We originally interviewed Diana as part of our spotlight on Birmingham-based makers in the May-July edition of our Little Black Book.
From baking with her daughters to gaining customers across the country, Diana didn’t expect her shortbread to take off the way it did. But as her homemade treats become a firm favourite for anyone with a sweet tooth, here’s how she handles running the business out of her kitchen.
Tell us about the beginnings of The Shortbread Company.
I started The Shortbread Company when my daughters were 8 and 9. I woke up one day and decided to teach them how to make shortbread. As we were baking, the idea came that the girls should start selling the shortbread to family and friends. The results were instant and we made our first sale that same day! Sales began to increase to the run up to Christmas that year…
When was the moment you realised you could take the business nationwide?
After Christmas 2017 – pretty much when we started the girls got bored and lost all interest in baking, but we would get people still wanting the shortbread for themselves or for gifts! This continued for months, so I decided to rename, rebrand and relaunch The Shortbread Company online, which was formerly called Sweet Bakers.
What were the challenges of adapting the baking and business operations?
We have always baked from our five star-rated home kitchen. This hasn’t changed but we have had to improve packaging and learn to make bigger batches in a shorter timeframe. We haven’t had any major challenges although extra help is always required in the run up to Christmas as we are always very busy!
How do you experiment and eventually choose your interesting flavour combinations?
We have a catalogue of flavours, some of which we haven’t even tried. We start off with the idea and make it a reality and has worked so far. One of my favourite limited edition flavours was Strawberry Milkshake, and another all-time favourite was Mince Pie Shortbread.
Have you tried any combinations that really didn’t work?
I tried to make a high-protein, vegan and gluten-free shortbread once… That was a total disaster!
What does a normal day of work look like for you?
I would start work by checking emails for orders, This could come from various sources so printing sales invoices and address labels. Then it’s prep time. First [I get] the dough ready for baking: I could be baking for a few hours and sometimes prepping during the day and then baking into the night. The following day I could be packing all the shortbread ready for posting. The girls help (sometimes – bribes included) and have their specific roles, from dating and labelling tins to cutting vast amounts of bubble wrap.