There’s a yiddish saying about mothers – A shlechteh mameh iz nitto – which means “there is no such thing as a bad mother.” But, sometimes, mothers – especially new moms – need a little extra help.
That’s why Brother David Buchalter (Florida, 2005) and his wife Sarie have stepped in and started a company – Scrumptious Milk and Cookies (SMAC) – to help new mothers produce breast milk for their newborns. Pronounced like “smack”, as in how babies smack their lips when hungry, the company makes cookies to help stimulate lactation in new moms.
Brother Buchalter grew up in Coral Springs, Florida where he was involved on a national level with NFTY (his high school Jewish youth group).
At the University of Florida, Brother Buchalter majored in Political Science and Criminology. His major gave him a foundation and a better understanding of different industries that he works with. Brother Buchalter is a talent agent specializing in speaking engagements at United Talent Agency (UTA). He earned his MBA at Florida Atlantic University in 2018. He represents numerous high level politicians, journalists, actors, and activists who speak on a wide variety of topics.
In the summer of his freshman year, Brother Buchalter swore to himself that he wasn’t going to join a fraternity, because he was so involved with his youth group in high school. “I was burnt out from organized (Jewish) activities. Then low and behold all of my friend group ended up rushing or joining AEPi.” He would go on to get elected Lieutenant Master and become a stalwart leader of his chapter.
Brother Buchalter met Sarie at an apartment party with a lot of mutual friends. After some time, they eventually got married and had two children, Raya and Leah. Sarie started making the cookies when she gave birth to Raya. In the summer of 2018, Sarie launched SMAC, “I’m a stay at home mom and I always loved to bake and I wanted a different avenue, a different purpose and to be part of a community again, so I figured it was a great outlet that would truly help moms struggling with breastfeeding.” As the business started to grow, Brother Buchalter started to help with the marketing strategy and some of the accounting. He also is the official taste tester.
Cookies that help with lactation usually taste like cardboard but SMAC cookies are all homemade. Using all natural ingredients they can customize the cookies to be different flavors, vegan, and gluten free. Brother Buchalter and his wife’s favorite flavor is the peanut butter chocolate cookies. Some of the key ingredients in the cookies that support lactation are rolled oats, flaxseed, brewer’s yeast and coconut oil. SMAC is planning to diversify their products with energy balls and bars.
During COVID more mothers have opted to breastfeed and that has helped fuel SMAC’s growth. Some studies show that mothers can transfer antibodies from the vaccine to their infants and many mothers have preferred to breastfeed as opposed to using formula.
Starting a business takes trial, error and patience. “Sarie started the business on social media, she had to respond to everything through her Instagram account, cutting and pasting every bit of information about the cookies to people who were interested. We had to nudge busy moms for payment. Now, with the website and online ordering, the process is much easier for everyone. But Sarie still maintains communications with her customers and is always happy to help in any way she can. We personally drop off these cookies if the customer is local. We were doing this on a shoestring to see if we could turn this hobby into a business and I’m very proud of Sarie to say that she’s made it so successful!”
Visit the SMAC website at: https://www.smaccookies.com
Instagram: @SMACCookies
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SMACCOOKIES