Alana’s got all the right ingredients for success
WELSH Apprentice winner Alana Spencer is to open a brand new cake cafe in Cardiff.
The baker and owner of Ridiculously Rich by Anna won the 2016 series of the Apprentice, with a £250,000 investment into her business made by Sir Alan Sugar.
Since then, she has bought out the business mogul, seen more than 90% of her business almost collapse overnight due to lockdown and has embarked on a mission to line the Welsh coast with her delicious sweet treats.
The first of the seaside cake shops was set up in October 2020, on the first day Wales entered a firebreak lockdown in Aberystwyth.
The pop-up style shop has been a hit with locals, offering a nice treat to go along with a daily walk during a time when there isn’t much else to do, said Alana.
“It is that little bit of joy, a cake and a hot chocolate when you can’t do much else,” said the 29-year-old who lives in Aberystwyth.
She is now expanding on the success of the Ridiculously Rich hut and is set to open a new space in Cardiff Bay in as little as six weeks’ time.
“You don’t expect to go from one little store to a big store in Cardiff Bay, but if you say no to an opportunity someone else will take it,” she said.
Alana explained that the new cake shop in Cardiff is around the corner from the sea front and is a huge space which will offer indoor seating when restrictions allow it.
The decoration of the shop is near completion and Alana is now working to get staff in place ready for an early May opening date.
Inside the shop there will be a selection of Ridiculously Rich cakes, made in Aberystwyth, along with a brand new cake bar, which will let visitors choose their own cake, ice cream, toppings and sauce to go with it.
The businesswoman is also opening a new store in Llandudno two weeks after the Cardiff Bay site opens.
But things in lockdown haven’t been all joy and success, Alana admitting that the first coronavirus lockdown saw 90% of her business close almost overnight.
“Before lockdown last year we had teams that would go out to food festivals and they were all cancelled basically overnight.
“We saw 90% of our business go. The other 8% was all wholesale, shops that sold our products ended up closing too.
“The last 2% was our online cake boxes, we sold about four to five a week. We put out a plea online and people started supporting us by buying gifts and we found this whole new part of the business.”
It hasn’t been all smooth sailing, as Alana has documented in a new YouTube channel about the realities of running a business, showing the manager of the hut quitting on the day she was meant to start working.
“I just want to show people the realities of running a small business, the good the bad and the ugly.”
The success of the business online has paved the way for the new stores to open.
She is now hopeful that the easing of lockdown restrictions will boost the new business premises.
“I think people are feeling more confident about going out, people are just needing something to get them outside.”