How TikTok has helped millions discover traditional Scottish sweets - and changed the life of the Hebridean Baker

But for millions, TikTok is a daily source of entertainment, news and trends. And for some Scottish businesses, it’s a lifeline.

The political opposition to the platform across the globe has been significant. In March, US lawmakers passed a Bill that could see the social media platform banned from the country if its Chinese owners did not sell the brand. The US House of Representatives passed the Bill by 352 votes to 65, following concerns the company’s ownership structure was a national security threat. Last year, Scottish government staff were separately banned from using it on work devices for the same reasons.

Owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, TikTok is targeted at the international market and has 1.04 billion users worldwide. It has started trends, including in food and drink, and is the go-to app for news for Gen Z. But it has also brought attention to some of Scotland’s islands and traditional sweet treats, including a business boost for one venture.

Isle of Lewis native Coinneach MacLeod launched the Hebridean Baker back in 2020 and has since risen to internet stardom through his TikTok videos. Speaking on The Scotsman’s Scran podcast on how he went from homebaker to worldwide star, MacLeod, known just as the Hebridean Baker to his 264,700 followers, said: “I’ve always been a really passionate home baker and I can pinpoint the moment where I decided to do it [set up the Hebridean Baker]. I was over at my aunt’s house – she’s 93 – and she had a clootie dumpling bubbling away on the stove and she was telling me that she’d made the clootie dumpling – or duff as we call it in Gaelic – the same way for the past 80 years.

"She was telling me stories of traditions on the island and I thought ‘I want to make sure that people on the island don’t forget these stories and recipes’, not ever imagining that anyone off the island would be interested. I started creating wee videos and stories online, and I had [as of 2022] 21 million people watch them and I know there’s not 21 million people on Lewis.”

It was this following, and Donald Trump’s previous potential TikTok ban in 2020, that caused MacLeod’s meteoric rise.

“Things were plodding along nicely, getting a few thousand views, which was still unbelievable," he said. “Then one morning I woke up and the day before, I had posted a video on how to make a carrot and cardamom loaf. I woke up to hundreds of thousands of views and tens of thousands of new followers and I thought OK, that was a good carrot cake but it wasn’t that good’.

"Unbeknownst to me, the American ELLE magazine had published a column – at the time that our old pal Trump was trying to ban TikTok – and the headline was something like ‘the only thing I’ll miss about TikTok is the Hebridean Baker’. The columnist wrote this story about finding me on TikTok and I think she said I sounded like what she imagined a piece of shortbread would sound like when it came out of the oven.

"I suddenly got this huge American following after that and it started to grow and grow and the adventures I’ve had because of this have just been amazing.”

MacLeod’s adventures have included writing three cookbooks and taking the works on a tour of America, joining in the Tartan Week parade in New York and coming second in the World Porridge Making Championships.

One of the draws that many people find in MacLeod’s videos is his accent – something that Nicola Johnston of Shetland’s Island Larder knows too well. Ms Johnston is from Whalsay, an island off the east coast of Shetland.

After buying Island Larder, formerly The Shetland Fudge Company – where she worked when she was 14 – with her husband, Magnus, Ms Johnston began posting videos of how she makes the traditional – and sometimes not so traditional – sweets to TikTok.

“When I worked for what was the Shetland Fudge Company, I fell in love with everything chocolate but more so I loved the visitors that stopped by,” he said.

"I was really proud to be part of that experience for them. As time went on and I got more involved with the business, I saw the potential not just for the products, but for the business itself. In 2014, me and my husband bought over The Shetland Fudge Company, but it wasn’t until 2020 when we rebranded as Island Larder and started a bigger range of products, which are made by hand.”

Everything is made in a "really peerie” kitchen on the premises of the shop, and the sweet treats include chocolate fudge, the ‘world famous’ puffin poo, gourmet marshmallows, Shetland ice cream and Scottish tablet.

It is the videos on making these hand-made treats, and talking about them, on TikTok that have brought Island Larder to the attention of millions of people and given the business a “lease of life” Ms Johnston said they never expected.

She said of the interest in her accent: “The videos have sparked interest in why our dialect is the way it is. It’s bringing up conversations about the history of Shetland; some people don’t even know it exists or where it is. I want people to know about us. I don’t know how you would even go about trying to make the videos fancy; it’s just unapologetically me and our business.”

To hear more from The Hebridean Baker or Shetland’s food and drink, search Scran wherever you get your podcasts.