‘Gifting cakes by post took off during lockdown’
Fine artist Julia Goldfinch, 46, lives near Tonbridge, Kent, with her husband Daron, 52, and two children, aged 14 and 11. She owns and runs a cafe with her husband, as well as Charming Bakery, which sells hampers for cake lovers and boxes of brownies.
THE IDEA
Since December 2011, I have run the Finch House Cafe with my husband, and we have a team of bakers to make cakes and pastries. Customers regularly asked if they could buy brownies wrapped up as gifts for friends and family and, in October 2019, the idea to post beautifully packaged brownies and cakes nationwide was born.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
We funded the new venture, which we initially named Brownies by Finch, through a combination of cafe profits and a bank loan. We set up a simple website to take orders and send them directly to the bakers for fulfilment. Before lockdown, we received 25-30 orders a week, but during lockdown we regularly received 500-600 a week, as many of our customers sent our brownies and hampers to loved ones they couldn’t see, and companies sent brownies and hampers to their staff. All our hampers include free greetings cards and most of our orders were sent with messages of thanks or reassurance. We renamed the business Charming Bakery in April 2021, when we found out that charm is a collective noun for the birds we share our name with, goldfinches. We also developed an ecommerce website to manage orders and promote the range. I took inspiration from goldfinches’ migratory paths and started sketching the different animals they encounter on the way, such as the North African cheetah and the European red fox. I also started sketching our dalmatian, Mabel. These illustrations feature on our packaging, our mugs and cake tins, and customers can choose their favourite when ordering.
BREAKTHROUGH MOMENT
Last Christmas, the business went up a notch, as we received a high volume of orders from customers looking to send presents to friends and family, but also several large orders from corporates, who wanted to send gifts to clients and staff.
STEEPEST LEARNING CURVE
The number of orders increased so rapidly during lockdown that we had to adapt and expand our production and dispatch operations within a matter of days.
WHERE WE ARE NOW
We’re receiving 150-250 orders a week and have introduced mini hampers to our range. The new hampers, starting from £21, include either a loaf cake or a box of brownies and a fine bone china mug that features an animal illustration.
For Christmas, my favourite pick for is our Quintessential Champagne Afternoon Tea Gift Hamper. It contains a box of 12 brownies or your choice of loaf cake, although for the season I’d recommend our fruity Christmas loaf cake, decorated with white and gold snowflakes. It will come beautifully packed with one of our fine bone china mugs, our house tea blend, and a bottle of champagne.
TOP TIP Be prepared to radically change how you work to improve efficiency and quality.