Big River Bakery
Big River Bakery is a Newcastle-based social enterprise artisan bakery producing handmade stottie cakes and slow-ferment breads for UK consumers via retail and postal e-commerce, alongside corporate catering, baking courses, and charitable community programs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersNewcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Big River Bakery does
Big River Bakery is a small-batch, artisan social enterprise bakery based at 42 Wretham Place in Shieldfield, Newcastle upon Tyne, with a second community bakery located at Teesside University's Launchpad campus incubator. Founded in 2012 by Andy Haddon, the bakery produces handmade, slow-ferment breads and traditional North East stottie cakes using locally sourced ingredients, with no preservatives or bread improvers, and operates as part of the Real Bread Campaign. Its proprietary assets include the Shieldfield Sally sourdough starter culture (in continuous use for 15+ years), the Scotty the Stottie children's character brand (books, soft toy, video game), and a forthcoming sub-brand, The CannyKind Co., launching an organic lip balm in 2026.
The business serves a mix of individual UK consumers (via physical shop and Shopify e-commerce with Royal Mail postal delivery), corporate clients (notably a daily stottie sandwich supply contract with Lumo trains on the Edinburgh–London route from September 2024), and charitable partners including Feeding Families, local schools, and Northumbria University. Revenue streams span retail baked goods, in-person baking courses (£55–£100 per person), corporate catering, wholesale to local cafés, branded merchandise (t-shirts, aprons, mugs, prints), gift cards, and a children's publishing line. Pricing is unit-based with a pay-as-you-go billing cadence; checkout runs on Shopify with Stripe handling donations and a broad mix of card and wallet payment options.
All profits are reinvested into social impact programs including free school breakfasts, free baking activities, food donations, and supported employment for neurodiverse and long-term unemployed individuals. The bakery delivered over £75,000 of social value in 2024 and operates with 17 paid employees (including 4 neurodiverse workers in supported roles) plus 2 volunteers, as a Real Living Wage employer. Distribution is hybrid — a single domestic retail site plus a national postal/D2C channel — and brand visibility has been amplified by features on BBC's Hairy Bikers Go North, GMTV, The One Show, and a Guardian Charity Appeal.
Big River Bakery firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Big River Bakery
- Legal name
- Big River Bakery
- Website
- https://bigriverbakery.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Big River Bakery is a Newcastle-based social enterprise artisan bakery producing handmade stottie cakes and slow-ferment breads for UK consumers via retail and postal e-commerce, alongside corporate catering, baking courses, and charitable community programs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Big River Bakery industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Artisan Bakery
- NAICS
- Retail Bakeries (311811), Baked Goods Retailers (445291), Bread and Bakery Product Manufacturing (31181)
- SIC
- Bakery Products (2050), Retail-Eating Places (5812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Retail Bakeries (Bread & Daily Bakery) (THAFAFAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Cafe-Bakeries (Coffee + Pastry Focus) (THAFADAG), Online Bakery & Desserts Delivery (CRAHAIAK), Specialty Bakery Manufacturing (Gluten-Free, Artisan, Health-Focused) (AFAKAAAG)
Keywords
Where Big River Bakery is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Newcastle Upon Tyne
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Big River Bakery business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Retail Bakery Sales: Direct sales of baked goods including stottie cakes, bread, pies, savoury and sweet treats through physical bakery shop in Shieldfield and online orders delivered across UK.
- Baking Courses and Workshops: In-person baking courses including Stottie Making (£55), Introduction to Breadmaking (£100), Introduction to Sourdough (£100), and Afternoon Tea Making (£100).
- Corporate Catering and Wholesale: Wholesale supply to businesses including Lumo trains (daily stottie sandwiches Edinburgh to London), corporate catering orders, and catering for events.
- Gift Cards and Vouchers: Digital gift cards and vouchers available in £25 and £50 denominations, valid for 12 months from purchase date.
- Children's Books and Merchandise: Sales of Scotty the Stottie children's books and soft toys, with profits supporting free children's projects.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Bakery Merchandise and Accessories |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Baking Courses |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Postal Food Products |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Scotty the Stottie Merchandise |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Gift Cards |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Food Gift Boxes |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | The CannyKind Co. Products |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Big River Bakery product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Big River Bakery is a small-batch artisan bakery in Shieldfield, Newcastle upon Tyne, specialising in slow ferment, handmade breads and baked goods using locally sourced ingredients. Its core product is the traditional North East stottie cake, supplemented by pease pudding, sourdough loaves, honey, gift boxes, baking courses, branded merchandise, and the Scotty the Stottie children's book and soft toy range. The bakery operates a physical shop/café, a UK-wide e-commerce shop, in-person baking courses, and a corporate catering/wholesale arm, with all profits channelled into social value programmes including free school breakfasts, food poverty relief, and supported employment for neurodiverse and long-term unemployed individuals.
Product overview
Big River Bakery is a social enterprise bakery based in Newcastle upon Tyne, specializing in handmade breads and baked goods with locally sourced ingredients. Their product portfolio centers around the stottie cake—a traditional North East specialty—as both a core food product and cultural icon. The offering spans physical baked goods (postal stotties, pease pudding, honey), branded merchandise (t-shirts, aprons, mugs, prints), educational experiences (baking courses), and children's media (Scotty the Stottie book series and soft toy). A notable sub-brand is The CannyKind Co. lip balm supporting women with employment barriers. Additional offerings include gift vouchers, the Kindness Cookie community initiative, and a free video game. The bakery operates primarily through a Shopify-powered e-commerce platform and physical shop/cafe location.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- The CannyKind Co. A premium handmade organic lip balm brand created through the Bee-Lieve project supporting women with barriers to employment, facilitated as part of the North East Combined Authority Trailblazer Programme. Products include luxury organic lip balm made with jojoba oil, cocoa butter, and beeswax.
Products and services
- Large Stottie Cakes (Postal) Traditional hand-made vegan stottie cakes available for posting across the UK in a box of four; made without preservatives as part of the Real Bread Campaign.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over £75K social value delivered in 2024 through community programs
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Big River Bakery
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Big River Bakery technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration15 records
Feature3 records
Big River Bakery partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Feeding FamiliescorePartnership to provide weekly fresh produce donations to families referred through GPs and other organisations. Replaced direct free meal program due to targeting effectiveness. Supports food poverty relief.
- LDNEcoreSupporting adults and children with learning difficulties by providing low-cost catering for weekly family social events. LDNE covers some ingredient costs.
- Lumo TrainscoreSupply agreement for daily stottie sandwiches (ham and pease pudding) on Lumo Edinburgh to London train service starting September 2024. Started as trial in July 2024.
- Teesside UniversitycoreSecond bakery location at Teesside University Launchpad campus incubator. Community bakery building links with local community. Run baking employability programmes.
- Northumbrian WaterminorPartnership at Innovation Festival encouraging young people to think about careers and entrepreneurial skills. Also hosted live stottie baking 'Bake Off' with Si King.
- Skewb ClimateminorDeveloped and created Scotty's Kindness Quest video game, free to access. Made possible through their support.
- Recyke y'BikeminorCommunity collaboration for Bike and Bake Days with asylum seekers - morning at Recyke y'Bike followed by pizza and stottie baking session at bakery.
- Gateshead CouncilminorPartnership for summer holiday baking sessions delivered to local children in conjunction with Gateshead Council and Northumbria University.
- Shieldfield Art Works (SAW)minorCommunity art project collaboration including wheat growing project with urban agriculture specialist Dr Mikey Tomkins, resulting in first wheat harvested on Tyneside in centuries.
- Northumbria UniversitycoreStudent baking workshops, curriculum-based sessions, collaboration on social impact brochure, and hosting university students for work experience across various subjects.
- Gateshead Youth CouncilminorSubsidised stottie cake baking course for young people of Gateshead Youth Council.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Big River Bakery competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Real Bread Campaign: UK campaign advocating additive-free, slow-ferment bread. Big River Bakery is a member and the campaign shapes the bakery's positioning, certification standards and consumer messaging.
Broad incumbents
- Greggs: UK's largest bakery chain with national footprint and dominant stottie presence. Both a wholesale partner through National Stottie Week and the principal large-scale competitor in the stottie category.
- Pret a Manger: UK café-bakery chain with strong commuter and travel hub presence. Comparable café + grab-and-go model and a relevant incumbent for the Lumo trains contract adjacent channel.
- The Bread Factory: UK commercial bakery supplying wholesale to foodservice and retail. Relevant incumbent in the wholesale bakery supply chain that Big River's Lumo and local café contracts operate within.
Direct peers
- Bread Ahead: London-based artisan bakery famous for baking courses (sourdough, doughnuts), Borough Market stall and bakery school. Comparable in combining hands-on teaching with retail and bread-led brand.
- E5 Bakehouse: East London sourdough bakery and mill with cafés, courses, and wholesale supply. Similar artisan, slow-ferment positioning and direct-to-consumer + wholesale mix.
- Bertinet Bakery: Bath-based artisan bakery led by chef Richard Bertinet offering bread-making courses, retail, and a published bread book. Direct overlap with Big River's course + retail + educational book combination.
- Bread and Roses Bakery: UK social enterprise bakery supporting disadvantaged women through baking training and employment. Comparable social mission, community impact focus, and small-batch artisan production.
- Gail's Bakery: UK artisan bakery chain combining in-store cafés, baking courses and retail bread. Closely comparable to Big River Bakery in artisan positioning, multi-revenue model (retail + courses + e-commerce), and focus on slow-ferment bread.
- Luminary Bakery: London social enterprise bakery training women from disadvantaged backgrounds in baking. Closest social-enterprise model peer, combining artisan production with supported employment outcomes.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Big River Bakery social profiles
Digital presenceBig River Bakery financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Big River Bakery leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Big River Bakery funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Big River Bakery M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Big River Bakery
What does Big River Bakery do?
Big River Bakery is a small-batch artisan bakery in Shieldfield, Newcastle upon Tyne, specialising in slow ferment, handmade breads and baked goods using locally sourced ingredients. Its core product is the traditional North East stottie cake, supplemented by pease pudding, sourdough loaves, honey, gift boxes, baking courses, branded merchandise, and the Scotty the Stottie children's book and soft toy range. The bakery operates a physical shop/café, a UK-wide e-commerce shop, in-person baking courses, and a corporate catering/wholesale arm, with all profits channelled into social value programmes including free school breakfasts, food poverty relief, and supported employment for neurodiverse and long-term unemployed individuals.
Is Big River Bakery a public or private company?
Big River Bakery is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Big River Bakery founded?
Big River Bakery was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Big River Bakery based?
Big River Bakery is headquartered in Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Big River Bakery make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Retail Bakery Sales are the primary driver. The others are baking Courses and Workshops, corporate Catering and Wholesale, gift Cards and Vouchers and children's Books and Merchandise.
Who are Big River Bakery's main competitors?
Real Bread Campaign is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are Greggs, Pret a Manger and The Bread Factory. Direct peers are Bread Ahead, E5 Bakehouse, Bertinet Bakery, Bread and Roses Bakery, Gail's Bakery and Luminary Bakery.
Does Big River Bakery have an API?
No public API is recorded for Big River Bakery.
What industry is Big River Bakery in?
Big River Bakery's product category is Artisan Bakery. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFAFAA, Retail Bakeries (Bread & Daily Bakery), with a secondary code of THAFADAG, Cafe-Bakeries (Coffee + Pastry Focus). Its NAICS code is 311811 and its SIC code is 2050.