Whoopie! Aunica’s Journey to Entrepreneurship
By Rebekah McCubbins
Like many new entrepreneurs, Aunica Tomlinson launched a business during the COVID-19 pandemic. But Aunica’s story is a little different; she was only eleven years old when she started her business.
Aunica’s first-grade teacher, Sheena Greiner, suggested that her parents enroll her in Camp Girl Boss–a nine-week virtual camp aimed at teaching young women how to start their own businesses. Aunica attended that summer as a graduation gift from her parents. During the camp, she came up with her own business idea: whoopie pies.
If you’ve never had a whoopie pie, you’re missing out. It’s a sandwich cookie made with soft, cake-like cookies. Traditional whoopie pies use chocolate cookies and marshmallow filling, but home-bakers get creative, often using buttercream filling and imaginative flavor combinations.
No one really knows who created the first whoopie pies. Aunica explains that the widespread belief is that whoopie pies were invented by Amish wives as a way to use up excess cake batter. The whoopie pie originated in the northeastern United States, although there is still debate over the exact state. Aunica’s birth state, Maine, certainly isn’t giving up the title easily– the whoopie pie is their state treat. The Maine Whoopie Pie Festival is the biggest event held in Piscataquis County each year, drawing massive crowds.
Like many Maine children, Aunica grew up attending the Maine Whoopie Pie Festival and learned to bake the treats at a young age. Her first childhood memories are of baking with her mother. So when prompted to create a business, she was drawn to the idea of expanding on her love of baking. She called her business A Piece of Maine.
Through the camp’s guidance, Aunica took her business from idea to reality. With the help of her parents, she successfully gained the certifications and licenses needed to become a home kitchen-based business. She began the trial-and-error process of recipe testing, taking guidance from cookbooks and family recipes and tweaking her own recipe until she had the perfect formula.
Aunica takes her flavors seriously. She offers a selection of year-round flavors that her customers love: classic, peanut butter, cookies and cream, and thin mint. But as her business has grown, she continues to experiment with seasonal flavors, including red velvet, lemon, zucchini lemon, pumpkin chocolate chip, banana, peppermint, gingerbread lemon, and highly-requested mocha.
In 2020, A Piece of Maine attended its first vendor event at the Mills River Farmers Market, where Aunica made fifty dollars and sold most of her stock. Since then, Aunica has tripled her stock at markets and now sells out in the first three hours. Aunica continues to attend at least one or two markets each month. She doesn’t want her customers to have a long wait. “They can’t handle that,” she explains. She’s active at the Mills River Farmers Market and the Hendersonville Farmers Market during the spring and summer and participates in seasonal events in the off-season.
So how does a young entrepreneur like Aunica balance school and business? Aunica’s school and extracurricular activities remain a priority. She still participates in sports, Girl Scouts, and other extracurriculars. To maintain balance, Aunica doesn’t attend markets every week. She starts baking a week ahead, making a few batches of cookies each afternoon and freezing them. “That’s one of the benefits of whoopie pies,” she says. “They freeze well.”
Aunica’s not doing it alone. A Piece of Maine is a family affair. Her parents helped her get licensed. Her aunt Theresa Mosher with Mosher Multimedia helped Aunica with branding and marketing. Even her younger brother Clark takes part as Aunica’s whoopie pie taste-tester. The Mills River Farm Market’s young entrepreneurs program gave her access to a free vendor spot, mentorship from established business owners, and free promotion. Teacher Sheena Greiner has always been a source of support and encouragement.
Aunica plans to expand A Piece of Maine and hopes to one day open a shop on Hendersonville’s Main Street. The business doesn’t currently have a website, but that is by design. “If I did, then everyone, I think, would be ordering all the time, and I don’t really have all the time in the world for that,” Aunica explains.
Today, Aunica’s business is thriving. Her success has made her passionate about seeing other young entrepreneurs succeed. She takes time to support other young people at the markets and is always excited to give advice. “Try to find something that they like to do,” she advises young entrepreneurs. “Just always have fun.”
You can follow A Piece of Maine on Facebook to keep up with upcoming markets. Inquiries and custom orders can be directed to apieceofmaine2020@gmail.com.