In a heritage building tucked away in Fortitude Valley, an unassuming bakery has ignited a craze that defies all expectations. Brooki Bakehouse, helmed by owner Brooke Saward, has captured the hearts and appetites of dessert enthusiasts worldwide with a viral Tiktok presence and over 700,000 followers on Instagram.
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Saward’s baking journey started with travelling the world to find the best bakeries and sweets.
After improving her skills through cooking classes in Paris and online videos, she opened Charlie’s Dessert House in her hometown of Launceston, Tasmania in 2016, tempting locals with her macarons, cupcakes, cookies, and more.
But Saward and her fiancé, Justice Bellamy, had bigger dreams. In late 2021, they moved to Brisbane, drawn by the city’s growth opportunities and a sense of possibility without feeling overwhelmed.
When her sole employee was out sick with Covid-19 for three weeks, Saward boldly launched a TikTok account and creatively filmed herself hard at work in the bakery. She decided to film a “day in the life” video for TikTok in her chef’s clothes. Her friendly personality and tasty creations struck a chord, and the video quickly went viral, getting millions of views and fans worldwide.
Saward shared people come from all over Australia and literally everywhere to visit the bakery. The bakery now sells a shocking 1,000 cookies daily in-store, plus thousands more online.
She said some days before TikTok they made hundreds of dollars, and now every day it’s thousands, so it’s a totally different business from the first six or eight months, and that’s because of using social media.
However, Brooki’s huge success isn’t just about social media skills – it’s also thanks to Saward’s entrepreneurial spirit, passion, and hard work. When TikTok exploded, she did not wait for customers to come; instead, she found a way to send her cookies worldwide. With clever packaging and problem-solving, she developed a system to ship her treats globally.
Saward has even bigger goals. She wants Brooki to become a global baking brand, already selling merchandise, teaching online classes, working with major brands, and releasing her first cookbook later this year.
Despite the overwhelming success, Saward remains humble and grateful, valuing every customer and spending hours each week talking to followers on social media. It’s this real connection, along with her delicious baked goods, that keeps people lining up and coming back.
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At a time when social media rules marketing, Brooki Bakehouse shows how smartly using these platforms can make a small business world-famous. But at its core, it’s Saward’s passion, creativity and commitment to baking that have truly made Brooki Bakehouse a sweet global favourite.
Published 18-March-2024
