Recipe for Success
How Nell Cox Built Nellie’s Nola…
F or years, Nell Cox made granola simply because her husband loved it. Family members asked for batches of their own. Friends told her she should sell it. But for Cox, the recipe was just something she shared with the people closest to her. Then, a few years ago, she realized she wanted something different for herself. “I was searching for a change. This is the first thing I’ve ever done that is all mine. Damburger, which I still own with my sister, has been in my family forever, but I didn’t start it. I’m continuing a legacy, which is its own kind of wonderful. But to be able to create my own thing from scratch has just brought me so much joy.”
That thing turned out to be granola, and a fledgling family operation known as Nellie’s Nola. But while the business is still only a couple of years old, the original recipe that kicked everything off has had a decade to mature. “I started with a basic recipe that I found in a cookbook, which I don’t think I even have anymore,” Cox chuckles. “But when I decided to move forward with this idea of selling it, we started traveling around to different places and trying new granolas. We’d steal little ideas here or there when we liked something, and then I’d tweak my recipe a little bit.”
Over time, Cox figured out exactly what she wanted her granola to be. “It’s about texture and taste together. I prefer a light and crispy granola and not the really hard crunchy stuff. And it has to have really good flavor. My original is sweetened with honey and maple syrup, so you get the honey, along with cherries and blueberries. I use vanilla and cinnamon in all of it. I just really worked at getting the flavor right.”
As the business grew, so did her experimentation. Cox introduced peanut butter granola after learning to grind her own peanut butter to get the perfect consistency. Then came sesame ginger, which people buy by the bagful. “For some reason I thought sesame ginger sounded really good, so I tried it, and it worked right away. I added crystallized ginger after baking it, so you get little kicks of ginger here and there.”
Cox also offers two “power granolas” featuring pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, and puffed quinoa for added protein and nutrients, including one chocolate version made with cacao powder and locally produced chocolate from Weaverville’s AhHome Chocolate. The granola bars followed about a year ago, developed with help from her husband Matt. “He actually came up with the bar recipe,” Cox says. “So when we started making those, we make them together.”
The business has become a family project in other ways too. “Our child, Maggie, who lives in Portland, designs the labels, stickers, and artwork for the brand. They’ve been my artistic eye, so it’s been really nice to have that connection with them,” Cox says. The satisfaction of building Nellie’s Nola has also tapped into deeper childhood memories. “My mom was a creator. We moved to Hawaii when I was 10 so she could sell T-shirts she made out of a cart in Lahaina. I have really good memories of sitting at booths and selling things. It was just such a nice community.”
That same feeling still drives Cox today. While California customers can order online and either ship or pickup their orders during business hours at Damburger, she loves selling face-to-face. “I love farmers markets and festivals. It’s creative, but it’s also community, especially at the farmers markets and craft fairs.” But even as demand continues to grow, Cox says she has intentionally resisted expanding too quickly. “I started this as more of a quiet business for myself. I didn’t want to be busy 24/7, seven days a week. I really have to watch myself because I want to sign up for every market and festival, and then I realize, oh, I actually have to make it all, too.”
Cox’s slower approach has also helped preserve the homemade quality that customers expect. And while she laughs at the idea of bragging about her own recipes, she admits there’s one thing she feels genuinely confident about. “It all really tastes good,” she says. “It’s the best moment when someone samples it for the first time. Even if they don’t buy it, I love getting that first reaction because people are surprised by it.”
That may be because Cox believes she’s found a balance many other granolas miss. “Of course everyone wants granola to be healthy, but sometimes they go too far on the healthy side and compromise flavo •
Nellie’s Nola • www.nelliesnola.com
