Honeywell Bakes
Rebecca Honeywell, founder of the beautiful biscuit company, Honeywell Bakes, tells MaHa how she turned Pinterest passion into a sweet success.
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Around 30 (something) years ago, Rebecca Honeywell-Ward and I found ourselves as the only two year six girls in our tiny rural primary school. When the annual May Day celebrations rolled around, as well as the usual maypole-dancing rehearsals, it was time for the other students to pick a May Queen. As there were only two of us in line for the job, Rebecca and I decided we would share the duties and be joint rulers. We didn’t see a reason why not – feminism was alive and well in 90s Northamptonshire! For some reason, the local newspaper deemed this decision newsworthy, and we ended up on the pages of the Northampton Chronicle and Echo.
Zoom forward more years than I care to mention, where Rebecca and I met again recently at the Huddle networking event in Spratton. I had kept up to date with Rebecca’s stunning company and the launch of her first book, and decided to exploit our past as abdicated monarchs to convince her to appear in MaHa Magazine… Can you tell us how Honeywell Bakes began? I started the business as a bit of a hobby when my children were small – I was a photographer at the time. Pinterest had just been launched, and suddenly, all of these creative, design-led bakes were visible on the platform and I was totally inspired to try them. Someone suggested selling them, and my initial thought was ‘no way’ – but here we are, 13 years later! We are an all-women team of 19, based on a farm near Welford. We supply Fortnum and Mason, have just launched with Bloom and Wild and we have a large range of biscuits and baking kits available on our website. We also work with amazing businesses such as Google, Estée Lauder and Netflix to produce branded biscuits for launches and events. What are the benefits of working so closely with your family? The business started out with my sister Rosie and I running Honeywell Bakes, and after a few years she left to move to Scotland. Now, I work with my sister Laura, who helped us achieve B Corp status, and my sister Lucy, who does our PPC marketing. It’s always lovely to work with family – the relationships are easy and you can be honest! What has been your proudest achievement? We were featured in the Christmas edition of Country Living a few years ago – I know it’s geeky, but I’ve collected the Christmas edition of the magazine for years, so to add one to my collection that I was featured in was amazing! What advice would you give to anyone starting a business or kickstarting their own dream project? Don’t overthink it – and aim for progress over perfection. What are your biggest sellers to date? Our Rainbow Bagel baking kit launched just before Covid and around the same time as the Great British Bake Off contestants were given a rainbow bagel to bake, it was an instant hit and has been popular ever since. Where are your favourite places in Market Harborough? My whole family loves visiting Bowden Stores, and Farndon Fields for lovely local produce. What are your plans for next year? There’s always more to do! We are planning new ranges, more collaborations, and some online courses, too. For more information and to order visit honeywellbakes.com or follow them on Instagram @honeywellbakes
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Issue 27
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