This year we’re shining a light on our neighbouring independent businesses in Chapel Allerton.

Just walk down the Harrogate Road and you’ll find a great selection of independent shops and businesses for all your gift, food and well-being needs.

This week we’re focusing on The Biskery, a local online biscuit company.

To get to know The Biskery a little bit more, here’s a little interview I did with Lisa & Saskia …

Tell me a little bit about yourself & your business

We are Lisa and Saskia, co-founders of The Biskery, and online business specialising in branded and personalised biscuits for special occasions and events. We are a core team of six women, and also work with seasonal and more casual helpers. We bake to order only, using high quality local ingredients and eco-friendly packaging. Our biscuits are the only branded biscuits in the UK to have received a Great Taste and a Great British Food award. The real product however is kindness. Our biscuits are vessels for human connection and appreciation.

How did you get into doing what you’re doing?

We met at a digital marketing agency where we both worked in the international department. Lisa is German, Saskia is Dutch. When we both had kids, we felt that there had to be more to life than a 9-5 office job. We both loved baking, it was our way to connect with each other. So we started selling good from our home countries at local farmers markets.

Our digital marketing background helped us create an online presence, and being found on Google, which led to corporate orders from the likes of Amazon, Karl Lagerfeld and Monzo.

The pandemic was the turning point. B2B froze, B2C grew 400%, and we were brave enough to take the leap. We quit the other job, hired a team, and rented a commercial kitchen. We have grown YoY since then and not looked back

What does a ‘normal’ day look like?

Saskia mainly works on the marketing, Lisa works on business development.

Our days start by being mums: working hard to get everyone out of the house on time. We drop our kids at school and then go to work. We work from home part of the week. We work on promoting our business via our newsletter, social media and website communications, we write blog posts, connect with key stakeholders, go to networking events, attend panels and other speaking gigs, do workshops, crunch numbers, engage with our team and clients, quality control, eat a few biscuits and rush back to the school gate by 15:15 before the 2nd“job” of the day takes over.

Biggest achievement to date?

 We have worked with incredible brands such as Calvin Klein, Karl Lagerfeld and Fendi. Being trusted with large orders by high-end clients felt like a huge achievement. We have also just managed to grow year on year after losing our biggest client in September. Building such a strong network of ambassadors and supporters here in Leeds humbles us.

Favourite product you make?

Our jam biscuits have won a Great Taste award for a reason. They are still baked to Lisa’s German granny’d recipe, and taste just like hers.

Our Lebkuchen, a German Christmas biscuit, have also won a Great Taste award and taste divine, like Christmas in a tin!

Those are the products we get the most comments and reviews about when it comes to taste.

Best & worst thing about running your own business?

 Best: being able to shape something that suits your values and life. Being your own boss and having freedom.

Worst: not being able to really ever switch off (so much for freedom…)

Favourite time of your in the business?

 I love January as it is full of motivation and opportunity. We get really busy for Christmas, so January feels like the breather we need to rise, stronger and wiser than the year before, and do it all again, but bigger, and even better.

Is there another business in Chapel Allerton you’d like to run for a day?

 Oooh I love this question! So many! I will say George & Joseph so I could shamelessly snack on their amazing cheeses for a day.

Plans for 2025 / the future?

More of the same, but more of it. Clearer focus on the wider impact of our biscuits: kindness, appreciation, human connection. 

Why should people shop local and support their local indie businesses?

 Small indie businesses are usually run by people with a dream and strong values. Whatever they are, chances are they are to benefit the community, to fight loneliness, to support the economy in a sustainable way, to make our highstreets richer and livelier, to bring people together and spread joy (and kindness!), while treading more lightly on our planet.

Something funny / unusual / different about yourself that perhaps different about yourself that perhaps your customers don’t know!

 Saskia and I nearly stole a pallet from someone’s front garden here in North Leeds once (not so kind!) in a desperate attempt to get a huge delivery to a large client on time. Luckily the courier had a different solution, but it shows the length we go to so you get your biscuits on time…!

 Where can we find you?

We are at 107 Harehills Lane, Leeds, LS8 4DN

Online we are:

https://www.thebiskery.com/  

And on socials: @thebiskery