Start-up cake shop blossoms into a recipe for success
A simple dream of baking cakes started at a young age for Stanger-born Skhumbuzo, an International Hotel School graduate who has spent time working for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.
It was do or die during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when brothers Skhumbuzo and Sphesihle Maphanga decided to grow their small cake business and branch out into mass production for the cake supply industry.
The man with a cake passion had his dreams stay on track while working as a pastry chef at the Durban ICC, when his employer helped him set up a small bakery operating from a garage, giving birth to Bakers Gallery SA.
Five years down the line, in 2018, Skhumbuzo quit his job to grow the business with the help of his brother. Together, they employed three staff but said they knew little about the finer aspects of a business.
With the help of friend Ntobeko Ndlovu, the paperwork was ironed out and soon they started supplying from a small Cornubia-based set-up.
Ntobeko, a teacher and a medical scientist brought his strategic thinking to the mix.
“He saw the potential and gave up teaching temporarily to jump all in. He introduced proper processes, bookkeeping and financial management which were crucial in us raising funding from one of the big five financial institutions,” said Skhumbuzo.
A year later, however, Covid-19 struck and they had to do some hard thinking while the cake and events industry took one of the hardest knocks to date.
“It was do or die,” said Skhumbuzo, so they took a leap of faith to move into mass production. They survived and today the company has premises at Dube TradePort where it is among the first tenants, and now supplies ten Spar outlets, including the Ballito Village Kwik Spar.
“In 2020 we had our first break into the retail sector with a contract to supply cake loaves, cake slices, cake rings, cupcakes, biscuits, tarts, and pastries to a Spar store. Within eight months we were supplying 10 Durban-based Spar supermarkets and we needed to expand to bigger and better premises,” said Skhumbuzo.
While serving as a mass-market cake producer, the team also takes orders for cakes for occasions, for which they design some truly beautiful-looking – and delicious – cakes. The team recently
supplied more than 1 200 desserts for a Midlands wedding, and have also supplied the likes of the Durban ICC and Balmoral Hotel.
Follow their journey on Instagram at @bakersgallerysa.
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