🚀 Your Weekly Slice of UK Consumer Startups #31

Doughlicious® is all about reimagining cookie dough for the modern snacker. We’ve built a platform of indulgent, better-for-you cookie dough products - everything from our Cookie Dough & Gelato Bites to Ready-to-Bake dough, Grab & Go Cookies and our Baked Cookie Dough Skillets. Everything is made in London using 100% British oats and gluten-free certified ingredients, and we power our bakery with renewable electricity because doing things the right way matters to us.

The idea really started long before Doughlicious existed. I grew up in Miami with a huge love of baking and a belief that food brings people together. When I moved to London, I kept making my American-style cookies for friends, always with cleaner, natural ingredients and people couldn’t get enough. They started asking me to make extra dough so they could bake it at home. That was my lightbulb moment: if my friends loved it this much, maybe the rest of the UK would too. So in 2017, I took the leap, and Doughlicious was born.

For me, it all started with getting the product right. I was obsessed with creating something premium, clean-label and genuinely delicious. No shortcuts, no compromises. Once we had a product people loved, scaling became far more achievable.

A major turning point was building an early partnership with Whole Foods Market. They believed in both me and the vision for Doughlicious, and they gave us the perfect environment to test, learn and iterate from NPD to in-store activations. It became our launchpad and a compelling proof point when approaching other retailers.

Securing our most recent investment was another catalyst. It meant we could finally lean into the rapidly growing US demand for snackable cookie dough and gelato bites - an opportunity that’s proving bigger than we ever imagined. Consumers love the simplicity and fun of a pre-portioned snack, and that universal appeal has been a key driver of our growth.

My biggest lesson has been resilience. When you face something as life-altering as cancer, you realise that the only person who gets to define your limits is you. That belief has shaped everything about how I lead the business.

At Doughlicious, I try to create a culture grounded in trust, autonomy and accountability. I want my team to make decisions, take ownership and feel genuinely empowered to grow. When your team knows you believe in them, the business becomes stronger, more agile and more human. Resilience isn’t just a personal value anymore - it’s embedded in how we operate as a team.

The UK and US couldn’t be more different in scale and pace but the core consumer desire is the same: great taste, clean ingredients and permissible indulgence. 

In the UK, there’s a real appreciation for quality and provenance, which fits our ethos naturally. In the US, the excitement around new formats – especially snackable frozen novelties, has been a huge opportunity. What’s worked for us is staying flexible, listening closely to consumers and building retailer relationships that are true partnerships. Each market requires a slightly different playbook, but the brand values stay consistent.

We’re entering one of the most exciting phases of the brand yet. We’re investing more than ever in marketing with a clear objective: drive big, bold awareness and education of Doughlicious.

Innovation is at the heart of everything we do, and we’re proud to be trend-setters, not followers. When we saw the growing health and wellness movement, we didn’t wait. We launched our Chunky Chocolate Chip & Banana Collagen Skillet this year, and the response has been incredible! They’ve become such a hit that retailers are now asking us to create seasonal, limited-edition flavours including fun concepts like pumpkin spice.

You’ll see us show up in new ways next year - with fresh above-the-line media activity, innovative new flavours and bold marketing plans we can’t wait to reveal. On top of that, we’re continuing to scale in the US and push into new channels and formats.

In short: bigger presence, more creativity and a whole lot more Doughlicious goodness coming your way!