CONVERSATIONS WITH: KATIE CROSS FROM CAKE OR DEATH

Laura Seaward, Corporate and Business Services Senior Manager, and Kate Pace, Tax Manager from our Food and Drink Team Recently, they met together with Exeter Living Award winner Katie Cross from Cake or Death to talk about the business and discuss the difficulties faced by SME companies in the current economic environment.

Could you tell us a bit about yourself and the background of your company?

I’ve always enjoyed baking, and my step-grandmother encouraged me to learn more about baking because she created everything from scratch. She was the one who inspired me to bake.

I was raised in a tiny village that featured a market on a Saturday, which is why I used to bake some Irish tea loaves and then sell them at the market each week for pocket cash; it was my first introduction to being a business owner!

I attended Oxford University and, after graduating, relocated to London and began working with PEAS, Promoting Equality in African Schools, An amazing brand new entity that is a start-up in the not-for-profit sector. I climbed the ranks to become director of Development and Communications, managing the fundraising team. In the end, I was dissatisfied with certain demands of large investors and donors and began to search for opportunities elsewhere.

In the year 2018, I submitted my application to be a judge on the Great British Bake Off, and I was only a few short of being a finalist. I’d made myself promise that if I didn’t make it into the show, I’d create my own baking business, and so I took the bullet and did it!

Cake or Death was named after a sketch drawn by the amazing Eddy Izzard, I wanted my company to have an unforgettable name, and I’m confident that I’ve achieved that. Inspiring myself by the amazing vegan brownies and cakes that are available, I spent the following year and a half building the business, riding through London with cakes in my backpack and trying out different recipes until I came across the most perfect recipe.

By the end of 2019, there were 25 wholesale clients across London, such as cafes, restaurants, and bakeries, and they were about to adjust to the chaotic pace of life as a small business owner. I was earning a profit. However, it was extremely demanding and exhausting!

I am married to an 8-year-old son, and we’re currently hosting an amazing Ukraine family. We’re helping the family to make it through the system and establish themselves in the UK. The woman we’re hosting is a manufacturing engineer, and she has been challenging me on a couple of my processes in order to improve the way I work.

How did the pandemic impact your business, and how have you diversified?

In March of 2020, overnight, I lost all of my wholesale customers after the lockdowns came into effect. I sat at home some time, pondering what I would do, and then quickly decided that letterbox brownies were the right choice. Six businesses had tried it in that time, and there was a clear market. I had boxes that I could use along with a basic website (which was soon removed!) to accommodate this new model of business; therefore, I decided to go for it.

Instagram was an integral part of my accomplishments during the lockdown. Initial sales were only to family and friends; however, it soon grew all over the UK! There wasn’t a corporate connection at Royal Mail at that point; therefore, I’d have to spend a lot of time waiting in line in the postal office in order to get the brownie boxes distributed. I can remember at one point showing up at the post office near me with over 100 brownie boxes to give away; the queues of people behind me were not thrilled!

The husband of mine is an editor. during COVID, he started working from home. This is, and he does it today. We figured there was no reason for us to stay living in London, and since we had many relatives in Devon, we made the major decision to move.

In January 2021, we relocated to the town of Exeter, and the bakery was opened 3 months after. I was unable to locate an ideal location, and I ended the lease on my London home prior to concluding the lease at Exeter, which meant I was forced to sublet the space in Greendale for two months in order to ensure that the business was running.

While I’m near Exeter city center, the overall traffic isn’t as high, so I’ve decided to focus the attention of my business on online sales at the moment. I’ve also set up an account with the Royal Mail Corporate account to lower costs and focus on increasing your online reputation. I mostly sell in the UK; however, I have some overseas clients too.

It’s a highly competitive marketplace, and many similar businesses have sprung up following the initial lockdown; however, I have a great and unique product that my customers adore (most of them are repeat customers).