ChipMonk Baking was founded in 2019 by Jose Hernandez and David Downing, roommates living in Houston, Texas, out of their apartment kitchen. Despite being an extremely health-conscious person and a certified personal trainer, Jose was genetically predisposed to and later diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. As a result of his diagnosis, Jose decided to treat his condition holistically through food and immediately eliminated processed carbs and sugar from his diet. Instead, he adopted a low-carb, high-fat diet that lowered his blood sugar and insulin resistance.

While this newfound diet managed his diabetes, Jose had to give up many foods he loved to eat. One day, due to a strong desire to reintroduce baked goods into his diet, Jose discovered a whole new world of low-carb, alternative ingredients on Google. He decided to try baking some cookies using almond flour and monk fruit and shared them with David. David was shocked at how delicious they were and immediately saw business potential in the product. They took the same cookies to their office to sample out, sold some the next day, and the idea for ChipMonk Baking was born.

Initially, Jose and David kept their full-time jobs but decided to commit to the business fully if they reached $10,000 in monthly revenue. They continued baking from home, sold cookies at farmer’s markets, joined a commercial kitchen to open their online store, and successfully hit $14,000 at the end of that year. In addition to raising some money from family and friends, they raised an additional $150,000 via crowdfunding to expand into a larger production facility for increased output capabilities. Today, the ChipMonk team continues to self-manufacture their better-for-you cookies while frequently documenting their “behind the scenes” on social media. They are on a mission to bring dessert back to those struggling with diabetes, celiac disease, or for anyone pursuing a low-carb, ketogenic lifestyle.