Ōtautahi's new favourite cookie shop

The Cookie Trader has taken Ōtautahi by storm in their almost four months of being open.

Co-owners Emma Faith and Taylor Hamilton run a total of five businesses between them: Cookie Trader in Christchurch, Toastie Lords in Christchurch and Picton, Boss Bagels in Paraparaumu, and Remedy 5032 in Remedy Beach.

Faith says she loves to push boundaries. Her passion for the hospitality industry means she will run with any opportunity she sees.

“We’re not just selling a coffee, we're selling a story, we're selling other people that are doing great things.”

Hamilton says they knew The Cookie Trader was a great concept and product.

“It’s not till you see lines of people actually queuing up for your store that you realise we have actually done something right, and the hard work has been worth it.”

Community is a driving force behind the businesses and their success.

Faith says it blew their minds that it took 38 days before the queues outside the shop at opening died down.

“We'd budgeted on 300 cookies a day, and in those first couple of weeks, we were well over 3000 cookies a day.”

Hamilton says the store has a very loyal community around it.

“People feel like they really know us, and they feel like they really know our struggles, our wins, our losses, our lows, our highs, and it just strengthens the relationship that they then have with our brands.”

For Faith, The Cookie Trader is only a small part of her journey.

She has been very open about her sobriety journey online, sharing that after being addicted to alcohol for 17 years, she reached the point where enough was enough.

Working in hospitality her whole life, she says it is an industry that almost destroyed her, in a way saved her.

She says sharing her story online was a turning point for her and the businesses.

"Once you share your story and how you got there, people start to believe in who you are and support your story."

Both Faith and Hamilton have a huge passion for hospitality.

This has driven them to keep opening these businesses across the motu, bringing more jobs into the industry.

For Taylor, the highlight has been not only seeing growth in the businesses but also growth in themselves.

“We have all given these businesses 110% of ourselves for the last five years.”

Faith says she will never give up on the hospitality industry.