KANSAS CITY, MO — Finding a niche as a business owner can be challenging. Finding two within one operation is almost unheard of. But Janie Deegan, founder of Janie’s Life-Changing Baked Goods, has done just that, making this bakery a New York City outlier.
Janie’s Pie Crust Cookie — an invention of hers inspired by the idea of a perfectly proportioned bite of pie — put her on the map, building the foundation for her multi-million-dollar company. The signature cookie features a flaky pie crust bottom, a gooey middle layer and a buttery streusel topping. A typical week at the bakery means selling more than 1,000 Pie Crust Cookies across its three storefronts.
“It was ahead of the curve,” said Tera Picente, head of people at Janie’s Life-Changing Baked Goods. “We have our four constant flavors — Chocolate, Apple, Pecan and Triple Berry — and then we have four rotating flavors that we change in response to trending flavor combinations.”
The bakery uses its social media presence (42,000 Instagram followers and counting) to introduce new flavors; it’s how the bakery team receives real-time feedback. Recently, Dubai Chocolate, Ferrero Rocher, PB&J, S’mores and Passion Fruit Custard varieties have been popular among the masses.
“We’ve definitely been influenced by the immediate TikTok trends and aesthetic push of things,” Tera said. “But thankfully, we have this great foundation already set for when we try new things. We have the luxury of switching our menu up.”
The bakery’s trend-forward, nimble menu doesn’t stop at Pie Crust Cookies, though; Janie’s “Half-Baked” and “Really Delicious” cookie lines offer a gourmet take on the traditional baked good. These are especially popular among city dwellers.
And, speaking of popular, Janie’s partnership with Pabade Bakery, another New York-based business, offered customers a new way to experience its gooey cookie line: the “Half Baked Crookie.” Pairing Pabade’s croissants with Janie’s signature chocolate chip cookie dough, this treat took social media platforms by storm.
“It was at the precipice of the ‘crookie’ trend; the partnership couldn’t have been timelier,” Tera recalled. “We eventually had to move all sales to pre-orders because they would sell out so fast. We phased it out for a while, but we slowly brought it back because of customer demand.”
The timeliness certainly helped the cross-brand collaboration be impactful, but it wasn’t the only reason. Teaming up with a fellow NYC bakery offered a way to boost and diversify Janie’s revenue stream. The joint promotion enabled both bakeries to tap into each other’s markets and introduce themselves to new faces without compromising the foundations of either business.
Now, about that aforementioned second niche.
Janie’s business model was built on the Pie Crust Cookie, but she has sustained the bakery’s growth with an army of support from her employees … some of whom are outside the traditional employee pool. Janie’s steadfast commitment to open and second-chance hiring provides job opportunities for formerly incarcerated and unhoused individuals, as well as those with little to no prior experience at the bench.
With three retail locations, a fourth on the way and nationwide shipping capabilities, this bakery has solidified its residence across the concrete jungle. From providing sweet treats baked by a team of dedicated hands to offering stable employment for everyone, this bakery lives up to its name … with “life-changing” rightfully located smack dab in the middle.
This bakery was featured in the March 2026 Craft to Crumb special edition mini-mag. Read the full Roadshow in the digital issue here.
