Biscuiteers
Consider the biscuit as a blank canvas, a vessel not just for creativity, but for well wishes, birthdays, season’s greetings, and get well soons. This was the founding idea behind Harriet Hastings’ Biscuiteers. What started as a more personalised, thoughtful gifting idea for the food space has now grown into a multi-million dollar operation, having transformed from a small e-commerce operation into a mainstay in the U.K. We were lucky to speak with Hastings herself about her experience building the brand — from collaborating with brands such as Mulberry, Gucci, Red Bull, Swatch, and more to opening the first brick and mortar locations and “icing cafes” — and her inspiration and philosophy behind the operation.
WHAT INSPIRED THE CREATION OF BISCUITEERS BACK IN 2007?
“We thought that there was a gap in the market for more personalised thoughtful gifting ideas in the food space.”
An alternative to chocolates and flowers that would deliver an end to end gifting experience that people would want to share and talk about.
HOW DID YOU IDENTIFY THIS UNIQUE NICHE IN THE FOOD–GIFTING MARKET THAT LED TO ITS CREATION?
We were looking for an idea that would work as an e–commerce brand so we needed to think about shelf life and postability. Biscuits are perfect as they are in effect a blank canvas for design not only for seasonal occasions but also for corporate designs. Some of our earliest customers were high end fashion and beauty brands including Mulberry and Burberry.
We were actually inspired by a trip to New York in 2007 when we saw some sugar cookies in a bakery in Chelsea and realised that they presented endless design possibilities.
“While British biscuits are different from American cookies, they are also a much loved and iconic part of British life.”
BISCUITEERS HAS BECOME A HOUSEHOLD NAME IN THE UK.
CAN YOU SHARE SOME OF THE KEY LESSONS YOU’VE LEARNED IN GROWING YOUR BUSINESS FROM AN ONLINE SPACE TO OPENING YOUR FIRST BRICK AND MORTAR STORE?
When we launched the business, we definitely visualised it as a pure play e–commerce brand but within 4 months we were stocked in Selfridges in London. I have learnt that you need to be flexible, and that brands and brand channels evolve over time as market conditions change. We decided to open our first store in Notting Hill in 2017 very much as a marketing and brand piece. We had to work out high street retail as we learnt it is a completely different model.
“We call our stores Icing Cafés and offer DIY icing and lessons as well as afternoon tea. That experiential approach, which is now pretty ubiquitous in retail, proved to be a really successful model and our Notting Hill store is one of Top 10 Most Instagramed shop fronts in London.”
We opened a second larger Icing Café in Belgravia last year. We have also now expanded our corporate sales side and often work with brands on a partnership model. This Christmas we are partnering with Nespresso on their Christmas Alpine Chic campaign.
ARE THERE CHANGES AND OBSTACLES YOU HAVE HAD TO FACE IN BRANDING AND PACKAGING OVER THE YEARS AS THE BUSINESS HAS EXPERIENCED MORE SUCCESS?
Our brand is the same in its essentials as it was on the day we launched although of course it has evolved. As the business has expanded so has the product range which means a lot more packaging ranges.
“Packaging is very important to us, and a big part of the gifting experience, and we are known for our very distinctive illustrated style.”
Our tins were designed from the outset to be keepsake and our focus is very much on sustainability and ensuring that our online range is plastic free. This is a constantly evolving space and we now offer our customers recycling information on every piece of packaging.
WHAT ROLE HAS SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYED IN GROWING BISCUITEERS?
We see our social media platforms primarily as a way of building our brand and also an important space in which we can collaborate effectively with other like minded brands.
“All social media platforms are different, so you really need a strategy for each. We produce our own content, and it is a big job as we have over a million followers across the platforms.”
I also think that the growth of social media has been very critical in helping us to build our corporate business. We call it ‘biscuit marketing’ as brands that work with us can measure impact through social media sharing as happily our biscuits are naturally visual and shareable.
YOU’VE SOUGHT OUT COLLABORATIONS WITH EVERYONE FROM SWATCH AND GUCCI TO RED BULL AND MULBERRY. HOW DO YOU APPROACH AND VALUE PARTNERSHIPS IN THE COTEXT OF YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY?
Partnerships are a very important way of building our brand and introducing us to new customers. It largely took off organically as lots of brands approached us as we have a very differentiated product and we are able to do highly intricate designs for luxury brands.
“We always approach any commercial partnership as a marketing opportunity whether it is Natural History Museum, Christian Dior or Nespresso.”
HAND–ICING THREE MILLION BISCUITS A YEAR IS NO EASY TASK, AS THE BUSINESS HAS GROWN, HOW HAS THE DIVISION OF RESPONSIBILITIES CHANGED?
We actually employ about 250 people today (we take on an additional 50 people in peak season). It is a very unusual business as we are essentially an artisanal business operating a hand-iced operation at scale. To achieve this, we have had to design our own manufacturing model and build our own production site in 2019 which is known as the Ministry of Biscuits in Wimbledon, London
ALONG WITH YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS, YOU’RE ALSO A HUGE ADVOCATE FOR WOMEN IN BUSINESS. COULD YOU SHARE MORE ABOUT YOUR ROLE AS A FOUNDING MEMBER OF BUY WOMEN BUILT AND YOUR INVOLVEMENT AS THE COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR OF THE WOMEN’S PRIZE OF FICTION?
I helped to found the Women’s Prize for fiction in 1996 and ran the prize leading its transformation into a charity until 2022–I remain a founding patron.
“I am also founding member of Buy Women Built which was started by Sahar Hashemi to shine a light on consumer brands that have been built by women with a view to getting women to use their purchasing power to support them through a kite mark.”
It has grown very quickly in the UK and is also a wonderfully supportive and collaborative group.
HOW DO YOU EMPHASIZE SUSTAINABILITY IN BISCUITEERS, AND WHAT PRACTICES DO YOU PRIORITIZE TO CONTRIBUTE TO A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE?
We are committed to putting sustainability at the heart of our business and as an artisanal manufacturer we are in a good place to build on this platform.
“We are working towards B corp status but in the meantime, we make sure that we publish our progress towards net zero on our website and commit to recycled packaging. We are also committed to local sourcing and minimising waste with zero to landfill.”
Our customers and our employees care very much about this, and I think are rightly holding businesses to account. When we moved to the Ministry of Biscuits we built a garden out of a carpark and we grow fruit and tomatoes which is also a physical representation of our values as well as a haven for our staff in the middle of the city.
WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION FOR YOUR VARIOUS PURSUITS, AND HOW DO YOU STAY CREATIVE AND MOTIVATED IN SUCH A DYNAMIC CAREER?
A business like Biscuiteers that is constantly growing and evolving is endlessly challenging and stimulating.
“In my experience there is nothing as absorbing as building your own brand especially if you are lucky enough to be working with an amazing team of people who provide an environment in which it is easy for creativity to flourish.”
I enjoy my job and feel that I am still learning new things every day which is a great privilege.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU AND BISCUITEERS?
We are very excited about our plans to grow our international sales particularly in the US. We already supply a number of corporate clients and we can ship to the States in 2 or 3 days and have a growing number of US customers. Next year we will be expanding our wholesale footprint too.
