When did you start this and what triggered it ?
Fluff In A Cup officially began in 2013, right after my graduation. I used to always watch my mum bake and would be fascinated by it. So I started off with cupcakes, which was very rare in those days. I still remember one of the best sellers then was chocolate chip cupcakes.
Usually, I baked for family and but then I got a big wedding order for around 75 cupcakes and then there was no looking back. Those cupcakes kickstarted my journey as a baker.
Do you create your own recipes or are they inspired from somewhere?
My initial recipes were all pass me downs from my mum and then I started experimenting a lot with them. I do get inspired from other bakers and try their recipes and also try to add my little changes into them too. For example Marbled Kitkat was something I developed for the love of Kitkat. It is unique in it’s own way and it was one of my first experimental flavours.
Can we get a peek into the running of your business? How do you manage the orders in Kochi when your in Ahmedabad, who handles the daily social media, how do you manage partnerships/collabs etc? Give us a hint of how you do it all.
Managing a business in two cities can be quite a task. As there is always a break from your usual. So I take orders based on where I am. In Kochi, it’s always full-fledged, I bake, I sell my sprinkles, take workshops, and so on. In Ahmedabad, on the other hand, I used to make content for the page mainly and supply cupcakes at one cafe. So it taught me to strike a balance. Initially, I was very scared by the fact of leaving my comfort zone and going somewhere new and start from fresh. It’s hard to start off, it was only in the second year in Ahmedabad that people actually recognized the brand- so that was the main reason why I focussed mainly on the content part there. My social media is all handled by me and I love doing the marketing part- it really brings out the digital marketer in me. And as for collaborations, the brands get in touch, sometimes it’s barter, sometimes it’s paid - but it’s a whole lot of fun no matter what.
For the rest of us who only see the success and the state of your business today, it seems like it was an easy journey. But i'm sure you had your difficult days. Please share with us a glimpse of your struggles with maybe an incident/a story that tested your patience, and what made you strive through it and keep at it?
Every business has it’s risk and bad times. For me, my first challenge was when I started off because no one actually saw home baking as a profession. Everyone said - ‘Oh what a nice way to work! You’re home all the time, and you have plenty of time in hand’. They thought of it more as a hobby. What they don’t realize is we home bakers have to do everything from scratch on our own. We bring customers, we ideate, we bake, we package it, and we ensure it gets delivered on time. And in addition to all that there is also the buying of all the ingredients, costing, marketing and making sure the customers are satisfied with each order. So to actually make a mark of my own and show people that is serious business was my number one challenge. Secondly,some of the clients can be a task. And you cannot give them a bad impression too, so patience worked here a lot and with years I’ve learned how to say NO with a smile.
Have you had any training in cooking or done any course in running a business?
I am a self taught baker. But recently, I did a few classes in baking, for cakesicles, buttercream flowers and so on. Frankly, I’m not so very fond of cooking. Baking I love. In this profession, what you need is a lot of practice, just by attending a class you won’t learn everything, you have to come back home and work on those skills. So practice, practice and loads of it is the ultimate to be a good home baker.
How do you keep yourself upto date with the new trends of reaching the customers, improve ways of doing business etc?
It’s very important to be updated, as there are new trends coming in every single day. I try to attend workshops from trained bakers so I can keep up with trends. I interact with customers mainly through instagram. Instagram has been a life saviour when it comes to showcasing your products, marketing and also reach potential clients. I feel we should always try to be better than yesterday, so that’s how I aim at improving what I do. Comparing to others will only bring your morale down, so the best thing is to compare is with yourself and not anyone else.
Being a married woman with a kid and running a business that crosses state borders is no doubt a tough job. Hats off to you for doing this so successfully. Do you have any words for others who want to do something similar but are unable to figure out where to start?
It’s all about perspective. Yes I am married now, I have a child but that doesn’t change me. I have my extra responsibilities, but I don’t make those my entire life. I make it a part of my life.I have help too for the baby, so that makes it easier in a lot of ways. So balance is the key. Don’t make something your entire life, make it a part and you can see the difference.
I believe that husbands as our life partners have a huge role to play in our successes. No matter big or small. Their support counts. Can you tell us a little bit about the support you have gotten and how it has helped you run your business?
Husbands and wives should always be THE core team. My husband has always been supportive, he knew my dreams and aspirations before we got married and he was completely for it. He cheers me on, tastes all my bakes and makes sure I respond to all my customers on time. Same way, I support his work too. It was never like we had to ask for permissions from each other for anything. We both are two individuals with our own dreams. We respected that of each other.
Okay - tell us the best moment of your journey so far
There are two actually - one was when my cakesicles were featured at the cover page of Pachakam Magazine and the second was when I was recognized as the top three bakers in Kochi. So these two were my best moments.
