Before starting Bud’s Best Cookies, Hoover, AL, Bud Cason took a class on nutrition that changed the way he thought about cookies. In that class, he learned that when people want something sweet, they usually satisfy that craving with the first bite. Every bite after that is just filling their stomachs. So Mr. Cason developed the idea for bite-sized cookies that silence the sweet tooth without ruining dinner, and in 1991, Bud’s Best Cookies was born.

It’s this bite-sized philosophy that keeps Mr. Cason from giving into the health craze sweeping the food industry, saying the cookies’ size make them a guilt-free indulgence for health-conscious consumers.

“If people are looking for something sweet without a lot of calories, they can eat a couple of cookies and take care of that sweet sensation,” Mr. Cason said.