Quarantine Home Bakers
In this series, we talk to people who turned their passion for food and baking into a business idea amidst lockdown and COVID19 fears. Some have been in the market for years and others saw the new opportunity and took it! These home businesses are changing the game and have overcome the odds of running a business during quarantine. Here’s how they did it.
How are you ensuring that proper hygiene measures are taken in preparation and delivery?
Everything is prepared at home and so I ensure the highest-level cleanliness is always maintained when cooking and prepping the food items. Prior to delivering anything we make sure all the boxes are sealed and covered – this way the customer would be the only one to open the food package.
What do you enjoy about baking and operating your own home baking business?
Cooking is my passion; I really enjoy trying out new recipes and it pays off when people enjoy my food. During the lockdown my daughters and I got around to experiment with so many new recipes, from Chocolate Tarts, No-bake Cakes, Dumplings, Homemade Ginger Beer to so many more! This helps me to be innovative with Urban Oven – and so we have a constantly evolving menu with variations of snacks, desserts, dinner menus and even salads for the health-conscious customers.
How has COVID-19 and the current state of the world changed your business and your baking?
I used to mainly cater for family and friends and any promotions were purely based on word of mouth, so my network was smaller. Post Lockdown we see an increase in inquiries and orders through Instagram.
We have many repeat customers and a lot more visibility on Urban Oven now.
How do you see Home Bakers going forward post COVID?
Many people used the lockdown as a time to really go for it with their cooking, baking and creative side. I think people got comfortable with the shift to a digital aspect as well (even me!) and now so many find it easy to order on food delivery platforms or Instagram whenever they have a requirement or even if they are simply
craving a yummy treat. This has given home-bakers a lot of opportunities.
Any advice to anyone who wants to start their own business?
Go for it!!! Stop waiting for all the cards to line up! All I needed was a little nudge and support and its been great so far!
*Urban Oven takes orders via Instagram (@Urbanoven_). They only accept pre-orders and require prior payment for confirmation of an order.