Skip to content
  1. Home
  2. Local Business

New West cookie business up for a Small Business BC Award

BAK’D Cookies vying for Premier’s People’s Choice Award after baking its way into the Top 3 out of hundreds of entries.
Theresa McManus
Theresa McManus
1209-PoMoCookiePreneurs 1w
Siblings Jessica and Andy Nguyen are the owners of BAK'D Cookies, which is a finalist for a Small Business BC Award.MARIO BARTEL/THE TRI-CITY NEWS

A tasty New West business is a Top 3 finalist in the Small Business BC Awards.

BAK’D Cookies, located in the Brewery District, has made it to the final three in the Small Business BC Awards, which received over 400 businesses from 75 towns and cities across the province. ​ The local business is competing for the Premier’s People’s Choice Award.

Jess and Andy Nguyen launched the gourmet cookie business in 2020. In June 2024, the siblings duo opened their first storefront in New Westminster, where BAK’D sells its five-ounce cookies and drinks like the Strawberry Matcha Latte. 

In a recent interview with the Record, the Nguyens told the Record the shop is baking about 1,000 gourmet cookies a day in flavours such as: The OG (chocolate and walnuts); Gimme S’mores; Birthday Cake; Bookies ‘N’ Cream: Earl Grey and Honey; Caramel Macchiato; Matcha Latte; and Chocolatey PB (peanut butter). The small business has grown to employ more than 25 employees.

According to a news release from the Small Business BC Awards, the Premier’s People’s Choice Award, sponsored by the Province of British Columbia, is presented to a B.C.-based small business that can demonstrate the unwavering and loyal support of their community by gaining the most votes for their business.

The Premier’s People’s Choice Award is decided exclusively by a public vote, after a normalization process to allow for regional population.

“We are so impressed by the variety of businesses represented in the top three finalists this year, from newcomers to veterans, spanning regions as small as Ucluelet and as large as Vancouver,” Small Business BC CEO Tom Conway said in a news release. “Yet they all share a common thread; each has showcased their connection to their community and the meaningful impact they’ve made.”

Joining BAK’D Cookies as finalists in this category are Mint Cleaning in Ucluelet, which offers eco-friendly small-batch cleaning products (a previous winner of the E-Commerce Experience category) and West Coast Karma in the Comox Valley, which sells unique, comfortable clothing and accessories decorated with hand-drawn, nature-inspired designs.

While the public select the winner of the Premier’s People’s Choice Award, the top five nominees in the other three award categories (E-Commerce Experience, Business Impact, and Best Youth Entrepreneur) pitched to a panel of judges why their business should win. The competition was then narrowed to the top three finalists in those award categories. 

Winners of the 21st annual Small Business BC Awards will be announced on Nov. 1 and celebrated at a reception at the Vancouver Convention Centre. More than $20,000 in prizes will be awarded amongst the four award categories.