BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT:

Snookies Cookies is on the move.

The Glendale-based cookie company, at 1753 Victory Blvd., is set to vacate its 4,000-square foot location early next year for a more expansive site that will likely be in Burbank or Glendale, officials said Friday.

“We’re not leaving for another year or two, but . . . we’d like to stay close to where our customer base is,” Snookies Chief Executive Peter Lieberman said.

Lieberman purchased the Glendale building, which sits less than a mile from Burbank, last year.

He turned down the option to purchase the facility, opting instead to sign a one-year lease while taking stock of operations.

Like other businesses, revenue growth at Snookies has been slowed by a flagging economy in which customers and corporations might be less willing to purchase a gift box of gourmet cookies in the face of rising fuel prices and a pervasive credit crunch.

But that did not stop the company from generating $2 million in gross revenue last year as local supermarkets, delicatessens and media studios purchased baked goods en masse.

Snookies was founded in 1983 by a husband-and-wife duo that ran a small shop in Hollywood.

After receiving a key celebrity endorsement, officials moved to a more spacious Glendale location where more than 1 million cookies are baked, packaged and sold each year — each by one of the 20 staff members at the Glendale location.

That individual touch may become a thing of the past, though. Because of the companies’ growth, Lieberman said Snookies will invest in new technology to pour the cookie dough onto sheets instead of individually rolling out cookies and work to diversify its product line

“It will cut down on the amount of time it takes to make cookies,” he said. “We’re looking to improve; we’re looking to become more efficient.”

Local restaurants, markets and delis that purchase Snookies’ cookie dough might like the move to a more efficient and expedient pouring system that could boost sales, Lieberman said.

With the bigger location, new equipment and more staff members who could be hired when the move is complete, Lieberman expects sales to jump 25% immediately and 50% over a five-year period.

Snookies staff is currently on the prowl for vacant spots in the region but has vowed to stay close to its current location to serve its customer base, most of whom do not patronize the physical storefront but are relatively local.

“Only 5% comes through the retail [location],” Lieberman said. “Moving isn’t going to be as risky as a straight business. We still have a presence here and don’t want to deviate too much from that.”

Burbank business leaders would welcome the move to a city that, unlike Glendale, has enjoyed a minuscule office vacant rate of 3%.

“We would welcome them to Burbank because they are just as renowned and have as steady a clientele in Burbank as well as in Glendale,” Burbank Chamber of Commerce President Gary Olson said. “They do lots of business with the [media] studios. There’s always a demand to be in Burbank, but when it comes to light industrial . . . that would be a welcome addition to our community.”

Staff members at Snookies always praised the prospective move.

“It’s nice to see the company grow,” said Zulema Rocha, an employee who helps ship and wrap baked goods. “As long as it’s close, it doesn’t matter where we go.”

Lieberman said the company will be out of its Victory Boulevard spot by July, when the lease expires, though it could come as early as January.