A baker from west Cornwall is the latest entrepreneur to benefit from the Start Up Loan scheme.
Artisan cookie sandwich maker, Cookie Queen, has received £25k in Start Up funding via SWIG Finance to expand the business.
The loan has enabled business owner, Jo Onda, take on a premises, fit an industrial kitchen, build a website and invest in marketing activities.
Onda, who has been baking since she was a child, began her start up journey by selling baked goods at local farmers markets and hospitality business owners soon got in touch to enquire about stocking her products. She now sells her products online via the business’ own website, at local farmers markets and in multiple local cafes.
While Covid-19 has inevitably impacted growth plans, the pandemic did help facilitate the transition from a local to national bakery by forcing her to adapt her business to an online model. Cookie Queen is now able to distribute products to customers across the UK.
Of the funding, she said: “I’m really excited to be running my own business. The funding I received has really helped me to transition my business from selling at farmers markets to selling online nationally. My business manager, Nicki, was able to share valuable insight and advice to support my loan application.”
SWIG’s Start Up Loans business manager, Nicki Kimberley, added: “Jo has worked so hard to bring her business to this position. As a Merchant Navy wife and mother to a four-year old, what Jo has achieved is admirable. She has a well-defined long-term vision and she knows what steps she will need to take to achieve her goals. We wish Jo the best of luck with her business.”
