Its visual feasts of hand-iced fancies look – almost – too good to eat and after gaining millions of fans artisanal British baker Biscuiteers is stepping up its international wholesale push. Producing affordable luxury gifts with oodles of talkability have turned the manufacturer into a tour de force for all seasons and occasions.
With as much razzmatazz as a Mexican mural, its colourful biscuit collections have a stylish British heritage and children’s storybook look too as they celebrate life’s big moments and key national dates such as Easter and the Coronation.
And then there is the packaging, an intrinsic part of the gift with the decorative tins keepsakes in their own right and their rectangular shape aiding easy storage.
Now selling in Harrods, Selfridges, Hamleys and Harvey Nichols, Biscuiteers opened a store in Belgravia just over a year ago and is also in upmarket souvenir airport retail through WH Smith’s Curi.o.city chain.
Direct-to-consumer is 60 percent of its market and other bestsellers include its Little Miss Hug letterbox biscuit and its corporate arm creates bespoke designs for high-profile brands.
Last Christmas it was the Dior Experience at Harrods and a new collaboration using natural-based colourings has just begun with online organic farm shop business Daylesford.
The showstoppers and strong connections with the worlds of fashion and beauty have spawned legions of longing-to-learn newbie icing fans and the company also has icing cafes in London, all of which contribute to a multi-layered business.
This year it expects a £11 million turnover, followed by £16 million in 2024/25.
Started in 2007 by majority shareholders Biscuiteer’s managing director and marketing expert Harriet Hastings and her husband, commercial caterer Stevie Congdon, that strong skills combo has led to the company, that now employs 160, creating another extraordinary jewel in the crown – its headquarters aka The Ministry of Biscuits, a refitted factory and garden space in Wimbledon, south-west London.
“The original and handmade gift market has grown in the past decade as the market places more value unique experiences,” says Hastings. “A world of possibility has opened up as we have doubled the space and operational capacity of the business.
“We moved in here before lockdown. The space enabled us to navigate the new restrictions during Covid and also keep going.”
Congdon designed the manufacturing process, which took £2 million investment and includes streamlined drying tunnels for the icing that make production more continuous and are boosting productivity by 14 percent.
Stock and despatch sit alongside management and the company uses QuickBooks by Intuit accounting software to provide a clear, ongoing view of its performance.
“We don’t outsource anything and that gives us considerable flexibility and control,” says Hastings. “With QuickBooks we have a live insight and it’s easy to integrate.
“Developing our US market and international whole are our next steps, but our own community is hugely important and we hope to use our outdoors space to show younger generations what we do and what it takes to be a UK manufacturer.”
