Coy Biscuit: the best addition to your customer experience
photo by Alice Constance
If you’re looking for something that’s a cut above the rest for client welcomes, corporate gifts or just generally to have in your back pocket, then you need to know about Coy Biscuit.
I’ve been lucky enough to both send and receive Coy Biscuits, and I can tell you that they’re as delicious as they look — apart from sometimes they look like balls of yarn, and bottles of perfume, and so they’re actually even more delicious (the one I received looked like Harry Styles’ face, so you can tell it was delicious.)
Hot off the heels of her relocation from London to Manchester, I wanted to chat to founder and icing artist Esi all about her brilliant biscuits, so that you can fall as in love with them as I am…
Hey Esi, tell us about you!
My name is Esi and I'm a 29 year old ex illustrator turned biscuit artist! I'm based currently in Manchester but ship cookies nationwide. You can always find me sketching little cookie designs on my notes app or a little piece of scrap paper even when I'm not supposed to be working.
How did Coy Biscuit come about?
After I graduated, I worked as a freelance illustrator for a while but always had other jobs on the side, anything from being an artist's assistant to managing a luxury homeware brand, but I kept finding myself back at bakeries that specialised in iced biscuits, which had been a hobby of mine since uni. It's very niche but I find the work really therapeutic.
I started creating the types of images I would usually draw, but with icing on biscuits, and sharing them online. Slowly (it took years) but surely orders started coming in. People resonated with the imagery which often includes people of all shapes, colours and sizes, and they were also a hit with corporate clients as the recipes are vegan and alcohol-free, so I'm able to appeal to diverse dietary and cultural requirements. Finally, in the summer of 2022, I quit my bakery job where I worked as a designer and shifted all my focus to Coy Biscuit.
How does a bespoke Coy Biscuit order work? What's the process?
For bespoke corporate or large orders, just email telling me a bit about your event, if you have a theme, the quantity of biscuits you need and sharing any reference images you might have. The lead time for large orders is around 2 weeks. I will then quote you and create digital mock ups for you to approve, at which point you can make suggestions to the designs. I will revise your designs accordingly and provide you with a final quote. Once everything is approved on the customer’s end, an invoice will be sent out. Now you just have to wait for your treats!
Alternatively, customers can fill out a form on the website, after which the same process applies.
Finally, there are a number of off the shelf items for seasonal and other gifting opportunities to purchase on the web shop. Some of them bespoke made to order items and some are ready to dispatch straight away.
photo by Alice Constance
What's been your favourite project to date?
As I touched on a little bit before, I love icing people so I really love it when people order portrait biscuits for their friends and loved ones because every face is different. I also really enjoy recreating exact replicas of products for brands. Orders like that are really challenging but the results have such a wow factor.
What's on your wishlist in the future?
I'd like to do more workshops for birthdays, hen parties, corporate events but it's a lot to figure out so I'll put bit more focus towards that in the new year. I'd also really love to land a big stockist like Selfridges so that's what I'm working towards.
To see more of Esi’s brilliant work, check out the shop and her website, and follow her @coybiscuit on instagram.
And if you’re looking to up your corporate gifting or client welcome game, you can check out my delight design packages here — I’d love to help you add a little spice (or sugar, in this case.)
