Becoming a first-time foodie entrepreneur in their fifties would be daunting for some, but not so for Carol Myott, who launched her bakery business, Flapjackery, at the age of 55 after noticing a gap in the market.
It was a brave yet savvy move. The company, which sells treats made according to a 1960s recipe from Myott’s mother, had sales of £3.1 million last year with profits of £320,000. Celebrity customers include the actress Dame Emma Thompson, who bought 100 flapjacks for a film crew shooting near Flapjackery’s Falmouth store in Cornwall, and TV presenter Dermot O’Leary, who visits the Wells shop in Somerset “every year after Glastonbury to stock up”.
Traditional British comfort foods are making a comeback in these uncertain times, with sales of 1990s retro crisps surging and pease pudding back on restaurant menus. Flapjackery is among those winning through delivering a taste of nostalgia.
Myott, now 65, and her friend Sally Jenkin, 62, launched the business in the west Devon market town of Tavistock in 2015, and have grown from five to 15 stores since 2022. Myott expects revenues of £3.8 million this year, fuelled by new openings and online sales of the firm’s gluten-free flapjack recipes made from simple ingredients: butter, Tate & Lyle golden syrup, and Mornflake oats.
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Flapjacks sprinkled with stardust: Emma Thompson and Dermot O’Leary are fans of the brand
GARETH CATTERMOLE/GETTY IMAGES
“It’s about going back to your childhood, isn’t it? And what your parents used to give you and that home comfort feel,” Myott said. “My recipe came from my mum — I’ve still got the recipe book.
“All these flapjacks you get in shops are always cheap and horrible and full of nasties, and I thought a flapjack should be made as it always used to be: from real ingredients that you can pimp up with all sorts of different flavours and additions.”
Myott grew up in her family’s restaurant in Nantwich, Cheshire, and hoped to go into the business. But with her parents selling up to fund their retirement, she headed to London to work in marketing, and later wound up running a printing company in Surrey providing clients with letterheads and leaflets. At the age of 50, she decided to call it quits, move to Devon with her beagles and open a B&B. “I hated printing — it was a horrible business,” she said. “I hit 50 and thought, ‘I don’t like what I’m doing — I need to change things.’ ”
The idea for Flapjackery came about by chance. Myott is a foodie and wanted to meet people, so she decided to start baking from home for the local country market, where she met Jenkin.
“I found that flapjacks were quite popular,” Myott recalled. “I also used to trawl around all the food festivals and thought, ‘Why is nobody doing flapjacks?’ ”
She suggested launching a standalone market stall and Jenkin agreed. “When I first mentioned the idea to people, they thought we were mad,” Myott said.
The pair started out selling at markets, but sales really kicked off after they noticed that flapjacks were a hit at large events and trade shows. “The very first event we went to, we sold out and realised that we’d probably hit on something that was going to work.
“Being naive, I then booked the Good Food Show, the Royal Bath and West Show and the Devon County Show, all within the first four months … We turned up with our old Volvo, our paste tables and sheets for tablecloths … We sold out of everything we’d taken on the first day, so had to go back and cook all night.”
The founders also launched a website and became aware they had “a gifting product” that people would order online for birthdays and other special occasions.
Myott said: “Sally and I used to sit down and brainstorm. We’d think up ideas — silly things like, ‘Why don’t we put a Bakewell or a brownie topping on top of a flapjack?’ ”
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From starting out at events such as the Bath Christmas market in 2019, the company went on to open stores such as its Stow on the Wold outlet in the Cotswolds, below
ALAMY
The pair quickly realised that they could no longer cater for demand from home. They secured a lease on a commercial kitchen for just £3,000 through buying a failing “personalised funeral cake” business with a fully fitted unit. “We took a leap of faith,” Myott said.
The increased capacity made it possible for the founders to open their first store in Tavistock in 2018. A friend was looking to get out of a lease on a local shop, and they decided to go for it.
The opening went well, and by early 2020, Flapjackery was turning over about £750,000. Then Covid hit. “We went from £750,000 down to almost zero overnight,” Myott recalled. Her team pivoted to online sales and commissioned a revamp of Flapjackery’s website — paid for on a commission basis to save on costs — which kept the business going.
After the first lockdown, the Tavistock store began “ticking over quite happily”. The founders decided to invest the firm’s revenues in opening two more stores in Wells and Minehead in Somerset — in part to ensure they could keep their events manager employed while large events remained on hold.
“I thought a flapjack should be made as it always used to be: from real ingredients that you can pimp up with all sorts of different flavours and additions”
FLAPJACKERY
Rapid organic growth and 12 more store openings followed. The company has not taken any external investment, Myott said, and she and Jenkin have put in only about £7,000 of their own savings. The entrepreneur puts Flapjackery’s success down to factors including creating a model that requires just one member of staff per shop, looking for stores with cheaper rents off the main high streets, and enlisting the help of friends and family.
She said: “If somebody’s ill, my sister will drive down to Cornwall and open the shop for us.
“We picked locations with high footfall and a reasonably affluent local community. We’re always just slightly off a main high street, so the rents are lower.”
When it was opening its second store in 2020, Flapjackery was quoted £60,000 for a refit, but managed to get set up for a fraction of that cost with the help of a friend’s son, a theatre designer who was out of work. “It was a really cost-effective way of doing it,” Myott said. “We still have the [basis of] that original design in all our shops.”
The company has also looked to tap into the appetite for gluten-free products. “People [with this dietary need] are just so excited when they find us, because suddenly there’s a shop where they can buy anything they want.”
Today, Flapjackery employs 65 people, sells 25 options with flavours such as Eton mess and caramel latte, and is looking to expand further. Jenkin retired in 2024 to spend more time with her grandchildren, and sold her shares to Myott’s brother Hugh, 64, and niece Sophie Myott, 33. The larger team now want to “grow the company quickly so no one steps in and does what we’re doing”, Myott said.
Jenkin retired in 2024 and sold her shares to Myott’s brother Hugh, 64, and niece Sophie Myott, 33
FLAPJACKERY/CLAIRE GILLO
Plans include moving into retail through selling products in farm shops and garden centres. It is hoped this will “enhance the brand”, but the idea is that wholesale partners will sell different ranges to those stocked in Flapjackery’s own stores to avoid cannibalising sales. Flapjackery also recently released dog flapjacks so that pets “can have a treat too”. Longer term, the team are exploring openings in the US and Australia
Myott said: “We’re always looking at different ways we can reimagine flapjacks, but the main thing is quality — it’s the one thing I will not compromise on. And we use local products wherever we can.”
As for her own future, she plans to move into a part-time role next year. “I’ll still be involved with the company but hopefully not working five days a week. I want to be able to spend time with my dogs on Dartmoor.”
She hopes Flapjackery’s success will inspire other later-stage entrepreneurs to start a firm. “I think it shows you’re never too old … If you want to do something, just give it a go and see. You need lots of luck, but it’s the support of family and friends that really helps.”
Ask me anythingThe turning point … Covid, absolutely. It was then we thought that opening shops would work [as a strategy].Best business tip … Trust your instincts, go with your gut feel.The best way to start the day is … chatting to my dogs. They greet me when I come down into the kitchen.If I could tell you one thing … Just go for it.Myott’s top tip for baking flapjacks at home … the way you add the golden syrup: don’t do it by spoonfuls or tablespoons; weigh it. Your golden syrup should be half your amount of sugar.