A Birmingham-founded dessert brand is lining up its next phase of growth as it seeks fresh investment to expand its retail footprint and scale national distribution.<\/p>\n
Sweet Joe\u2019s, a cookie dough manufacturer with roots in the city, is building on momentum gained through its participation in NatWest\u2019s business support programmes as it looks to deepen its presence in supermarkets, leisure venues, and branded retail locations.<\/p>\n
The business was founded in 2010 by Ammar Saleem, who spotted an opportunity while working in a local pizza outlet when he noticed demand consistently favoured cookie dough over core menu items. When the company, then operating as Cooky Dough Limited, joined the NatWest Accelerator Hub in Birmingham in 2015, strategic mentoring helped clarify the brand\u2019s positioning. This included a rebrand to Sweet Joe\u2019s inspired by guidance from accelerator mentors.<\/p>\n
Funding secured via NatWest was used to obtain manufacturing accreditations, increase storage capacity and invest in upgraded equipment, allowing production to be brought in-house and creating a platform for future scale across retail and wholesale markets.<\/p>\n
Saleem said:”Take the leap and do it. Changing your ecosystem to be around like-minded risk takers who understand your vision is the best thing you can do. Sometimes you need someone who can give realistic advice and know when you might need to pivot your strategy, and that\u2019s exactly what I had as part of the NatWest Accelerator”.<\/p>\n
The brand has since moved firmly into national retail. In 2024, Sweet Joe\u2019s opened its first standalone caf\u00e9 in Birmingham\u2019s Grand Central, followed by a major supermarket listing in 2025 that saw its products rolled out to more than 400 Asda stores nationwide.<\/p>\n
Sales of its Red Velvet and Chocolate Chunk lines have exceeded expectations, prompting further discussions with retail and leisure partners as demand continues to rise.<\/p>\n
Harinder Kunor, accelerator community manager at NatWest added: “Sweet Joe\u2019s is an outstanding example of how entrepreneurial determination, coupled with the right support and guidance can transform a local concept into a national success. Ammar\u2019s dedication to innovation and his ability to adapt to market opportunities have been truly inspiring.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Backed by NatWest\u2019s business support programmes, the Birmingham-founded business is scaling up production and retail partnerships<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":266702,"featured_media":2108597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53262],"coauthors":[127717],"class_list":["post-2108596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","tag-featured-story","tag-greater-birmingham"],"yoast_head":"\n