http://www.floridatoday.com/!NEWSROOM/moneystoryB0404COOKIES.htm

Sebastian cookie company makes a sweet alternative

Diabetic owner gets inspiration from affliction

BY NADIA GERGIS
FLORIDA TODAY

Joseph Semprevivo is an expert at two things: controlling his diabetes and being an entrepreneur.


Pecan chocolate chip cookies from Joseph’s Lite Cookies. Image © 2004, Tim Shortt, FLORIDA TODAY
"By the time I was 12, I made the first sugar-free ice cream at my parents' shop in New Mexico," said Semprevivo, 32, president and chief executive officer of Sebastian-based Joseph's Lite Cookies. "Before I went off to college, my parents and I developed a sugar-free cookie that diabetics like me could enjoy."

Semprevivo manages 33 employees at Joseph's Lite Cookies' two facilities, in Sebastian and Deming, N.M., and oversees the production of 2.3 million sugar-free cookies a day. He said the business is expanding because of increased demand and recently enacted federal tax cuts that are saving his company money.

The company, which started in New Mexico producing 480 cookies a day in 1986, currently ships its product to more than 100,000 supermarkets and other retailers, including Kroger, Publix, ShopRite, Target, Walgreen's and various mom-and-pop grocery stores nationwide. Semprevivo said, by August, the company will be producing 7.5 million cookies a day at its facility in New Mexico, where the cookies are created, baked, wrapped and shipped.

The company plans to add about three sales representatives to the administrative offices in Sebastian and 10 workers to the production lines in New Mexico by the end of this year.

"These tax cuts really helped us invest more into our company and add more staff," Semprevivo said. "We are currently investing about $3 million overall."

Semprevivo's sweet tooth began when he was a child, helping his parents run their ice cream store in New Mexico.


He was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 8, and a few years later he concocted a sugar-free ice-cream made from the sugar substitute maltitol. With the help of his parents, he marketed the product to stores across the state.

"My dad modified the product, and I used to drive around in a van with him selling it," Semprevivo said. "We went through a hiccup when 1,000 pints melted, and we had to throw them away."

That mishap encouraged the family to make a sugar-free product that would not melt or spoil during deliveries.

"In 1986, we developed the cookies, and began sharing it with the public," Semprevivo said. "My mom and dad still work in research and development for the company here" (in Sebastian). The success of Joseph's Lite Cookies did not come easily. The family-run business had a difficult time taking off.

Semprevivo earned a degree in business at New Mexico State University, then devoted all his time to the family business once he graduated.

"We didn't have any trouble marketing to the mom-and-pop shops that understood our product and diabetes as a disease," Semprevivo said. "The first store we got was Kroger in 1996, and that was followed by Publix in Florida."

The cookies come in nine cookie flavors and two brownie flavors, which range from 35 to 150 calories per serving. Each package contains 11 ounces and can be bought at the company's Web site, Amazon.com and at retail stores. They retail for $1.99 to $3.99 a package.



Awareness of diabetes

An endorsement from New Mexico-based National Diabetes Outreach helped the company's growth, creating awareness among diabetics.

"When we went out there (to the production facilities in New Mexico), it looked like something out of a movie, because it was so spotless," said June Donohue, an administrator for National Diabetes Outreach. "We really felt like the ingredients were a healthy alternative for diabetics."

Semprevivo said he appreciates the recognition, but says his cookies are not only for diabetics.

"Our cookies are kosher, and sugar-free for the diet-conscious and diabetics like me," he said. "We have the best-tasting low-carb cookies that can fit any diet -- from the Atkins diet to the South Beach diet."

Semprevivo isn't the only company successfully marketing sugar-free products.

The Vermont County Store also markets similar products, and said the renewed consciousness in weight control has sparked an interest in sugar-free products.

"People are becoming very conscious in weight control and their sugar intake," said Andrea Diehl, public relations director at the Vermont-based company. "We do a lot of sugar-free chocolate and jellies, which are selling really well."

Susan Whaley, who follows the Atkins diet faithfully, said she buys the cookies for a sweet treat to offset her protein- and vegetable-filled meals.

"They are excellent treats, and really fit my lifestyle," said Whaley, an administrator at Harris Corp. "My brother-in-law is a diabetic, so I recommended he buy the cookies, and now he eats them like crazy."

Susan Rizzo, assistant manager for the Melbourne-based Health Station, an organic market and cafe, said she doesn't endorse sugar-free products, but understands why their sales remain high.

"Personally, I try and stay away from any additives, but I understand why diabetics buy them," Rizzo said.

Mychal McCurdy, owner of the Low Carb Grocer, a Sebastian-based grocery and restaurant geared toward dieters, said he sells out of the cookies very quickly.

"People buy them quite a bit," McCurdy said. "It is one of our best sellers."

Contact Gergis at 242-3686 or ngergis~flatoday.net