Business
Wally Amos: From Cookie Mogul to Life’s Tough Lessons
We’ve all seen it before: the tale of the gauzy self-made business entrepreneur swept into fame and wealth, touting a name for themselves, only for it all to come crashing down suddenly. In their joyride, the protagonist figure realizes that beneath the world of dizzy glitters, there’s a saddened space of existence reality awaiting, of gaping shadows where life isn’t as pleasing as it seems to be.
Experiencing poverty is, without a doubt, a challenging feat in itself. Being born into it, experiencing success, fame, then losing it all and falling back into poverty is what must be especially difficult. Where the majority see this cliche in fiction or television, some are unfortunate enough to experience it firsthand.
This is the story of Wally Amos, of the Famous Amos fame.
Who is “Famous” Amos?
When it comes to feelings about Famous Amos, I imagine people typically fall into one of three groups:
The first group—being made up of mostly young people (probably; I’ve no data)— has zero knowledge of the brand at all. If the name doesn’t conjure visions of second-rate vending machine options (D4 at best), then you’re likely in this group.
The second group knows of Famous Amos and is familiar with its underwhelming status as a dollar store checkout counter snack food. Reasonable.
But the third group has a different view of the matter. A much more romantic take on the treat. Because this group remembers Famous Amos as a mouthwatering gourmet delicacy. A top-shelf cookie purveyor with an outspoken, charismatic owner in Wally Amos.
Why such a harsh disparity? How can a company less than 50 years old have such contradicting reputations among different generations?
There was a time, just a few decades ago, when Amos was a household name. A successful brand with big-name celebrity investors, upscale distribution, and a first-year total sales revenue of $300,000.
But by the mid-80s, the brand was hemorrhaging money. Amos would lose his house and eventually sell a majority stake of the company. Many people were left to wonder: How did one of the most successful snack companies of the last decade so quickly decay into financial shambles?
How did Amos find himself on the butt-end of a bad break?
These are interesting questions, and sure to be answered. But first, it’s worth understanding Famous Amos’ rise to popularity, understanding what made this gourmet cookie company so successful, so, well— I’m not gonna say it, I am not going to—famous.
Wally Amos’ Rise to Fame
Wally Amos came from a classically humble upbringing, born in 1936 in Tallahassee, Florida, to poor, illiterate parents. At age 12, he moved to New York to live with his Aunt Della. It was here that he learned of the famous recipe. (More on this in a bit.)
Amos, who dropped out of high school, would receive his G.E.D. after joining the Air Force. Returning to New York as a mature, educated man, he found work in the William Morris Agency, a Hollywood-based talent agency once considered “the best in show business.”
He began in the mailroom, eventually working his way up to becoming the first black talent agent in the entertainment industry.
This was more than just a side-quest for an aspiring baker; Amos now headed the rock’n’roll department at William Morris, where he signed Simon and Garfunkel and worked with Motown legends like Diana Ross, Sam Cooke, and Dionne Warwick.
It was only after growing disillusioned with the industry that Amos sought refuge in his aunt’s baking once more.
Wally’s son, Shawn Amos, said:
“Cookies were a hobby to relieve stress.”
It wasn’t long before the cookies took the main stage.
Amos told The New York Times in 1975:
“I’d go to meetings with the record company or movie people and bring along some cookies, and pretty soon everybody was asking for them.”
Amos’s connection with the entertainment business helped his business aspirations tremendously. He received significant contributions from industry stars Marvin Gaye and Helen Reddy, who gave Amos $25,000 for his new venture.
In 1975, Amos launched his first brick-and-mortar location. 7181 Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles.
And it was a big deal. The grand opening was a star-studded gala attended by 1,500 people.
Success was sudden. After selling $300,000 worth of cookies in its first year, the brand continued to climb in popularity. By 1982, Famous Amos was making $12 million in yearly revenue.
Famous Amos’s success was the result of exploiting a hole in the market. In the mid-70s, the grocery store shelves were loaded with preservative-dependent snack options. Amos carved out a lucrative niche by marketing the product as a gourmet, zero-preservative, craft-made cookie. A risk well rewarded.
From “What’s Going On?” to “What’s Going On???”
With any great market advancement, a plethora of eager competitors emerge. And shortly after arriving on the scene, Famous Amos was met with rival brands like Mrs. Fields, and new, upmarket product lines from Nabisco and Duncan Hines.
Combining these market competitors and Amos’s inability to keep up with his success led to the first cracks in the business. By 1985, Famous Amos reported a $300,000 loss on sales of $10 million.
Later that year, Amos officially gave up the reigns of his company, selling a majority stake to Bass Brothers Enterprises for $1.1 million.
Two years later, the new owners upended the recipe entirely, adding preservatives and shelf-stable ingredients. Famous Amos was rebranding as an affordable brand. It wasn’t entirely unexpected; such mission-statement-defying practices are common for newly bought companies, but the decision prompted original owner Wally Amos to depart.
In 1992, President Baking Company bought Famous Amos for $61 million—more than 55 times what Wally Amos sold his controlling stake for just a few years earlier.
Amos wasn’t through with the cookie business, however. Later in 1992, he launched his new venture…
And was promptly sued.
Turns out: the latest Amos product— Wally Amos Presents Hazelnut Cookies— stood in direct violation of the contract he had signed years prior when selling his first business. The one that expressly prohibited Amos from using his own name and likeness in the selling of any product.
Undeterred, he changed the name of his company, operating instead as Uncle Nonamé. Boldness had treated him well in the past— and I think it’s an undeniably ballsy way to approach being sued over your own identity— but the market operates in mysterious ways. In 1996, Uncle Nonamé filed for bankruptcy.
What Became of Wally Amos?
By 1999, Amos was in talks with Keebler, the new owner of Famous Amos. An agreement had been reached: Wally Amos would become a paid spokesperson for the brand under the condition that they craft the recipe closer to the original.
And it feels like a solid ending to the story. The sweet embrace of a father and son after a long, arduous journey, complete with lawsuits, bankruptcies, and foreclosure. Ending up together would be fitting— if a bit too good to be true.
“It was bittersweet,”
says his son, Shawn Amos.
“He was happy to be back in the center of the brand he started, but he also had a hard time accepting the fact that at the end of the day, he was just a paid spokesperson.”
The feeling of being alienated from one’s own brainchild eventually led to a short-lived reunion between Amos and the brand that bears his name.
After leaving once and for all, Amos pivoted to making muffins with Uncle Wally’s Muffin Co., opening a bake shop in Hawai’i.
Amos wrote multiple books about his experience over the years, including Power In You, Man With No Name: Turn Lemons into Lemonade, and The Famous Amos Story: The Face That Launched 1,000 Chips. He has also been a vigorous advocate for literacy and was granted a National Literacy Honors Award by President George H.W. Bush.
At age 80, Amos appeared on the hit television show, Shark Tank, pitching another new business, “The Cookie Kahuna”. The business ultimately failed.
In 2017, he launched a GoFundMe, announcing he was struggling to pay for food, gas, and rent.
No longer famous, Wally Amos continues on with his baking and entrepreneurial spirit. His life is a statement of hard work and resilience, but also a cautionary tale about success, hubris, and the risks we make along the way.
Known for its legendary cowboy culture, iconic attractions, and deep historical roots, the Lone Star State is also home to thriving businesses. This is thanks to the plethora of graphic design agencies that help boost their visual identity. All you need to do now is choose one that fits your brand well. Here are the best design agencies in Texas you can choose from:
1. Penji
Offering the best unlimited graphic design services, Penji is a design-as-a-service platform that lets you get all your visual asset needs for one flat monthly rate. Its remote-first model allows it to take clients from around the globe, providing them with the highest quality graphic design services.
2. Tenderling
Specializing in hotels, apartments, real estate, restaurants, and wellness, Tenderling is an excellent option for businesses seeking the best design agency in Texas. This award-winning design agency is female-owned and HUB certified by the State of Texas. It offers brand strategy, development, execution, maintenance, and many other services.
3. The Matchbox Studio
Having collaborated with some of the biggest names in the land, The Matchbox Studio takes pride in its work with FedEx, American Airlines, and Fossil. It has a team of strategists, artists, designers, and developers that helps businesses in the entertainment industry achieve attention-grabbing branding and digital design.
4. Left Hand Design
Offering a wide range of graphic design services,Left Hand Design shines in providing design and branding services to its Texas clients. It offers logo design, social media branding, web design, event branding, email template design, and printing services, among others. It also offers ecommerce, print ads, website development, and many other similar services.
5. The Label Collective
Another award-winner on this list of the best design agencies in Texas is The Label Collective. In addition, it is a women-owned business that offers a wide range of graphic design and related services. This includes brand strategy, visual identity, creative services, and brand management.
Having your own business provides a multitude of benefits, but why is it that not everyone is doing it? The majority of people see the prospect of leaving a steady paycheck behind as scary. They look at opening a business, a task that requires a first step that’s steeped in uncertainty, fear, and self-doubt. Here are a few steps you can take to create your own business without the hesitations:
Set Achievable Goals
Identify your goals and start listing smaller but attainable goals from them. This way, you will become less fearful and avoid being overwhelmed. Small goals will be easier to digest and reduce your chances of failure, enough to help build your confidence gradually.
Stop with the Perfectionist Mindset
You may want that website to be perfectly working or that version of your product to be as perfect as possible. According to Entrepreneur, mixing perfectionism with entrepreneurship is a bad idea. Getting started is hard enough. You’d do better if you ignored perfectionism. It will be so easy to set yourself up for disappointment when goals aren’t met. Make sure they are attainable.
Do Your Research
When starting a business, you’ll find yourself doing a lot of research. Don’t get tired of learning, as this is what will propel you toward success. The more you know about your niche, the better you’ll be equipped to handle it. In this day and age that information is just a few taps away, research, learn, and absorb.
Start Small
Easing into entrepreneurship can be the best route if starting big is daunting for you. Start with a part-time business, and as you grow and build confidence, you can add to it more and more. This will also let you keep your day job and still look forward to that paycheck until your business is stable enough to let you focus on it full time.
Have Realistic Expectations
The idea of having that perfect work-life balance when having your own business may only be a myth for beginners. Of course, it would be difficult, and if it were easy, everybody would be doing it. Having realistic expectations can help you prevent disappointments. The key is to have great support from family and friends and the understanding that you’ll have that balance soon if you remain persistent.
Go For Low-Risk Businesses
It would really be daunting if you start with a high-risk business, but if you go for something smaller, it wouldn’t be as scary as it seems. Make sure to align your goals with your resources. If you have a limited budget, it’s okay to find a business that matches your finances. Just thinking of production and marketing costs can stress you out, so start small.
Identify and Build Your Community
If you have the passion, grit, and a bit of cash, you’re well on your way to beating your fear of starting a business. Back these all up with an equally passionate community, and you have the foundation of a successful business. Build this community of investors, partners, and customers to help you gain confidence and the finances to get your business going. When you know you have a support group to lend you a hand, your fears will slowly melt away.
Believe in Yourself and Your Business
Don’t let fear get into your mindset. Start believing in yourself and your business, thinking that you don’t need others to be confident. You can boost it for yourself. Focus on what you need to do and steer clear of your insecurities and uncertainties. If they can do it, why can’t you? Just remember that failure is part and parcel of doing business and that it shouldn’t be a cause for fear.
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