Fancy Fortune Cookies is a company, founded by

Mike L. Fry Michael L. "Mike" Fry (October 25, 1960 – November 4, 2012) was an American serial entrepreneur, entertainer, trainer and marketing expert. He was the original Happy the Hobo on the children's television series '' Happy's Place'', and the creati ...

in 1988, that produces custom

fortune cookie A fortune cookie is a crisp and sugary cookie wafer usually made from flour, sugar, vanilla, and sesame seed oil with a piece of paper inside, a "fortune", usually an aphorism, or a vague prophecy. The message inside may also include a Chinese ...

History

In late 1987, former circus

clown A clown is a person who performs comedy and arts in a state of open-mindedness using physical comedy, typically while wearing distinct makeup or costuming and reversing folkway-norms. History The most ancient clowns have been found in ...

and children's show host Mike Fry got the idea to produce custom fortune cookies, and left his job on the

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...

Happy's Place ''Happy's Place'' is an afternoon children's television program that aired on WFFT-TV in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the 1980s and 1990s. Background The program was known for its two-hour block of children's programming (in later supplied by th ...

'' to start the company. It was not until 1990 the company, then marketed under the name Misfortune Kookies and based in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

, started producing its first five flavors: strawberry, lemon, orange, blueberry, and mint. Their cookies included 100 different comical fortunes, and were carried by

Bloomingdale's Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain; it was founded in New York City by Joseph B. Bloomingdale, Joseph B. and Lyman G. Bloomingdale in 1861. A third brother, Emanuel Watson Bloomingdale, was also involved in the bus ...

retail chain, as well as other retail outlets. Huntington Herald-Press newspaper, 1990 In 1992, the company relocated to

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, and seven years later moved to its present location and doubled the size of its production facility. The company created an online retail site in 1995, making it the first on-line seller of flavored and gourmet fortune cookies. It appeared in The Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation's ''100 Growth'' report for Indiana businesses two consecutive years, in 1998 and 1999. The company continued to innovate, introducing giant fortune cookies in 1999. In 2011 they began selling caramel-dipped fortune cookies, another innovation because they don't require special shipping like chocolate-dipped cookies do.

In the Media

Fry's success with Fancy Fortune Cookies has led to him being featured in books and articles. In '' The Fortune Cookie Chronicles'' by Jennifer 8. Lee, she mentions Fancy Fortune Cookies, and Mike Fry’s invention of the gourmet fortune cookie as part of the history of the fortune cookie. Additionally, he is featured in ''The One Minute Millionaire'' by Mark Victor Hansen and Robert Allen in which they discuss Fry's success as an entrepreneur.

Image gallery

File:AppleFortuneCookies.jpg, Apple File:CoconutFortuneCookies.jpg, Coconut File:StrawberryFortuneCookies.jpg, Strawberry File:GiantFortuneCookie.jpg, Giant Fortune Cookie File:WeddingFortuneCookies.jpg, As wedding favors

References

{{reflist

External links

Fancy Fortune Cookies websiteGiant Fortune Cookies
— ''sister site of Fancy Fortune Cookies''. Confectionery companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Indianapolis American companies established in 1988 Food and drink companies established in 1988