ALCOHOL is something we usually associate with drinks – but for Holly Brook, it’s much better as a sweet treat. In her third year studying psychology at Bath University, Holly – now 27 – discovered a customer thirst for boozy sweets and began experimenting with flavours in the kitchen of her shared student home. With […]
ALCOHOL is something we usually associate with drinks – but for Holly Brook, it’s much better as a sweet treat.
In her third year studying psychology at Bath University, Holly – now 27 – discovered a customer thirst for boozy sweets and began experimenting with flavours in the kitchen of her shared student home.
With a passion for baking and creating, and armed with an old book filled with sugar boiling recipes, passed down from her grandfather, Holly, from Warwickshire, set about experimenting with lollipop flavours and recipes.
It wasn’t long before she had the bright idea of adding gin and elderflower to her creations and she began giving them to her friends to taste.
After completing her degree, Holly then went on to get a job on a marketing graduate training scheme – but it wasn’t long before she realised she wanted to turn her passion for sweets into a business.
Holly spoke to Fabulous Digital for our #BOSSINGIT series, which features ordinary women who have launched incredible businesses.
She says: “When I started Holly’s Lollies, in 2015, it really was on a wing and a prayer.
“I had no business plan and enough money in my bank account to pay a month’s rent of the tiny terraced house I shared with my partner Stuart.”
Having discussed her idea with Stuart, ensuring he’d be able to cover the rent for a few months if Holly’s Lollies failed, Holly quit her job. It was a risk that paid off.
Holly began by selling her original Gin & Elderflower lollipops on her wesbite and Esty store before launching some other alcoholic and non-alcholic flavours.
Fortunately for Holly, her products proved an instant hit and continued selling out – meaning she never had to get outside investors involved.
She continues: “Initially, there was obviously a few hundred pounds outlay to buy the ingredients, the pans and an induction hob, but that was literally it.
“Stuart built the website for me, I ran the social media, did the designs for the logo, labels and packaging – everything really. To start with it was just me in my own kitchen, making, packing and posting. I was working 18 hours a day.”
Impressively, Holly was also selling via Not on The High Street within just three months.
During that time she’d taken 2,500 orders – a whopping 12,500 lollipops – and even had to close for the year as she was booked up until Christmas.
She explains: “I was treading water a bit there for a time. I knew how many lollipops I could make and closed it before it became too much and I was unable to fulfil orders. It became so big so quickly.”
By spring the following year, Holly employed her first member of staff and took on her first business premises – and within nine months, the business had outgrown that too.
She says: “We were producing like crazy. I’d introduced other products such as alcoholic humbugs, rock sweets, giant lollipops, bubbles, and cocktail stirrers.
“Around 14 months after launching, we decided we needed to have a warehouse and factory involved.”
Last year, turnover for Holly’s Lollies was £300,000 and in 2019 she sold over 40,000 candy canes, 10,000 humbugs and 50,000 lollipops.
Nowadays, Holly makes personalised lollipops for weddings and special occasions and branched out into boozy candy canes for Christmas.
Holly’s boozy lollipops are £5.95 for a pack of five and are available in flavours including the original Gin & Elderflower, Raspberry Prosecco and Cherry Amaretto, while a jar of Humbugs costs £6.50 and comes in a whopping 14 flavours.
Today, as well as an online presence, Holly’s products are stocked in stores such as Harvey Nichols, Fenwicks, Laithwaites, garden centres, farm shops and gift shops.
Reflecting on the success of the company to date, she says: “I’m speechless. I would never have believed it could be possible.
“Three years after the business launched, I was able to buy my own house. I would never have been able to do that without Holly’s Lollies.”
For more inspiring Bossing It stories, Christianah Jones revealed how she started her £60k sunglasses business on Depop and Beyonce and Millie Bobby Brown are fans.
And the inventor of the world’s first cheese Christmas advent calendar revealed how it’s made over £2m and outsells Asda’s chocolate ones.
Plus Caroline Sims of Botanycl was too ashamed to show her boyfriend her problem skin without make-up and now her skincare supplements are set to make £4m.
