A Leeds biscuit business that has supplied branded biscuits to the likes of the BBC, and Meta is to triple production after moving to a new site.
The business, formerly known as Bloom Bakers, claims to be the only biscuit bakery of its kind in the North of England. Soaring sales of its personalised and branded biscuits have enabled it to undergo a rebrand in partnership with Leeds agency All Good and move into new premises in Chapel Allerton, where it plans to make over 300,000 handmade biscuits every year.
Founders Saskia Roskam and Lisa Shepherd launched The Biskery from their kitchen table in 2016 with just £1,000 of their own money after spotting a gap in the market for personalisation and branded biscuits, and with each bespoke order they expanded their product offering.
The Biskery team has hand-baked and decorated over 200,000 biscuits since launch for famous brands such as Fendi, BBC, Meta and Penguin Publishers and seen sales rocket over 200 per cent year-on-year over the last three years.
Success has seen them invest in many different technologies including an edible ink printer to enable them to live print branded biscuits for corporate clients and events.
The Biskery also had to adapt during lockdown to build a consumer-facing ecommerce platform for bespoke biscuits by post while staying true to their focus on excellent quality and a personal service.
The Biskery is also unusual in that it offers its seven staff and two founders a truly flexible workplace, working around childcare commitments and during school hours only.
The founders incorporate recipes from their German and Dutch heritage in their range, including their signature impressed jam biscuit, based on Lisa’s grandmothers Linzer recipe and Lebkuchen made to a traditional recipe with 40 per cent nut content for a rich cake-like cookie.
Roskam said: “We are not (just) a bakery, we don’t (just) sell biscuits, we spread kindness in biscuit form, whilst enabling working parents to create a life that fits around their children by offering the option to work school hours only.”
Shepherd added: “We hope to inspire other businesses to bring more female values into the world of work. We believe employees feel more invested in their work if their needs are met. For example for many mothers this often is flexibility, empathy and understanding.”
