Instagram from customers who chose to participate in just 36 hours! Although the order dispatching process was a little slow, they were able to cover all orders in the end and successfully expand their customer base by being transparent at all times.
As you can probably tell, COHO was a very spontaneous plan that happened to work its way up and succeed. What we should realise is that life will be chaotic at the most unexpected times, and it is during those times that we must brainstorm and implement the opportunities we have rather than complaining about them; You will not lose your passion if you continue to give the same or greater amount of commitment to what you do. So don’t give up easily and keep trying your very best! With lockdowns in place and everyone trapped at home, people chose to order online to appreciate a thrilling change during the pandemic while having items delivered to their door. This benefited COHO in the long-run as this is the key purpose of their company and today, they’re thriving tremendously!
If you ever get hungry or have a sudden hankering, you can order a batch of fresh cookies from their website: www.coho.lk. They deliver island-wide and within four hours if you live in Colombo. Make sure to follow COHO on Instagram and TikTok @cohocookies to stay up to date on what they'll be releasing next in their delicious product catalogue.
