Member News

Before opening their business, owners Elizabeth and Jonathan Reddinger spent time traveling up and down the East Coast taste testing different foods and researching.
   “It was hard work. We wanted to find what we didn’t like,” Elizabeth explained, “so that as customers we were getting what we wanted. We can’t test on our customers.”
   Sweet Sanctions develops all of their recipes in-house, and they are only released to the public once they have passed numerous rounds of testing and are considered ready to go. Everything is taste-tested before it is released and endlessly tweaked until the recipe reaches perfection.
   Some of the first flavors and recipes which Elizabeth and Jonathan developed include Fluffer Nutter, a hot pork and beans cupcake which they made for a function at Lebanon Catholic School, and a flavor combination known as the Penalty Flag for football season which consists of beer, bacon, and cheddar.
   “We don’t really have much normal,” Jonathan stated. “We weren’t really into the normal. We wanted to be out-of-the-box fun.”
   “People play it safe,” Elizabeth said. “You don’t learn anything in life by playing it safe. That’s what we try to teach our kids and everyone. The purest and the best are the most fun, always.”
   Sweet Sanctions does have a few “normal” flavors on their extensive menu, including red velvet, black forest, and classic vanilla. However, there are plenty of unique flavor combinations to keep the taste buds tantalized, such as the Cherry Coke Float, which is a “coca cola cake filled with layers of vanilla buttercream and a cherry filling.” Or how about an Irish Car Bomb cake with “Guiness chocolate cake, Jameson whiskey ganache, and Irish cream buttercream”? The list goes on and on! The menu of flavors changes every three months so that more seasonal concoctions can be featured, with 25 – 30 flavors showcased at a time.
   In addition to gourmet cupcakes, cake pops, and cakes, Sweet Sanctions offers a number of other goodies. They have mini danishes, mini cheesecakes, mini cannolis, fruit tarts, cookie dough bites, designer cookies and more. A whoopie pie line was also recently added on June 5.
   Initially, Elizabeth Reddinger’s goal was to fill two orders a month. However, the third day after their website went live, the business took off and became very, very busy.
   “I thought it would take longer to build our clientele,” she explained. “But I realized that a bakery is different. People celebrate things; it’s what they do. We have a very positive environment and we don’t get any negative phone calls.”
   Sweet Sanctions is a gourmet delivery service. Orders are delivered every day except for Christmas, usually between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. in four different time slots.
   In addition to Sweet Sanctions, Elizabeth and Jonathan also have another business, The Naughty Cookie Box. Like Sweet Sanctions, The Naughty Cookie Box also offers designer cookies, but in a number of more…explicit…shapes. The Naughty Cookie Box is a completely separate entity with its own website that ships nationwide. It officially became separate from Sweet Sanctions on February 25 of this year.
   “We have around 77 naughty cookie confections,” Elizabeth said. “It got to the point where it almost took over Sweet Sanctions. It wasn’t PG and family-friendly anymore. We wanted to keep Sweet Sanctions’ integrity, and decided to separate them.”
   Ten percent of all proceeds earned through The Naughty Cookie Box go to support testicular cancer awareness. Elizabeth and Jonathan explained that the target demographic for this second business is younger, and also fits the demographic of those affected by testicular cancer. The business was the perfect outlet for the couple to raise money and awareness and give back to the community.
   Elizabeth also explained that The Naughty Cookie Box is a one-of-a-kind business. While other adult novelty bakeries may make similar products, they also sell other types of baked goods as well. The Naughty Cookie Box is the only company that exclusively sells adult designer cookies.
   In addition to Elizabeth and Jonathan, Sweet Sanctions has a contracted team of 5 additional team members. The team is allowed to make their own hours. Elizabeth explained how every Saturday she puts out an itinerary of tasks that need to be done during the week. The staff can then take the tasks on a first-come basis, filling approximately seven orders per day. Orders are received through the website, by phone, and through their Etsy store. If an order is placed by 10 a.m. the day before, Sweet Sanctions can usually fill it the next day. Designer cookies, on the contrary, require a two-week lead time.
   “It was tough at first to keep a good family and work life balance,” Jonathan said. “We weren’t streamlined. Then we hired people.”
   What’s new to their business in 2015?
   “We just put in a 25’x30’ garden and stuffed it full with great plants to keep our produce used in our products homegrown, organic and chemical free!” Elizabeth stated excitedly.
   And how did Elizabeth and Jonathan choose their business name?
   “What better law than a sweet one?” asked Elizabeth. “Life has so many meanings, and people have so many truths, just like ‘sanction’ has so many meanings. It could be negative, but it could be positive and mean approval, support, or trust.”
   Anyone interested in learning more about Sweet Sanctions and all of the delectable goodies they have to offer can visit their website at www.sweetsanctions.com, email info@sweetsanctions.com, or call 717-222-1859. More information on The Naughty Cookie Box is likewise available online at www.naughtycookiebox.com.