Bennett Maxwell founded Dirty Dough Cookies keeping the slogan ‘It’s what’s inside that counts’ close to his heart. The moniker doesn’t just apply to what each and every cookie that hits the shelves embodies, but rather, it applies to how he feels about people as well.
After he heard the staggering statistics of the direct correlation between social media and both self-deprecating thoughts and self-harm in young girls, per a Jonathan Haidt Podcast, he decided to do something about it.
“He said one of the reasons regarding the drastic self-harm increase was in the unrealistic comparison that young people make between influencers and themselves,” said Maxwell. “These girls look at the seemingly-perfect women (and girls their same age) on social media and think, ‘Why can’t I look, feel, think, be like that?’ But they have no idea how those influencers got there — photoshop, dangerous diets, a poor non-digital social life, or a combination of those.”
Maxwell and his individual franchisees are actively making contributions to their local communities, more specifically, in the form of helping schools establish wellness rooms. These safe, designated spaces are meant to provide students with the ability to decompress, gather their thoughts, talk about their mental health and just take a moment to themselves. The overall goal is that donations help with the rooms for young adults and teenagers, as well as benefiting their mental health education, the truth about social media editing and suicide prevention.
“There is an unfortunate correlation between social media and self-harm, which has only increased since the rise of social platforms,” said Maxwell. “People tend to often compare themselves and target their imperfections or flaws because of what is portrayed on social media. Dirty Dough has the potential to be the solution in helping reducing suicides.”
Dirty Dough Cookies aims to provide services and resources, among the numerous charitable efforts by Maxwell and Co., to help schools bring in counselors and other structured programs.
“Nobody can be you but you. The name ‘Dirty Dough’ refers to the inside of the cookie being ‘dirty’ with more goodies and fillings than any other cookie,” Maxwell stated. “A Dirty Dough cookie is messy and imperfect, exactly how it was meant to be.”
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The Future is Now
Dirty Dough Cookies has already sold 98 locations in eight months and continues to grow at exponential rates. With additional locations coming, which will be spread out over 13-different states, Maxwell and Co. are ascending.
People are flocking to Dirty Dough Cookies, which surprises customers with its unique recipes and show-stopping flavor pairings, concepts and combinations. The company engages with customers regularly, allowing them to vote on fan favorites to enter the monthly cookie rotations.
Recently, Maxwell was also invited to join the Forbes Leadership Council, which speaks to his efforts, both in the cookie department and for giving back to local communities.
“Businesses should be driven, first and foremost, by a higher purpose,” Maxwell said. “I love Dirty Dough because it’s perfect for showcasing that life isn’t perfect. It’s okay to not be okay, life gets Dirty, and it’s most definitely okay to have a cookie once in a while!”
About Bennett Maxwell
Bennett Maxwell, Founder of Dirty Dough Cookies, started selling franchises in December 2021. Passionate about building purpose-driven companies, Bennett believes businesses should be driven first and foremost by a higher purpose. He saw the potential of Dirty Dough to show others that life isn’t always clean and perfect. Sometimes it is Dirty and imperfect. Find out more about impacting lives with Dirty Dough Cookies at https://dirtydoughcookies.com/
