Meet Robert Cox | Chocolate Fanatic

We had the good fortune of connecting with Robert Cox and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Robert, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
The thought process behind starting my own business was inspired by a quest to find value. Along my journey of finding self-value, I felt that it was time to do something that I could pour my entire being into without compromise. To do-so, it had to be something that I enjoyed, which in this case revolves around chocolate. I’ve been a chocoholic my entire life, I am very passionate when it comes to finding the right concoction to satisfy the chocolate monster inside of me. However, I didn’t want to be “just another bakery” or a generic cookie shop. One thing that sets me apart from the rest is the balance of sweetness within all the products that I offer. My product is gourmet because of its rich flavor profiles, wonderful mouthfeel while indulging, and the balance of sweetness. This passion helped me to form the basis of Cookie Tignz. As a result, a fair portion of my target audience has become those who don’t usually eat sweets. My thought process was not just to share delicious treats with the world but it is also to do something that would become bigger than me.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My latest full-time career outside of the business was working with a Fortune 500 Company as a QA Analyst within Information Technology. There were many challenges I’ve faced while working there however while there I learned a lot more about myself in areas that I excel in as well as areas where room for growth is a available. As a QA Analyst my position was to test software developed and manipulated by developers that was to suit the needs of the users/stakeholders for the software/application. I would write manual steps as to what is being tested and how it is being tested to be in-line with how the application was to be used. If there were any issues, which the functionality of an app or program, I would let the developers know so that they can fix it and that it can be retested before releasing to the public. The most enjoyable part of being a QA Analyst for me was being able to work with the stakeholders to understand exactly what they were looking for out of an application. I also enjoyed guiding them as well so that they can understand how everything comes together to work as a whole. Once I had a good grasp on the problem at hand, it was much easier to let the perfectionist in me shine with the testing that I performed. I ultimately had to walk away from the job because the work environment was rather toxic and was negatively impacting my ability to deliver work to the best of my abilities. I believe that being a QA Analyst at the time helped me to hone in on fine-tuning my testing of the cookies & brownies. It was difficult to try and fail so many times with a very short period of time, however, I believe the timing couldn’t have been any more perfect. In regards to my story as a professional in corporate, I would like the world to see what kind of person is driving this business. I would like the world to see that I am very thorough and almost obsessively I pay close attention to every detail to reach “perfection”. I believe in investing time into things that you want to grow, and when people taste my product they can feel the level of expertise that has gone into it because of the quality work I’ve done with my recipes over the past years.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m huge into going for walks and seeing mountains. I would take a friend to Helen, GA or Hiawassee to see the beautiful Georgia Mountains. In regards to food, I do a lot of cooking myself but if i took them out I would probably go to Tokyo Buffet in Roswell, or maybe Trattoria one • 41 in Johns Creek. Though those are 2 restaurants with 2 completely different flavor profiles, I enjoy places that are rather chill and where I can sit and enjoy the company of my friend without too much noise or distractions.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
A lot of recognition to my immediate family. In my early years as a child, my passion for chocolate was highly fueled by the time I spent with my Dad, we were all about chocolate snack cakes, chocolate candies, & chocolate milk. My mom also made the best box brownies, box cakes, & ready-to-bake cookies that you would find in the freezer aisle. As I got older into my pre-teen years I rediscovered a cookbook that my Mom had laying around the house, which gave me the recipe to my first ever homemade batch of cookies! I always had my younger brother with me to be my chocolate companion, as I would run through many recipes from the time of that discovery. As I got older, my Mom and my brother were with me. My Mom was not as much into sweets as my brother and I. When she would choose to participate in a taste-testing, she was right there to let me know if the cookie or brownie was too sweet even when I felt otherwise. She helped me reset and fine-tune my pallet, which was not just beneficial for tasting purposes but also beneficial for my health. Her feedback helped shape Cookie Tingz into what it is today. Now, I get to take my gourmet visions and transform them through lenses that all can indulge in, all thanks to my immediate family members.

Website: https://www.cookietingz.com

Instagram: @cookietingzatl

Twitter: @cookietingzatl

Facebook: @cookietingzatl

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cookie-tingz-norcross

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs6OmAHp8hW9Eru-2lwpWmA

Image Credits
All my own photos that I took myself.