After Bermuda resident Pam Cruickshank sent her daughters away to boarding school, she didn't want to think of them constantly snacking on junk food.

So she sent them packages of goodies, including the likes of fruitcake, cookies and flapjacks.

Ms Cruickshank discovered other Bermuda boarding school parents who wanted to do the same thing, but there was no-one catering to their need.

Realising there was a gap in the market, Ms Cruikshank decided to set up a business to take advantage of the opportunity. The result was internet business TuckOnline.com, which she set up two years ago and which now boasts around 1,500 registered users from many parts of the world.

The company's offers its services to the parents of boarding school students in the UK, who can send packages of various sizes to their children, containing healthy snacks, tasty treats and toiletries.

Although Ms Cruickshank oversees the online business from Bermuda, she has rented space in two warehouses in Britain, in Wimborne and in Cambridge, while subcontractors in England store, package and deliver the tuck she orders.

"When I sent my daughter off to boarding school I realised how difficult it was just to send her some decent tuck," Ms Cruickshank said.

"I started hunting for ways to do it. I went off to the UK and spent significant amounts of time researching, with parents and children testing the foods I'd chosen to find out what worked for the kids.

"The UK has got a strong movement towards healthier food in schools. The foods I like to provide are naughty — but on the good side of naughty."

Tuckonline has met with the approval of UK schools, because there is a guarantee that there will be no alcohol or cigarettes in their packages. That allows the youngsters to open them in private, as opposed to the normal routine of opening them in front of a member of school staff.

"The treats in our range might be considered artisan foods — for example fruit cakes made by a small, private cake baker and treats from an all-organic chocolate company," Ms Cruickshank said.

"I try to include things that are a little bit out of the ordinary. I want us to be the Miles Market of the school tuck business."

The busiest time for TuckOnline is late summer, in the run-up to the start of the academic year. Ms Cruickshank has to be up and ready to deal with calls and e-mails by 5 a.m. — which is the 9 a.m. start of office hours in the UK.

As well as tuck boxes, containing treats such as fruit smoothies, nuts, cookies and the odd chocolate mouse, Ms Cruickshank also arranges for the shipping of trunks full of clothes to save children having to fly with large amounts of luggage when they go off to school.

The vast majority of Ms Cruickshank's customers are based in Britain, but there are also some in Africa, Canada and the US. Some order 12 months' worth of tuck, to be delivered at intervals throughout the school year.

Ms Cruickshank, who has lived in Bermuda for ten years, had some business experience working in corporate communications for the charity Oxfam in the UK. At the time, Oxfam's second-hand clothes stores made up the fourth-biggest high street retailer in Britain.

"This is easier than raising money for charity," she said. "At least with TuckOnline, you are actually getting something for your money."

Ms Cruickshank is due to leave the Island in July, but will keep her business going from her new home in the UK.