How Félix and Norton Cookies Went from Brick-and-Mortar to Online Retail Icons

If you ask Michael Eskenazi what his favourite marketing approach is, he’ll likely tell you he’s tried every trick in the book.

This started back in 1985 when the founder and owner of Montréal-based Félix and Norton Cookies opened his first shop. He made hand deliveries to radio stations around Montréal so they would mention his products on air - a true “word of mouth” strategy, which eventually evolved into a sizable radio advertising budget that spanned 10 years after the success of those initial hand deliveries.

Michael's journey to bringing cookies into the hands of customers has certainly seen its ups and downs, but his online marketing strategy continues to evolve as Felix & Norton Cookies is beloved by households across the country.

Through the 90s, Félix and Norton’s brick-and-mortar operations saw varying levels of success. While his numerous stores in Montréal were doing incredibly well, establishments outside of Québec struggled. Eventually, he had to close most of his Toronto stores, but Michael was quick and always willing to diversify his approach. Flash forward to the mid-2000s, Michael needed a creative and cost-effective way to get his product to the public without a new brick-and-mortar, so he opened what would be the first food truck in Montreal to sell his cookies on the go. Félix and Norton were ahead of the food truck rage that was to come in Canada, and that same truck he first purchased back in 2007 is still in use today. Wholesale opportunities continued to keep the company afloat.

But in 2020, Michael faced a new threat that so many other businesses had to combat - the COVID-19 pandemic. With customers unable to come in-store, Michael knew he had to re-strategize and look to online sales to survive. Like many other retailers, Félix and Norton turned to the digital world to find a way to keep going.

After finding a delivery service and building a website, local sales started doing moderately well - it turned out that Michael’s customers were willing to purchase cookie dough online and enjoy Félix and Norton straight out of their own oven. So once again - Michael set his sights on even bigger things, wanting to find a way to ship cookies across the country.

Ultimately, it was his Shopify website which was built in December 2020 that showed Michael the possibilities there could be with a robust, strong online social presence. After executing exclusively through social media marketing, Michael took his first dip into Google Ads, and almost immediately started seeing a return, translating into more customers across the country. This boom translated to about $1,000/day in sales for every $100/day spent on Google Ads.

So, after opening their first brick and mortar in 1985, transitioning to a food truck, to selling in groceries stores and now seeing success selling cookies online, Michael Eskenazi has proven that you can’t just take a two-dimensional approach to entrepreneurship. Today, he continues to enjoy success and Félix & Norton Cookies continues to gain traction - most recently with Google Canada featuring Michael’s story in their “A Little Help” campaign.

Written by Marketing News Canada