Former Sneinton Market Avenues tenant Macaron Marlo opens new shop in Hockley

A bakery specialising in French macarons of various flavours has opened on Hockley's main thoroughfare. Macaron Marlo is a family-run business, established in 2016 by Allena Marlow and her husband Ian Marlow. In 2017, Allena opened her first shop on Avenue C in Sneinton Market, having baked at home for six months. "We were one of the first businesses to open on Sneinton Market Avenues in the Creative Quarter and it was just wonderful to be part of the community surrounded by other creative small businesses."

After two years, the success of their business meant they were getting too big for their unit. Allena explains "We had to look again for something more specialised to our craft, spacious enough to accommodate bigger commercial equipment." This was their reasoning for moving to Home Farm Bakery in Colston Bassett in 2019. But the needs of their customers pushed the team behind Macaron Marlo to consider a relocation to a more central location. "Customers always asked whether there was a place they could pick up during the week and the only option was driving to the farm. The baking premises are located in the countryside with no regular public transport, so it meant people had to drive to reach us."

Having a permanent retail space will provide stability and a platform for Macaron Marlo to express their creativity, and their customers now know where to find them 6-7 days a week. They are also coming up with new lines of more gluten-free products, like their Mac-Brownies which are baked using the egg yolks (as only egg whites are used in macarons), and any damaged macaron shells which previously been going to waste.

Macaron Marlo can be found at 7 Carlton Street, Hockley, in the former Johns Opticians site opposite Q Hair and Beauty.