A husband and wife built a million dollar business selling cinnamon buns. Here’s how their Edgy, Quirky Instagram posts launched a viral sensation.

• Mav’s top buns have sold over a million cinnamon buns.

• Nikki Ashkar Levery Media to grow business without advertising.

• Balancing family and business, the ashkars produce 1,000 buns every day on weekends.

When Nikki Ashkar and her husband Mike first baked her grandmother’s cinnamon buns, they didn’t set out to start a million dollar business.

Five years later, however, their small business, Mavi’s top buns, sold more than half a million cinnamon buns. As of early 2024, more than $1 million has been made, according to sales reports reviewed by Business Insider.

“We went from selling cinnamon buns out of a U-haul truck to making over $1 million within a year,” said Nikki Rachel Cohn.

Today, they bake buns at a bakery in New Jersey. At $10 a Bun, the price isn’t cheap, but it’s also affordable. “You have 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 used twice. “We clear every single nook and cranny,” says Nikki, adding, “so you don’t miss a good bite.”

How to build a million dollar business

Coming from a commercial background, Nikki knew that the brand was as important as the recipe itself. He didn’t want to call the business “mike and nikki blocks.”

Eventually, they chose the name “Mav’s top tuns,” named after his oldest son, Maverick. From the beginning, he positioned the business as “Bestnamon Buns in New Jersey.”

“We truly believe that,” says Nikki, “when you believe something about your brand and what you bring to the table, you become that.”

Nikki said they never paid for a promotion or influenced her to get a promotion. Instead, their social media accounts help grow.

For example, Nikki started posting photos and videos on a business Instagram account in 2020, some of which went viral. One of the first viral posts blew up 80,000 likes.

“At first I was mad at you,” she said in a video of her angry look as she clutched the bun. “But as we grew and as we got more content, it became one of those things where you get more viral, more people will say whatever they want to comment on, and that’s good for us.”

One of the posts of the account features a normal visual but they have written it with an Edgy Audio Clip that includes some profanity.

Nikki said she hesitated before sending it, worried it might be too bold for the family business. However, this post felt true to him. “People don’t relate to a lot of things where we have real authenticity.”

It’s not like the Insta page is full of EDGY content, though. Other posts showcase the quirky bot’s personality in a couple of delicious cinnamon buns accompanied by metal and rap music, and dance videos.

Juggling 3 Kids while running a business is difficult

Nikki opened the bakery while she was eight months pregnant, balancing a newborn baby, late-night bears, and long lines of customers. Mav’s top buns now produce 1,000 buns a day during peak weekends, he said.

Behind the scenes, Nikki and Mike Jiggy The demands of business and parenthood.

“I think that’s what people really like, that’s why they like to support us because they know how mom and dad work,” said Nikki.

When asked what goes into betting and sleeping at night, Nikki is patient and honest.

“Sometimes we lost our strength and wrapped buns with a candle, but those moments where they separated really similar people, where you keep going, you will succeed,” she said.

Nikki said their three children are already imitating the family trade, rolling play-doh into small brushes at home.

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