Grow your retail business

Ooh & Aah Cookies is an online business creating freshly baked letterbox cookies. Owners and Directors Barbara-Anne McMullan and Ruth Armstrong ship their cookies across the UK and Ireland.

Based in Ballyclare, they started their business by attending Northern Ireland food markets selling a range of cake pops, cookies, and cupcakes - they then adapted their business to sell letterbox cookies online.

Barbara-Anne and Ruth explain how they have successfully grown their online retail business, selling through their website, and then expanding their sales on social media.

Getting started

"In our previous business, we used to sell our products at events. This approach resulted in a lot of product wastage, and we were working six or seven days a week, so we decided to change to a bake-to-order model. Now we bake the cookies, sell them online and ship them so there is zero waste. It has allowed us to reclaim some of our family life and provides us with some structure."

"After exploring trends in America, we came up with a seven-inch letterbox cookie. Our unique selling point was that we wanted something easily posted through a letterbox. Our first task was to design the box, and from there, we shipped products to friends and family in the UK to help fine-tune the process. We then started selling 12-inch cookies and continued to add to the product line."

Growing our product range

"We developed our products based on what the customer wanted. Following the personalised cookies, we created stuffed cookies and a six-pack box. We then developed the share box and the Dinky Dunker box with 36 mini cookies and three dips. This option went viral as a fun, sharable gifting and eating experience type product."

"We still try out new ideas to see if they will work. We’re lucky that our core product is cookies, and the dough rarely changes, so this helps with efficiency. However, there is the opportunity to innovate by using extra fillings."

Developing our social media presence

"We started on social media with Facebook, but it wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic that selling on our Instagram page became popular - we could sell cookies in minutes. With people frequently using their phones, we had a captive audience, which allowed us to build an online community. Followers quickly increased as others heard our story and supported us. Instagram helped with the growth of the business. The Generation Z demographic, typically described as those born in the mid to late 1990s and the first generation to grow up with the internet daily, showed a particular interest in our products on Instagram."

"We adopted TikTok as soon as the trend started. At the outset, we created viral videos because everyone else was. When the TikTok Shop launched, you had to achieve 1,000 followers to open a shop. We launched a successful giveaway, which helped us exceed 1,000 followers. However, initially, we were restricted to 50 orders per day. The first day, we sold out in minutes. We then had to achieve 1,000 orders to get the restriction lifted. It was a safety net for TikTok to ensure you could cope with demand."

"It was initially challenging to get started on TikTok Shop because the platform was in its infancy, and everything kept changing. We didn’t recognise its benefits then, but it has become one of our primary sales channels."

Benefits of growing our business

"Since launching on TikTok, we have employed six new staff. Our brand has also grown and become very well known. We have also won awards for social media and online retail."

"We are currently working on the shelf life of our products to be able to ship further afield. Europe would probably be the next goal for us. And then we will keep working towards continued growth, different products and giving customers something new."