Our Story Behind Cookie It Up

A Journey of Passion and Quality in Baking

Paige Sillcox took an entrepreneurial approach to finding a summer job between her spring and fall sessions at York University in 1983. From her love of cookies came the belief that cookies could be better than what was commercially available, so she launched Cookie It Up when she was only 21 years old.

Equipped with two of her grandmother’s most memorable cookie recipes and a supply of wholesome ingredients, Paige began baking cookies in her mother’s kitchen in King City, Ontario.

The demand for high quality (and delectable) cookies was quickly proven. Paige’s cookies were loved by all who tried them, from family and friends to the tellers at local banks Paige personally sold to in her travels. So Cookie It Up soon moved into rented space at a local bakery and hired employees to keep up with the flourishing demand.

The growing Cookie It Up team worked through each night, baking cookies from 8 pm to 4 am to be sold as fresh as could be the following day. The cookies were packaged in simple, classic white paper bags with hand-written labels.

Paige’s modest goal was to sell 800 bags of cookies that summer, but by the time summer was over, she was selling cookies at a rate of 800 bags per week! And so Cookie It Up became Paige’s full-time venture and she opened a dedicated Cookie It Up facility in Aurora, Ontario.

Thirty years later, in 2013, Paige handed the reins to fellow Aurora resident, Shane Smith, who has operated the business with his family since that time. It is clear that Paige's original vision and commitment to quality has endured. All Cookie It Up creations continue to be crafted in small batches with wholesome ingredients and no preservatives. Cookie It Up still works with premium local suppliers to make the most delicious cookies possible.

In March 2017, Cookie It Up moved into a brand new, state-of-the-art facility just down the road from the old bakery. And today, Cookie It Up serves cookie enthusiasts through partnerships with many leading North American businesses such as Porter Airlines, Costco, Staples, Longo’s, Metro, Whole Foods, Farm Boy, Loblaw Companies Limited and Pusateri’s.

Cookie It Up commemorated its 40th anniversary in 2023.