Elite Dough Cookies, set to open its doors at noon on Feb. 21, is in its third stage of metamorphosis.
What began as an experiment under the Cookies by Design franchise became an independent food truck in 2025, and is now a small-batch, locally based shop with nationwide shipping.
“Hi, I’m Kai, the ‘Cookie Guy’. Make sure to follow and join me on my journey as a new baker & a new entrepreneur,” owner Kai Moreto posted on Instagram in April 2020.
Six years later, Moreto’s Instagram, TikTok and YouTube accounts have documented the ups and downs of the “Cookie Guy” as he went from fitness fanatic — his initial social media presence was as a muscled weight loss coach — to newbie baker to independent business owner.
“I’ve always loved cookies,” Moreto said. “So even as a personal trainer, whenever I had my cheat meals or anything like that, it would always be cookies. Cookies were always something that I love to do or love to eat. So it was a perfect transition, even though that wasn’t the reason for [the transition].”
Deciding he wanted more than what his role as online trainer could offer, Moreto bought the Cookies by Design location in Needham together with his brother-in-law in 2020. He then purchased the shop from his business partner in 2023 and began experimenting with his own cookie recipes.
Moreto’s recipes, first tested on the Cookies by Design customer base, gained enough traction in the experimental stage to convince the “Cookie Guy” he could go solo.
His agreement with the franchise was straightforward: they would allow him to test new recipes on nationwide audiences for a trial period; if there was enough demand, Cookies by Design would adopt the recipes and Moreto would receive royalties for every cookie sold — unless he chose to part ways and keep his recipes at the end of the trial period. He decided to keep the recipes and buy a food truck.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this … but I FINALLY SIGNED THE LEASE TO MY OWN COOKIE SHOP,” Moreto posted a few months later in Aug. 2025. “No franchise. No investors. No safety net. Just me, a big ass dream, and the guts to chase it … How I’m gonna juggle [the truck and the shop]? Honestly, no clue. But quitting’s never been an option for me, so we figure it out.”
This transparency on social media, Moreto said, is what gained him followers. People follow people, he found, not products. For Moreto, this means being honest with followers and prioritizing behind-the-scenes videos — even when it takes four hours to film what would otherwise be a two-hour process of making cookie dough.
“If I had something I was struggling with, or that I made a mistake and I learned from it, I would post that,” Moreto said. “And people would get behind that, because they obviously learned from our mistakes, and I grew a large following from that.”
One of his biggest struggles? Choosing a name for his business. Finding something catchy that hadn’t already been taken was harder than it initially seemed.
“Dough Boy” and “Mouthful Cookie” were originally top contenders for Moreto’s new business.
“Elite Dough Cookies was very far down my list,” said Moreto. “But I think it breaks down what the cookies are — our dough is elite. I think because of the premium ingredients that we use, I wanted the name of the business to [help] you get the feel for what it is you’re going to get.”
With a nationwide audience, a large social media following and a locally recognized food truck, Elite Dough Cookies grew faster than Moreto had expected.
“Even on the days that the food truck wasn’t out, I was still getting a lot of people messaging me,” he said. “‘Where can we pick up cookies? Where can we do this?’ So I figured the shop would be the next best thing.”
The decision to locate at 54 Highland Ave. (almost at the bridge to Newton) was not half-baked. Moreto knew the building, which had previously hosted Cookies by Design, was sitting empty — and it had a cookie-ready kitchen space.
Needham residents familiar with the food truck will recognize Moreto’s in-store menu featuring everything cookie: cookie milkshakes, cookie lattes, cookie sundaes, cookie sandwiches, crookies (cookie meets croissant) and a cookie of the month (currently red-velvet-oreo-cheesecake). Tried-and-true favorites will be featured alongside new options, expanding beyond the food truck’s more limited menu.
Moreto’s all-time favorite recipe? The “Nutty Nutella” with toasted hazelnuts and Nutella stuffing — “But I think my daily driver, if I just want a quick little snack, would probably be my chocolate chip walnut.”
One jumbo cookie is priced at $6.50, and a 12-pack jumbo cookie box at $66. Premium ingredients, Moreto said, are responsible for the pricing.
“I don’t cut any corners to make the product cheaper, and it’s actually why my cookies are a little bit more expensive than the next cookie shop over; but quality over quantity — I think that’s what makes my cookie shop a little bit different than, you know, my competitor down the street.”
The food truck, he emphasized, is not going anywhere.
“My food truck is my baby,” Moreto said, noting that the truck offers fast cash and brand recognition to the Elite Dough Cookies shop. The food truck “personality” will also carry over into the shop’s interior.
“We painted a big mural on the wall, so as soon as you walk in, you’ll see a big food truck painted on the wall,” said Moreto. “And then we cut a hole through the wall to make it look like it’s a food truck service window, just to kind of stay on-brand with the food truck.”
Final touches are going up this week — sofas, coffee tables, a neon sign — and then Elite Dough Cookies will be open for business. Moreto is offering free jumbo cookies to the first 100 customers on opening day.
“We want to maybe have a little line before we open, you know, and just want to give back to the community.”
In the coming months, the “Cookie Guy” hopes to stabilize his company and cut down on 12-hour work days to spend more time with family. Long-term, Moreto’s sights are set further south as he considers expanding and setting up shop in Florida.
“I have big dreams, big goals, sometimes larger than what I can take on,” he said. “So I usually bite off more than I can chew and just learn how to chew it along the way.”
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