Blue Crab Cookie Lab: Alabama duo turns cookie printing into booming business with 3D tech
The pair can take any digital image and decorate it with business logos, personal photos, super heroes – just about anything you can imagine.
Mason Reed 
Partners Brittney Hatcher and Hugh Harmon have turned a creative spark into a booming business venture known as the Blue Crab Cookie Lab. What started as an interest in party planning and a desire to master the art of royal icing has evolved into a high-tech operation that blends culinary craft with modern 3D technology.
The Tech Behind the Treats
Operating out of a customized setup in Harmon’s Fort Morgan home, the duo uses a specialized food-safe device known as the Eddie printer. This machine allows them to transfer virtually any digital image—from company logos and personal photos to pop-culture icons—directly onto cookies. Efficiency is a major selling point, with the ability to decorate 12 circular cookies in just two minutes.
The customization doesn't stop at ink. By utilizing a 3D printer located in a spare bedroom, Hatcher and Harmon can design and manufacture bespoke cookie cutters for any requested shape, allowing for a truly limitless creative catalog.
From Word-of-Mouth to Corporate Orders
The Blue Crab Cookie Lab is already making a significant splash. During their first month, the pair moved 54 dozen cookies, including a notable 17-dozen order for FedEx Freight in Mobile. Their reputation for quality has led to high-profile projects, such as cookies featuring Gulf Shores Police shoulder patches, and has even drawn interest from vacationers visiting from states like Oklahoma and Kansas.
A Passion Project with Purpose
While the business is growing, it serves a personal purpose for the founders as well. For Harmon, a retired Army veteran, the focus required for intricate icing work provides a therapeutic outlet. Hatcher, a longtime Gulf Coast bartender, sees the potential for the lab to become more than just a side business.
With a menu that continues to evolve, the duo is already planning for their next innovation: lemon sugar cookies, featuring both lemon-infused dough and icing, customized with any image a customer can imagine.
