How a husband and wife built a million-dollar business selling cinnamon buns without spending a single cent on marketing

• Mav's Top Buns has sold over half a million cinnamon buns.
• Nikki Ashkar leveraged social media to grow the business without paid marketing.
• Balancing family and business, the Ashkars produce up to 1,000 buns daily on weekends.

When Nikki Ashkar and her husband Mike baked hergrandmother's cinnamon bunsfor the first time, they didn't plan to start a million-dollar business.

Five years later, however, their small business,Mav's Top Buns, has sold over half a million cinnamon buns. Since the start of 2024, it has generated more than $1 million, according to sales report records reviewed by Business Insider.

"We went from selling cinnamon buns from a U-Haul truck tomaking over $1 millionin about a year," Nikki told BI's Rachel Cohn.

Today, they bake the buns at a bakery in New Jersey. At $10 a bun, the price isn't cheap, but neither is the labor. "You've got to know your worth," Nikki said.

The dough rests for 72 hours before hitting the oven. The frosting, a secret ratio of vanilla bean to cream cheese, is applied twice. "We ice every single nook and cranny," Nikki said, adding, "So that you never miss a good bite."

How they built a million-dollar business

Coming from amarketing background, Nikki knew that branding was as essential as the recipe itself. She didn't want to call the business "Mike and Nikki's buns."

Ultimately, they chose the name "Mav's Top Buns," named after her firstborn son, Maverick. From the start, she positioned the business as the "best cinnamon bunsin New Jersey."

"We truly believe that," Nikki said, adding, "When you believe something so intrinsically about your product and what you bring to the table, you become that."

Nikki said they have never paid for marketing or influencer promotions. Instead, their own social media accounts helped drive growth.

For example, Nikki began posting photos and videos on the business'sInstagram accountin 2020, some of which have since gone viral. One of herfirst viral postsracked up 80,000 likes.

"At first I was kind of offended," she said of the viral video's angry comments at how she was holding the bun. "But as we grew and as wegot more viral, it just became one of those things where the more viral you get, the more people are going to comment whatever they want to comment, and it's good for the algorithm, it's good for us."

One of the account'smost viral postsfeatures standard visuals but pairs them with an edgy audio clip that includes some profanity.

Nikki said she hesitated before posting it, worried it might be too bold for afamily business. However, the post felt authentic to her. "People related to things a lot when we were just authentically ourselves."

It's not like the Insta page is filled with edgy content, however. Other posts showcase the couple's quirky personality through delicious-looking cinnamon buns accompanied bymetal musicandrap, and somedancingvideos.

Juggling 3 kids while running a business has been tough

Nikki opened the bakery while eight months pregnant,balancing a newborn, late-night bakes, and long lines of customers. Mav's Top Buns now produces up to 1,000 buns a day during peak weekends, she said.

Behind the scenes, Nikki and Mike juggle the demands of entrepreneurship and parenthood.

"I think that's what people really grabbed onto, and that's why they love to support us because they know how hard a mom and dad work," Nikki said.

When asked what keeps her going through burnout and sleepless nights, Nikki credited perseverance and authenticity.

"Sometimes we'd lose power and we'd roll buns by candlelight, but it was those times where it really separated the men from the boys, where if you keep going, you will succeed," she said.

Nikki said their three children are already mimicking the family trade, rolling Play-Doh into miniature buns at home.