A History of Just Desserts
1985: The Early Days
Just Desserts Yorkshire began as a team of two working on the production mill floor of Salt's Mill in Shipley, West Yorkshire. Built in 1853 by Sir Titus Salt, Salt's Mill was world-renowned for its fine cloths & fabrics that matched international appetite for high quality textiles.
Originally, Just Desserts Yorkshire handcrafted goods for just four local tearooms in the area, being known for unbelievably tasty Fudge Cakes and Pecan Pies. However, there was much more to come!
1985-1990: Bigger Business
Just as soon as the business began, the demand for Just Desserts grew rapidly. Four local tearooms quickly became five, five became six, and Just Desserts spread across the whole of West Yorkshire.
As this demand grew, so did the facilities, bakery equipment, and the range. The next step in developing the product variety was the addition of artisan individual tarts like Lemon Meringue Pies & Treacle Tarts, along with a fine selection of traditional afternoon tea sponge cakes.
1989: The Move
With the growing range, Just Desserts needed additional production space. The business grew out of Salt's Mill and moved into a nearby, newly built unit with a purpose-built bakery- helping to employ further craft bakers from the village of Shipley.
Production expanded to include the creation of several gateaux, cakes, tarts, and puddings for a growing customer base of delis, cafes, coffee shops, and farm shops around Yorkshire.
1990s-2010s: Steady growth
Within just a few short years of moving out of Salt's Mill, a new expansion was needed, leading to the acquisition of 'Unit Two', with Units Three and Four quickly following.
What followed was two decades of steady growth, product and company development, and many happy customers. This era laid the foundations for the continued success of the business, with it becoming a household name in the food service industry in Yorkshire and beyond.
2025: 40 Years of Just Desserts!
Through investment in facilities, employees career progression, and a solid range of delicious desserts, the business reached an incredible 40 years of trading. To mark these four decades of Just Desserts, we introduced a year-long promotion with all traybakes priced at £19.85, reflecting the year of our founding in 1985 and celebrating how far the business has come. We are committed to giving back to our loyal customers, offering similar promotions and incentives as a way of saying thank you for their continued support.
Just Desserts Today
The handcrafted bakery now has an ever-growing office team, an army of skilled craft bakers, and its own fleet of vans delivering to a loyal customer base nationwide. Just Desserts are proud producers of artisan desserts, delivering to food services, delis, farm shops, cafes, restaurants, and many more outlets and venues across the UK with their portfolio of over 200 desserts- including and endless supply of luxury cheesecakes, pastries, cakes, tray bakes, cookie pies, cookie cups, doughnuts, ice cream, and so many more.
