Jasmine Frank and her husband, Jonathan, founded Hunnie Butter Bakery as a family venture to provide nostalgic, made from scratch desserts. With offerings from cookies to cobblers to banana pudding, Hunnie Butter is a go-to for “things that your mom or your grandma might have made,” as Jasmine describes.
From its origins as a home-based bakery, Hunnie Butter has scaled quickly. Within two years of opening their storefront, the business served over 100 customers daily, and lines often form within two hours of opening. Jasmine is proud that the bakery has become a destination: “We have clients who will drive from two hours away, or even from out of state. Some people say we’re on their bucket list.”
Digital Support
While the company focused on nostalgic treats, its operations are decidedly digital. Hunnie Butter reaches customers through active TikTok and Instagram communities, uses Youtube to curate playlists and uses a suite of digital tools to run their business. “When we started this business, we were only a digital bakery. We didn’t exist any other way,” Jasmine recalls.
The operational efficiency and access to capital have been major benefits for the bakery. “Digital payments are almost like another employee,” explains Jasmine, “We can literally wake up to three invoices paid.” These business tools are crucial to allowing small businesses to balance complex functions like bookkeeping with the other essentials of cultivating a business.
Hunnie Butter is also built on the small business loans offered by Square, which are tied to transaction flows. These loans have allowed Jasmine to undertake projects and purchase equipment that has been crucial in their ability to keep up with demand. Access to capital through digital payments tools is critical to small businesses just getting off the ground, removing the hoops and high thresholds of traditional financial systems that often don’t align with the journey of family enterprises.
Customers have loved the flexibility and trust that comes with using digital tools. Jasmine says online ordering, which provides confirmation emails and pickup instructions, helps customers feel more secure in their orders. Buy Now, Pay Later (Afterpay) has also been a surprise hit. “People even use it for orders under $100. It makes us more accessible, and we still get paid upfront,” notes Jasmine, saying such tools benefit both customers and business owners like her.
An Digital Vision
Rather than pursuing multiple locations, Jasmine sees the future in digital expansion. “We love being a one-of-one mom-and-pop shop,” she says. Growth will instead come through online channels and creative new products. “We don’t want to add more 80-hour weeks,” she says, “we want to maximize what we’ve built.”
Building and scaling their business has been made possible by digital technologies, and that is where Jasmine sees the future of Hunnie Butter. The flexibility of tools like the capital loans and Buy Now, Pay Later have facilitated their business, but Jasmine sees many more digital possibilities. “We’re working on merch, exclusive drops, subscriptions, even digital classes… ways to work smarter, not harder,” explains Jasmine.
Hunnie Butter will continue to grow how they first began: through the creativity of Jasmine and the growing Hunnie Butter family, and powered by digital tools, baking up a taste of home.
