To understand Aries Bakehouse’s popularity, just visit Brixton and you’ll find customers queuing down the road, come rain or shine. Co-owners Jackie McKinson and Kate Farr have built their reputation on small-batch breads, pastries and cakes – all handmade with love in their open bakery.
McKinson, a self-taught baker who initially made cakes and bread at home, opened the bakery in 2019. “There was a lot of demand for what I was doing,” she explains, “and it was a great opportunity to turn my family shop into a bakery.” In the space of a few years, Aries has grown into a bustling community hub drawing visitors from across London.
The secret to their success is refreshingly simple. “We’re nice people,” McKinson says. “We make really good pastries and breads, and we value our customers, each and every one.” This philosophy has created a loyal customer base who are outside waiting when the doors open.
Overwhelming online demand
In 2020, as Aries’ popularity grew, managing customer demand became challenging. While they had been using Square’s Point of Sale system from day one, they hadn’t yet explored the online ordering capabilities. During lockdown, this became a critical gap. “We had so many people making orders via DM [direct message], which was a nightmare,” McKinson recalls. “I was missing DMs and there were irate customers who didn’t get their products.”
For McKinson, customer satisfaction is everything. “The minute we open and see the smiles on people’s faces, it makes it all worthwhile for me,” she explains. So disappointing customers through missed orders was particularly painful. They needed to find a way to extend their warm, organised in-person service into the digital space.
Building an integrated online presence
The transformation came when they created an online store with Square. “We’re able to plan ahead as we know how many orders we’ve got coming in,” Farr explains. They can print tickets directly from the platform, which they attach to bags, creating a clear system for managing pre-orders. What’s more, the online store is integrated with the POS, giving them the full picture: “It’s completely streamlined everything,” she says.
The ability to pre-order has been a hit with customers – “they can literally jump the queue and collect their orders” – and eCommerce has become a significant revenue stream. But for those who don’t pre-order, the team has a plan for keeping the queue moving quickly. With a handheld terminal alongside the register, staff can work their way down the queue, taking orders. “We don’t want people queuing outside for a long time,” Farr explains. “We want the experience to be an easy and fun one for them.”
Data-driven baking decisions
Beyond streamlining orders, Square’s reporting capabilities help Aries optimise its operations. “We can view sales and have some kind of understanding of how many products we need to be making on any particular day,” Farr explains, “and it’s really helped us cut down on waste.”
This data-driven approach has transformed how McKinson approaches her creative process. “I can go a bit wild with ideas,” she admits, describing her tendency to experiment with unconventional breads. The dashboard helps her understand which products resonate with customers. “From week to week, I can see if something’s not selling well, and I just rein myself in.”
A team that hits the ground running
Leading a happy and productive team is hugely important to the owners, and it’s clear they have a genuine affection for their staff. “I just love it when the whole crew are here,” says McKinson, with Farr adding, “We’re one big bakery family”. The Aries ethos stems from McKinson’s own journey as a self-taught baker. “I believe in encouraging people to learn new things, and I love seeing people develop,” she says. In this supportive environment, all team members have the freedom to try new things and discover hidden talents.
Having Square as their technology partner plays a crucial role in this approach. Nearly all new staff have used Square before, and first-timers find it intuitive. “Anyone can jump on and within half an hour they’ve got to grips with it,” says McKinson. This means the team can focus their time and energy on more exciting things than systems training – developing the creative and interpersonal skills that truly matter in their business.
A foundation for continued growth
Looking ahead, McKinson and Farr envision moving to a larger site where they can offer a more complete customer experience. “We’d like to see Aries expand. It would be really nice to have a bigger site where all of our lovely people can come and sit for a bit longer and have a coffee with us, but still be able to see what we’re doing,” says Farr.
Having used Square from the beginning, they know it can scale alongside their business. “We’ve upgraded as we’ve gone along and the system is still just as easy to set up and use,” says McKinson. They’re confident that Square can support their future expansion, just as it has enabled them to seamlessly integrate online ordering with their bustling shop front operations.
