How often have you opened a fortune cookie? Probably too many times to count, right? Now think about how many times you’ve paid close attention to the series of “lucky numbers” on the back of the fortune. If you’re like most people, the answer is almost never.

While sitting in a Chinese restaurant in mid-2011, businessman Shawn Porat saw the backs of the fortune slips as a waste of space—and a huge opportunity. What if, Porat thought, he could advertise his business on the back of those fortunes? Better yet, what if he could partner with all companies and all Chinese restaurants? It was then and there that Fortune Cookie Advertising was born.

Fortune Cookie Advertising offers one of the most unique advertising strategies ever brought to the table. Businesses can add their names, numbers, logos and other advertisements to the backs of fortune slips and choose from among 40,000 Chinese restaurants from across the United States at which to advertise—all for 16 or 17 cents per cookie. They can even choose specific fortunes pertaining to their ads to place on the front side of the slip—provided they are generic fortunes and not duplicate ads.

The first and only platform of its kind, Fortune Cookie Advertising has attracted more than 200 clients thus far, as well as a number of advertising agencies which supply an additional 10 to 15 client each week. Businesses advertising via fortune cookie come from a plethora of industries, including travel, retail, finance and service. Porat says the medium is a perfect opportunity for any type of business as 97 percent of people in Chinese restaurants open fortune cookies to read the messages, then when they see the ad on the back are likely to feel they received it for a reason.

“Those are numbers unheard of in the advertising industry,” Porat told WallStreetInsanity. “When you put an advertisement with a fortune, people think they got it for a reason… What a better way to reach people with brands and get a positive message across?”

Fortune Cookie Advertising has come a long way since its 2011 launch. At the time, Porat developed a beta Web site that explained the company. Then he met Yan Revzin. Revzin came from the world of finance, but when he heard about Fortune Cookie Advertising he saw a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and left his previous position to join Porat. Together, the two developed the site that exists today. The new page offers clients the opportunity to design their own fortune slips—complete with logo design, photos, name, numbers, coupons and more. It also offers an interactive map of the entire United States that shows each of the 40,000 Chinese restaurant working with Fortune Cookie Advertising. Clients can simply enter the zip code for which they’d like to advertise and see every Chinese restaurant available.

How did the company contract so many Chinese restaurants in less than two years? It offered them free fortune cookies. Porat told WallStreetInsanity the restaurants are eager to sign up because they can save hundreds of dollars each month they would generally spend on fortune cookie orders. Fortune Cookie Advertising doesn’t have to advertise itself, So eager, in fact, Porat was able to round up restaurants by making calls and sending emails.

You don’t have to be a business to take advantage of Fortune Cookie Advertising. The company also creates fortune cookies for special events such as weddings, trade shows and bar mitzvahs. Wedding fortune cookies, for example, might include a photo of the bride and groom on one side of the fortune slip and the wedding date on the other side.

[Image via Fortune Cookie Advertising]