It started with a craving
Maya Madsen knew the cookie she wanted. Finding a vegan version was the problem. A longtime vegan with a sweet tooth, she began developing recipes at home, sharing the results with friends and fitness clients before taking them to San Diego farmers markets. Maya’s Cookies launched in 2015. Little Italy and Pacific Beach gave the baking business its early audience, including visitors who wanted to order again after going home. Those requests helped turn a neighborhood market purchase into something she could ship across the country. The next step grew out of listening to the people already at her table.
The work behind the box
Before cookies became her business, Madsen spent two decades working in fitness, including modeling and teaching spin. In a 2022 founder interview, she described starting with a $3,000 credit limit and spending it on the permits and equipment needed for her first market appearance. She reinvested sales in supplies, branding and, eventually, people. Hiring bakers and a public-relations consultant became part of making the company sustainable. That account gives the familiar home-baker story some useful texture: baking, packing, selling and answering customers were jobs that initially landed on one person’s shoulders.
A cookie comes first
The current collection keeps familiar names close: Classic Chocolate Chip, Snickerdoodle and Lemon Chiffon sit alongside Chocolate Chip S’mores and seasonal assortments. Madsen links her flavor ideas to travel, memory and experience. Her Classic Chocolate Chip is offered as a six-cookie box, and the company describes its intended texture as a crisp exterior with a chewy center. You can browse fixed collections or build your own assortment. The range makes room for someone who knows exactly what they want and the person who needs to try a little of everything. Both are perfectly respectable cookie strategies.
Still connected to the market
National attention brought a sharp jump in demand in 2020, as San Diego Magazine documented, and the business had to expand its production and packing capacity. Its local connections continued. Junior Achievement’s 2024 profile described Madsen’s work mentoring through Kitchens for Good and supporting youth business education. Today, the company’s own locations page lists shops in San Diego and San Marcos, along with weekly farmers-market appearances. For you, discovery can mean a visit to a counter or a nationwide shipment from the official website. Either route leads back to a business built around a very specific idea of a good cookie.
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Sources & attribution
Maya Madsen founder interview, July 2022
San Diego Magazine: Maya’s Cookies from farmers markets to national spotlight
Junior Achievement of San Diego County: Maya Madsen profile, February 2024
Classic Chocolate Chip product page
Maya’s Cookies: Create Your Own Box
Reported from the linked company sources and published reporting. Black Cupboard did not conduct a new interview or product tasting. Independent editorial; no paid placement or affiliate relationship is represented.