NOSH

Cookies That Say 'Thank You'

Mother and son bring taste of the Philippines to Indiana

By Lorrie Wehr / Photography By Martina Jackson | November 15, 2021

“Salamat means ‘thank you’ in Filipino,” says founder Mike Williams, who, along with his mother Lourdes “Odie” Williams—a.k.a. Mama Odie— turned the pandemic crisis into an opportunity still unfolding.

Can a green cookie be an ambassador of friendship and community? Can a purple cookie be a culinary tour guide? Can a cookie with a hint of peppery fire and dark chocolate and mango be a creative force for good?

Welcome to Salamat Cookies, Philippineinspired, small-batch artisanal treats baked by a mother-and-son team with a mission: to bring people together one cookie at a time.

“Salamat means ‘thank you’ in Filipino,” says founder Mike Williams, who, along with his mother Lourdes “Odie” Williams—a.k.a. Mama Odie—turned the pandemic crisis into an opportunity still unfolding.

“During the pandemic I lost my job as a photographer and cinematographer,” says Mike. With time on his hands, he decided to try something new. “I asked Mom, ‘Can you teach me how to bake?’”

That simple request had big repercussions.

“So, work was really hard to come by,” he recalls, “but I had friends who were still performing services for me, like my biomechanics instructor and chiropractor.” He decided to put his new baking skills to use as a way to say, “Salamat—thank you!” It didn’t take long before someone asked if the cookies were for sale.

Mike grins. “I was, like, ‘Uhhh, yup!’” In an instant a thank-you gift became a business. “I didn’t know a price. I didn’t know how much time it would take. Mom was the one who always did all the grocery shopping and prepped everything. But once I got that first ask, I went home, recorded our first vlog and set a 300-cookie sales goal for Mother’s Day.”

That was the spring of 2020. Since then, Mike and Odie have baked and sold over 70,000 cookies.

SERENDIPITY OR OPPORTUNITY?

Coincidence is certainly not the only power responsible for the success of Salamat Cookies. Mike and his mother each have unique skills that complement one another. They are both willing to embrace the opportunities coming their way. They are not afraid of hard work.

“By trade, I was an engineer, and then I worked for my family’s coconut company in California,” says Mike. With arms in the Philippines—one of the world’s leading coconut producers—and in the U.S., the company brought a wide range of coconut-based products to both wholesale and retail markets.

“They let the marketing side of my brain and my creative spirit roam,” says Mike, and it was there he learned the fundamentals of business and entrepreneurship, developing and launching social media and ecommerce channels. And because coconut-based products are so important to consumers in search of gluten-free foods, the business gave him a sense of how important distinct communities could be to a business.

All of which has served him well in getting the business off the ground. Even his experience as a photographer gave him an advantage. “I could shoot all of our cookies.”

Odie Williams brings decades of experience in the kitchen, a degree in hotel and restaurant management, and financial skills to the business. A first-generation immigrant from the Philippines, she has a deep appreciation for opportunity and the power of process. This is a woman who knows how to get things done.

“Most of my life was lived in San Juan City, within Metro Manila. I went to school there from kindergarten all the way to graduating college.” In July 1981, she arrived in the United States, settling in the Chicago area. Eventually her degree led her to management training with Church’s Fried Chicken. It was there she met her future husband and work eventually brought them to Indianapolis. With a young family to raise and a need for more regular hours, Odie returned to university, this time earning a degree in nuclear medicine technology. She worked in the field from 1990 until she retired in 2017.

Together, mother and son are a force to be reckoned with. “Mike has his strengths and I have my strengths,” explains Odie, “and when you put them together then you create more than 100%, you create 1,000%. It’s magic.”

COOKIES WITH A PURPOSE

Part of the magic of Salamat Cookies lies in Mike and Odie’s vision of what’s possible through their cookies. The company has created unique connections with the Filipino American community, the broader Indianapolis community and even customers across the nation and around the world. It has given Mike and Odie a platform to support causes they care about. It’s given them a way to share the culture and values they cherish with anyone who wants to enjoy a delicious cookie. When asked about how baking cookies reflects Filipino culture and cuisine, Odie explains that food is central to Filipino traditions of hospitality.

“When you go to a Filipino home—and it doesn’t matter whether they’re rich or poor or whatever—the first thing they say is ‘Have you eaten yet?’” It is common for visitors to pop in unannounced, she says, “and if you happen to come during lunch, and everybody’s already eating, you go sit at the table and you eat the rice or the vegetables and the fish and the meat and all of it with everybody.”

The generous nature of their Filipino American community has been an invaluable resource in the face of ingredient shortages caused by the pandemic.

“We’re wondering, ‘How are we gonna make these cookies if we don’t have any ingredients?’” says Odie. “But all of a sudden, all of these Filipinos are, like, “Hey, I have a couple of jars of this, and a couple of jars of that.” Family and friends have kept an eye out for ingredients while traveling, she says, and “we’ve asked people in New York to send us things we can’t find in Indianapolis. They don’t want money, just cookies.”

Mike Williams and Lourdes “Odie” Williams sitting outside Rabble Coffee.

A TASTE OF THE PHILLIPPINES, ONLY IN INDIANA

The company’s eye-catching Buko Pan-DAYUMM!™ cookie owes its bright green color to pandan, an ingredient with flavor notes of grassy vanilla and coconut. The purple Gooey BUKUBAE™ cookie is a head-turner, made with ube halaya, a purple yam jam.

Mike confides that a lot of customers hesitate to pronounce some of the cookie names, but he encourages them to try. “We know that a part of the customer journey is to educate, educate. And if that opens up people’s minds to different flavors that are all around the world, especially, Southeast Asia and the Philippines, then that’s what we’re all about.”

That said, Odie goes on to explain that many of their cookies also feature popular American flavors, “Because we are a Fil-Am company, not just Filipino.” Their recipes—all original—started with an oatmeal-based cookie; from there they began systematically refining each cookie to reflect their unique creativity.

“We want this texture and this size and this much mango and this much white chocolate and, you know, all that stuff,” says Odie. “So now we have our base recipe, and now it becomes the base recipe for all the other new ones that come about, with tweaking in between.” Ingredients are added, taken away, moisture levels are adjusted, sweetness is adjusted, until Odie feels the balance of every recipe is just right.

“See?” says an admiring Mike. “She’s so process-oriented!”

GIVING BACK, ONE COOKIE AT A TIME

If you check out the “Story” page on SalamatCookies.com you’ll see a pledge to share 10% of all cookies baked. Giving back is fundamental to the company’s mission. Last August they launched their first-ever cookie drive for the benefit of Bata Sole, a Chicago-based Filipino American organization that hosts basketball camps here in the U.S. and provides new and gently used shoes to basketball-loving children in the Philippines. For their first drive, they sold over 2,500 cookies.

“We can partner now with nonprofits around the country who are aligned with our values. We started off by saying ‘Thank you,’ and we’re making sure we’re always rooted in that.”

And the company’s goodwill is paying off in positive press—locally, nationally and internationally. A recent headline in the Philippines read, “Buko-ube, turon, pandan and mango cookies exist ... but only in Indiana, USA.” Salamat has hosted pop-up shops in events as far away as New York City. Just this past August Mike acted as organizer and host to a large event in Chicago; Salamat Cookies joined 30 other Filipino American vendors, working together to promote all of their businesses and communities.

COOKIES OR A CALLING?

In less than two years Salamat Cookies has blossomed from a simple gesture of gratitude into a powerhouse producer of unique cookies and honest goodwill. “It’s my vision,” says Mike, “but it is also a community. It’s never been just about me.” Every Salamat cookie is about the determination and hard work of a mother and son, about the friends and family and communities that support them, and about delivering something meaningful to every customer: a heartfelt “thank you.”

By the end of 2021, Mike and Odie have a goal to bake and sell over 100,000 cookies. And they are busy developing new recipes for the holidays, including a rum-soaked fruitcake cookie and a cookie inspired by the coquito, a coconut-based version of eggnog that originated in Puerto Rico.

Visit SalamatCookies.com to find out more, including how to order (they will ship them to you) and when they will be at Fisher’s Farmers Market. Follow SalamatCookies on Facebook and Instagram to catch pop-up shops, trips and good works in communities here in Indianapolis, around the nation and in the Philippines.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SOME OF THE FILIPINO INGREDIENTS USED IN SALAMAT COOKIES

UBE (pronounced “ooh-beh”) is a purple tuber similar in taste to red yams and sweet potatoes.

PANDAN is a tropical plant with bright green leaves that lend a bright green color and unique sweet taste and floral aroma to desserts, drinks and savory dishes. The leaves are also sold in paste, extract and powder forms and are added to recipes as a flavoring, similar to the way Westerners use vanilla.

MACAPUNO is aged, sweetened coconut made from a naturally occurring type of coconut with soft, extra-sweet flesh.

PLANTAIN is a type of banana that is starchier and not as sweet as the Cavendish dessert bananas found in most American grocery stores. Plantains are used in both sweet and savory dishes.

LANGKA is the Filipino name for jackfruit. When ripe, langka has a flavor described as a combination of apple, pineapple, mango and banana and is often used in desserts.

find your edible

find your edible