Knead To Grow?

Sara Al-Janabi, founder of Big Boy Bakery, an award-winning bakery specialising in giant bakes,  reflects on how a university pop-up turned into a cookie business that quickly gathered momentum through social media and sell-out drops. She talks about the reality of building and running it largely on her own, the burnout that came with rapid growth, and the decisions needed to turn early demand into something more sustainable. 

When did you realise Big Boy Bakery had the potential to become a serious business?
It hit me during my final semester at uni, right in the middle of exam season. I had just done my first ever pop-up and sold out in under two hours. Seeing the queues for the first time was crazy to me. I actually had to move my market table because it was becoming a fire safety hazard and blocking the entrance! Even then, the queue was wrapping around the entire market and people were still arriving after everything had sold out. What overwhelmed me most was having to then turn people away. The market organisers told me they genuinely hadn’t seen anything like it before. It wasn’t until the end of the day that I processed what had actually happened and it made me so emotional to realise I had something real which I could grow.

What’s been the biggest driver of the brand’s rapid growth?
Sharing the journey on social media, without question. I wanted people to see what it actually looks like to build something from nothing. I’d film myself at 5am after a baking shift, completely unfiltered, show the chaos of getting ready for a pop-up and be honest on camera when I was burnt out or unsure whether something was working. People connected with that in a way I never expected. At pop-ups, they’ll come up and talk to me about things I’ve shared online or disasters I’ve had along the way. Yes, they’re there for the cookies, but you can tell they’re genuinely invested in the journey and where it’s all going. I think that same energy carries through online too. You can see it in the way people engage with my posts. It feels like they’re growing alongside the brand, rather than just following it.

How have you turned social media buzz into loyal customers and repeat sales?
I think it ultimately comes down to the product. People wouldn’t keep coming back or reordering if the cookies weren’t genuinely good. From the beginning, I’ve tried to make Big Boy Bakery feel like something you can’t get anywhere else. Every pop-up has a different box, and while I’ll bring back the flavours people go mad for, there’s always something new in the mix too. I think that sense of anticipation around what flavour is coming next is a big part of it. Because the drops are limited, it gives people a reason to come back and see what’s new, which keeps things exciting. I also think people can genuinely taste the homemade difference. It’s nothing like something you’d pick up off a supermarket shelf. There’s a level of care and quality that comes with making everything by hand and I think customers recognise that. That’s probably why I keep seeing so many familiar faces at pop-ups and why so many people come back to order again.

What’s been the biggest challenge in scaling the business so far?
I’m the founder, the baker, the marketer, the logistics team, literally all of it. I was juggling all of that through my final year exams and as demand kept growing, it became harder to keep everything at the standard I wanted it to be. The moment it really hit me was the Bombed Out Church collaboration, where I committed to making 1,000 cookies out of my mum’s kitchen. I pulled it off, but the burnout afterwards was very real. There were definitely moments where I was baking through the night, running on very little sleep and wondering whether I’d completely overcommitted. When you’re doing everything yourself, you simply can’t give 100% to every part of the business all of the time. I’ve had to learn that scaling isn’t about working harder, it’s about working smarter, planning better and knowing when to ask for help. It’s not a bad problem to have and I’m incredibly grateful for the growth. In a weird way, every challenge has been proof that people care and that the business is moving in the right direction. But it’s definitely made me realise that the next chapter of Big Boy Bakery needs to be bigger than just me. The one-man show has worked so far, but it can’t go on forever.

Which decision has had the greatest impact on Big Boy Bakery’s success?
Putting myself into the brand. Early on, I was completely focused on the product, which obviously matters, but the real shift came when I started letting people into the story behind it. Once I began being open about what it was actually like to build something as a final-year university student, with no business experience and quite a bit of fear and doubt, people became more invested in me and in the product. I stopped trying to make everything look polished and just showed it as it was and I think that’s what made it click. That decision to put myself out there and be vulnerable online, rather than just showing a perfect brand, changed everything for me. It’s helped grow my confidence while building the community around Big Boy Bakery and I really do think that’s what’s driven the growth more than anything else.

What’s your vision for Big Boy Bakery over the next five years?
Over the next five years, I’d love Big Boy Bakery to have a permanent presence. But honestly, the pop-ups and brand collaborations are what I love most, so I want to do a lot more of those across the UK. There’s nothing quite like a pop-up day. Seeing people come together, having all my friends and family in one place and watching something that started in my mum’s kitchen bring so many people through the door. The energy I feel after a day like that is just unmatched. I’d love to take it beyond the UK eventually too. My family is Polish and Iraqi, so I’ve always grown up around different cultures and living in Barcelona during my year abroad really opened my eyes to how differently cities experience food and community. That idea excites me a lot and I’d love to explore what Big Boy Bakery could look like internationally one day. At the moment, that still feels unreal to say out loud given this all started with me baking cookies at home and posting them online, but I think that’s the fun part. If there’s one thing this journey has taught me, it’s that the things that seem unrealistic today can become surprisingly normal if you keep showing up. So who knows, maybe in five years time there’ll be a Big Boy pop-up somewhere I’ve never even visited yet.