How I found customers countrywide for my cakes

Catherine Ndung’u identifies herself as “the official cake hawker”, an identity that comes from her countrywide trips to deliver cakes to her clients.

She bakes more than 1,000 half a kilo cakes in a month and 200 dozens of cupcakes for her clients.

Ms Ndung’u mostly referred to as Kate Wa Gladys studied journalism and majored in Public Relations and a minor in marketing at the United States International University Africa (USIU).

Her self-employment journey began back in 2014, when she settled in Nakuru after working for a road construction company in Nairobi for six years.

“I learnt so much about managing a company from my boss and I was ready to run my own business,” she said.

She had a passion for baking and once in a while she sold cakes on orders and earned an extra income. She also ran a clothes business.

Her clothes business required her to travel regularly, mainly to Nairobi, and most of the time she had a few orders to deliver to his friends before she proceeded with her trip.

“I started thinking of how I would make some money, and so when going to Nairobi I would ask on my Facebook page if anyone would like cake. I would get like 10 cake orders for Sh600 each, which was enough for my fuel,” said Ms Ndung’u.

In 2016, she started blogging about various food recipes and cakes, attracting a good number of people who wanted to have a taste of her cooking.

With the enterprise growing, she started catering services for weddings, graduation ceremonies, birthday parties and corporate events, among others.

The number of customers who wanted cakes from Nairobi grew within a short period and her friends from other counties started making requests for her to extend the services.

“My friends who followed my posts on social media from other counties started asking me to consider touring other regions,” she added.

Due to the great feedback she was already receiving from her clients in Nairobi, she was confident that this is what she wanted to do.

“I decided to give it a try, and within no time, I was the official Kenya cake hawker! This new concept was so fulfilling,” she said.

Pricing is based on the numbers since she produces the cakes in mass.

She notes that this form of energy makes them affordable to make and easier to sell because the customers don’t feel pressed by the prices.

“We bake using charcoal ovens which makes our cost of production slightly lower,” she added.

Her cakes are usually in a variety of flavours which include lemon caramel, Passion vanilla, orange vanilla, blueberry, orange caramel and pinacolada.

“We decorate with orange butter cream and some sprinkles. So even when someone is having a birthday party, the cake is pretty to look at and affordable. Everybody can have a party with a cake,” she said.

There’s however an extra cost for those who like their cakes customised.

The number of orders depends on the location because some regions have more orders than others.

On average, she says, a Nairobi trip will have around 250 cakes, 50 dozens of cupcakes and about 40 boxes of donuts. Western and mountain regions will have about 150 cakes and 30 dozen cupcakes while Coast usually has 200 cakes and about 50 dozen cupcakes.

“Our smallest route is Kisii with around 80 cakes on average and 20 dozen cupcakes in a trip,” she added.

She recalls one of the seasons where she had big numbers in terms of orders was during the Mothers’ day celebrations.

“We had orders for the Western Kenya route and we had about 500 cakes. So we had to use two vehicles. That is our biggest order,” said Ms Ndung’u.

She has four permanent staff.

Ms Ndung’u says that her biggest fulfillment is getting the chance to meet her friends from various backgrounds through her cakes.

“Sometimes I get orders from people in other countries who want them delivered to their kin, it’s so fulfilling even to have a business where you are welcomed in their homes,” she added.

Ms Ndung’u says apart from getting satisfaction in her work, she also gets to enjoy her travelling hobby when she tours various parts of the country for business.

“My dream is to supply the entire country every day with fresh tasty cakes. And barbecue sauce and the rest of my products so as to transform kitchens around the world with tasty affordable meals,” she said.