Willa's Shortbread Cookies
Meet Willa Allen, founder of Willa’s Shortbread Cookies. With a history dating back to the 1970’s, Willa’s began small in the founder’s own kitchen, located in Hendersonville, North Carolina. The country club that Willa belonged to desperately needed a dessert recipe – so she baked a pan of her traditional shortbread for the occasion. Everyone went wild over them and soon after, Willa started selling her cookies full time.
By the 1980s, Willa’s Shortbread Cookies were a well-known product and highly sought after by those who were not from the area. Snowbirds, on their way through North Carolina to Florida discovered Willa’s heavenly cookies and asked if she would ship to them so they could have them year-round. After that, the rest is history – well…sort of…
In 2005, Willa was ready to hang up her apron and sell the business, but she didn’t want to sell it to just anybody. Enter her son and his wife, as well as their brother-in-law (Eric Rion) and sister-in-law (Teresa Rion). The entrepreneurial foursome decided they had to keep the business in the family and bought it with the intention of running it part-time, and they did! – very successfully – for a few years. Willa’s son and his wife, though, eventually made the decision to step away from the business which caused the company to almost be sold off, but Eric and his wife, Teresa chose to both quit their full-time jobs, focus on the family business, and relocate to Tennessee – and NOW the rest is history!!
So while Willa is no longer the owner of her company, it managed to stay within the family with the overall goal of continuing Willa’s legacy through her traditional shortbread cookies that have now been a legendary staple for 40+ years!
Why Companies Love Willa's Shortbread Cookies
✓Traditional family recipe
✓Simple, old-fashioned packaging
✓Baked, packed, and shipped daily from their baking facility in Tennessee
✓Totally unique flavor combinations such as Tennessee Hot Honey, Wildflower Honey, and Blackberry Jam
✓Natural, artisan-made ingredients
✓Locally sourced whenever possible
✓A gift that employees will actually crave!
Our Past Projects with Willa's
Shortbread Cookies
What else goes with Willa's Shortbread Cookies?
If you’re looking for a corporate gift or swag box, our team will curate options for your next gift from our roster of vendors!
Contact us to get a quote for your next custom gift project!
Small Business Spotlights
As a female-founded company, we’re on a mission to curate the absolute best for our gift collection. Our secret sauce? Partnering with a delightful mix of vendors, each with their own captivating tales and the ability to handle even our most extravagant gift extravaganzas! Explore these vendor spotlights, just like Willa’s story, by clicking the link below.
