You could say it’s been a busy year for Brooki Bakehouse founder Brooke Bellamy.
The bakery and cookie queen of TikTok spent the year moving into a new production kitchen to keep up with growing customer demand, got married, moved house, opened a new Brooki Bakehouse location at Brisbane Airport, had a baby, and launched a now-sold out cookbook!
“It’s a juggle for sure,” she tells New Idea.
Now she has been nominated for TikTok Business of the Year at the 2024 TikTok Awards.
But the bakery did not become successful overnight; she has TikTok to thank for that.
“I was new to the app when I started posting my Tiktok videos, so I never understood the power of the app or the ability to go viral before it was happening to me!”
Like a lot of business owners, Brooke turned to social media to get the word out about her new business.
“My business would see only a handful of customers a day, sometimes an hour would pass without any customers,” she said.
“With all my free time I would look online at what other businesses were doing to go viral and found myself on TikTok one day scrolling through endless videos of a private chef posting about her life working for clients in the Hamptons.
“I loved watching the videos so thought to myself I would share what it was like to spend a day in my life.”
The idea worked, with her videos quickly racking up millions of views.
“It changed my business almost overnight.”
She means this literally. Now with loyal fans all over the world, Brooke has launched new products that cater to potential customers who can’t visit in-store, including Australia-wide cookie delivery and a cookbook.
Bake with Brooki has now sold out.
“Writing a cookbook for a loyal fanbase feels like the best way we can share the magic of Brooki with more people from all over the world,” she said.
She also turns to her audience for their ideas for flavours.
“Some of our community flavours like lemon cheesecake and birthday cake have become instant best sellers,” she shared.
So what’s next for Brooki Bakehouse?
“In December, some of the team are flying to Abu Dhabi for our first ever international Brooki popup!”
Brooke said this is a huge milestone to be invited to open a store outside of Australia, and that the popup will be running for a month.
“My vision is to create one of the most recognisable brands in baking, born in Brisbane but taking on the world. Aim high, right!?”
The TikTok awards will be streamed LIVE on @tiktok_australia from 7pm AEDT, and available to stream on BINGE, FOX8 and Kayo Sports on Wednesday, 27th November 2024. Voting is now open.
