Sweet Dreams are Made of This: We meet Coy Biscuit, the winner of Bridal Next 2022 in the Services Category
Welcome to another spotlight on our 2022 Bridal NEXT winners - this week it is the super special COY BISCUIT - winner in the services category.
Bridal NEXT winners are meant to be innovators, bringing something fresh, design-led and directional to the industry - Ones to Watch. And I think we could feel we’d pick a potential Zeit-geist filling winner with Coy Biscuit from the get go.. there was just a buzz about their brand, something felt new and exciting, capturing the spirit of the place we are not only in but moving into. With the punchy, zingy, colour palettes, body positive inclusive message, nostalgic but also entirely pioneering illustrative style, plus the level of artistry and talent, all portrayed through luxe sweet treats, And the high vibe and hoards of people constantly at their stand over the weekend sealed the deal for both Award giver Festival Brides and us.
Founder Esi is the driving force behind the whole feel of the brand and her spirit is what won bridalNEXT. Her unmistakable voice makes me smile in every email and insta caption I read, she’s funny, warm, edgey, brutally honest and perfect in her self proclaimed imperfection. Like I said Coy Biscuit is her and she is Coy Biscuit. And congratulations on it all Esi!
Esi - How would you describe what you do?
This is a really hard question to answer. I feel like I'm trying to fill a gap in the gifting industry so it's hard to describe it in a way that doesn't alienate people who haven't seen something similar, while also trying to have a fresh take on something that already exists.
Anyway, in short Coy Biscuit is an edible art gifting company. We specialise in royal icing decorated biscuits with a focus on inclusivity.
How would you describe a Coy Biscuit client/to-be-wed person?
While Coy Biscuit isn't strictly a wedding vendor, we think our product is beyond perfectly suited for the wedding industry! One thing that was always on our radar was that the edible offerings for hen dos and other pre- wedding celebrations have always been quite limited, especially in terms of imagery.
With inclusivity being at the heart of everything we do, we want to offer options such of beautiful biscuits for your wedding party that suit everyone. We want people to have the option of having classy favours, elegant favours, favours that aren't just versions of edible penises. Not everyone wants that nor is it appropriate for everyone depending on their background. I definitely don't want to be eating penis shaped lollypops if I ever have a hen do so it stands to assume that there are others who don't either. But if you do, that's cool, we can do that too!
We aim to please everyone and anyone that comes to us. The more elaborate your ideas, the more we love it because we're all about abundance here at Coy Biscuit and the goal is always to just make people beam from ear to ear!
What has the path been that has led you here?
I actually started Coy Biscuit during my final year at Camberwell College of Arts back in 2015. I was also working in a bakery where the environment was horrendously toxic but I enjoyed the work so I figured out a way to combine baking (icing biscuits specifically) and my background in illustration thinking I would just go out on my own. But life got in the way, I found other interests too as a recent graduate and got a little distracted. In the end I found my way back to Coy Biscuit at the beginning of 2020. Then the pandemic happened. The lockdowns ironically were fruitful for a lot of home based baking businesses but unfortunately, I was not able to put my focus into my business at that time as other things took priority so it fell on the backburner once again. Now that we're getting to the other side of this thing I am able to finally say "it's now or never!" and I'm trying to just find opportunities and say "yes" to as much as possible.
Have you always been interested in baking, being creatine/ weddings, the magic of it all and the vibe you have in that area now?
I love the feeling of being a part of a day or celebration that's important to someone even if it's just in a small way. It doesn't have to be a wedding. We aren't saving lives at Coy Biscuit or doing anything that some people would call really important work. But I love what we do and the fact that we have a niche. I love that we can make people happy even if it is just for a fleeting moment. Those moments are more important than what we give them credit for.
What’s your favourite thing on your desk/studio right now?
Well, my studio is quite literally a studio apartment I share with my partner. I wish I could say, I have my own workshop, hell, even my own desk but truthfully, things are not even a little bit glamorous when starting out a "home bakery". It's really hard to find space, especially as I have a separate countertop oven and separate full sized fridge stuffed into this apartment. But I still managed to get a 5 star food hygiene rating which is now stuck proudly to my fridge so probably that!
If you could pick three things that you’ve found useful or inspiring to you or Coy Biscuit what would they be and why?
My best friend has been very useful and inspiring! Everyone needs an Alice. If you don't have an Alice, get yourself an Alice. She is a part of everything as much as I am.
Yours may be a family member, your partner, a best friend or business partner but you'll need help from someone you trust. Ideally someone who isn't in the industry that can bring a different point of view or bring something to the table that you yourself struggle with. But having said that I also have a lot of baker friends in a similar position to me and it really helps to bounce ideas off people who understand where you're at with your business and your life.
Also Amazon Prime. Sorry not sorry, but when your funds are small and your space is even smaller, you simply cannot afford to buy packaging and ingredients in bulk. It costs too much and there's nowhere for me to store it all. So I have to say, Prime has been a life saver when I've had a short turnaround for an order and I've needed packaging delivered yesterday.
But I'd love to get to a place where I can form relationships with local suppliers where we all help each other.
Sorry, that's only two things.
What would you say has been your biggest challenge along the way?
The aforementioned lack of space and money. I'm not even going to try to sugarcoat it (pun intended) but those things will come. While I do sometimes panic and convince myself that I can't do this, I just need to remember to drown out those voices as much as I can and just work hard and believe it'll all be okay. I saw a tweet once that said something along the lines of "Imposter Syndrome is just when you can't even believe how lit you are". I thought that was really funny but also, I kind of remember that every time I start to doubt things.
How was your Most Curious experience?!
My Most Curious experience was absolute madness. There was lots of communication and preparation from the team at Most Curious beforehand but it was still super scary doing it for the first time and not really knowing what to expect. In the end Coy Biscuit was received so much better than I could've hoped (bar the few mothers and mothers-in-law that I offended with my nudey biscuits) so I had nothing to be nervous about. We made lots of connections and spoke to some amazing people over the weekend who I'm still in touch with now and hopefully will be for the foreseeable future.
I was also so lucky to have won the Bridal Next competition in the services category, which I genuinely did not see coming at all. I had so much fun during the weekend that I forgot there was a competition element to it all so when I was presented with the award, I was so surprised!
Are you working with any most curious clients / suppliers etc ?
We've had a decent number of orders and general enquiries from people we met at the fair. The 6-8 weeks immediately after fair were a whirlwind. I've never been so busy in my life! And I have the wedding fair to thank for that. Coy Biscuit was also asked to be a part of a bridal shoot put together by New Romantics Productions. We created biscuits that reflected the bride's energy and vibes and it was a really fun project to be a part of, as the brief was super vague and it was pretty much entirely up to us what we did. Things have slowed down now so I can finally focus a bit more on how to approach the next steps.
Can you explain a bit about the body posi of what you do? How has this been received so far?
The funny thing is... I never set out to be known for the body positivity aspect of Coy Biscuit. That's not what I was trying to do. I'm a dark-skinned black woman, I've struggled with my weight a lot, and not seeing enough people of all shapes, sizes and colours represented in all aspects of the world. I know it may sound like a broken record to some but representation does matter.
But equally it came naturally to just create images of the people I see around me and not necessarily in the media. They say you write what you know, well I think the same applies here. I just created images of all types of people and because it's real, people naturally resonate with it. It's not something I have to think about too hard. Sometimes companies try really hard to tick boxes and as consumers we can tell when it's not genuine. But I think the response to Coy Biscuit has been really positive because it's coming from a genuine place.
Is there a meme or emoji with sums you and coy biscuit and your creative process/vibe up?
Probably these two.
What would your advice be for anyone trying to break into the wedding industry?
Apply "yes, and..." to every situation and make sure you charge enough. It's very hectic and you need to make sure you're not burning out. And if you are, you shouldn't be burning out for free.
What’s next for Coy Biscuit? Bigger picture?
Who even knows! That's something I'm trying to figure out now.
And smaller picture! - What are you working on this coming month?
Trying out selling off the shelf products on my website instead of only doing custom orders, contacting potential wholesalers and finding opportunities for collaborations and a big PR mail out to drum up some noise ahead of Christmas.
Am I right in thinking you are not married? If you were to get married, what would you dream set up be? Outfit, energy, vibe, food, flowers, etc :)
That is correct, I am not married. I'd like to get married but I'm also not overly bothered if I don't. What I want more than to get married is to have a family. Me, my partner, a kid and a cat would be cool.
That's another reason why I want to have my own home -based business. I want to be at home with my family and make my own decisions about when I work and also the idea of having a family and a big enough home feels impossible in London so I need to be able to relocate without it meaning that I'm out of a job.
In terms of a wedding, I don't think I will be having one. Even if you keep it small, it costs too much. If I was to have a wedding I would probably want to make my own cake and do my own makeup because the makeup industry is not very inclusive either and honestly, I don't think I want all that stress. It's just not that important to me. But we would love to have a honeymoon still, in Mexico and get dressed up every night and eat and drink all day long.
Any advice for couples about to tie the knot out there right now?
I'm probably the last person who should be giving advice to couples about to tie the knot but I'd say, don't forget to have fun with the process. It doesn't have to be so serious!