One of the regular stall holders to provide sweet treats is Connie who sells a great selection of carrot cakes with different flavours and has been at the market for over five years. She says she was lucky to be at the right place at the right time when the previous cake baker left the market. Connie – who has enjoyed baking all her life – knew there was a business opportunity for her when people loved her cakes and kept asking for them. Her cake business started with a basic carrot cake recipe and she made two flavours – plain and fruit. Her selection has now expanded to 10 flavours and she also sells one monthly special at the market .
All Connie’s cakes contain carrot and despite requests for other cakes, she has stuck to this. She says: “It’s so easy to conform and I am proud not to have deviated.” She is also proud to bring diversity to the market. The way she has developed her recipes though is by making gluten free, dairy free and vegan cakes. Making these cakes right was a journey of trial and error, but now that she has sourced the right ingredients, they are perfect and customers will be happy to note that they are priced the same as the regular cakes.
The baking, selling and meeting people at the market helps her to relief stress from her busy job as discharge lead at the Royal Marsden hospital. She is passionate about making them fresh, even if that means baking right through the night.
Connie and her cakes can also be found at other local food and free from markets and shows. “I have seen your cakes before” is what she often hears, which is definitely helped by her logo designed by her niece who is an illustrator. She takes orders (https://www.conniecakeslondon.com) which can be picked up at the market.
Connie is ready for the next chapter and she would like to sell her products in a wider market and is working on opportunities in the growing vegan and luxury market, but her base will always be the Ecolocal market.
