Sweet Success

by Sandra Jones photos by Tom Powell

All you need are four tablespoons of water and one minute in a microwave and you’ve got a fantastic cake.

Sarah Neal, FOUNDER, InstaCake Cards

SOMETIMES NECESSITY IS INDEED THE SWEET MOTHER OF INVENTION.

Just ask Sarah Neal, founder of InstaCake Cards, a unique Parksville-based company. “All my life, birthdays were celebrated with a card and a cake. So, when we moved to Vancouver Island from the UK, I really wanted to continue that tradition with family and friends back home but couldn’t figure out a way to do it. When I tried to ship a cake it was tricky to package, didn’t arrive intact, and was very expensive to mail. A card on its own didn’t seem like enough!”

With a background in food science, Neal set out to create a cake she could send in a card. Two years later, InstaCake Cards was born. “The ingredients for a delicious celebration cake including the frosting, candle, and sprinkles as well as a patented pop-up baking case and even the spoons for stirring and measuring water are all contained within a fun card. All you need are four tablespoons of water and one minute in a microwave and you’ve got a fantastic cake,” says Neal.

Similar to a mud cake but made with real butter, eggs, sugar, and vanilla, this product takes the cake in terms of taste. “The last thing I wanted to do was send my family a cake that tasted like cardboard! I’m known for my cakes so I spent a lot of time finding the authentic ingredients that I would use in my own kitchen.”

With the concept finalized and the ink still drying on the product packaging, Neal took a leap of faith when it came to launching the product. “I booked a booth at one of North America’s largest gift and stationery trade shows in New York City. We were flying by the seat of our pants but it paid off. People in the industry told us they’d never seen anything like this before!”

The connections made through the trade show were invaluable and included clients as well as US media outlets. Impressed by the ingenuity of InstaCake Cards, NBC’s Today featured it on their “Why Didn’t I Think of That?” morning TV segment and single-handedly introduced the product to more than seven million potential customers.

“That was an exciting day for us and we started seeing traffic on our website from all over North America,” says Neal.

The fledgling business experienced its shares of highs and lows in its early days but was guided by its business plan and encouraged by the response the product received. “Out of the many things we planned for when we launched our business a year ago, a global pandemic just wasn’t on the list,” jokes Neal. However, it turned out that COVID wasn’t a catastrophe for the company, but a new opportunity.

“No one is seeing anyone for their birthday these days and people are still looking for a way to connect. When people get their InstaCake Card, they make the cake, take a photo, and send it to the person who gave it to them. It becomes more of a fun experience that can be shared!” says Neal.

But the appeal of the cake and card goes far beyond birthdays. “We got a call recently from Pepsi who wanted to send InstaCake Cards as a thank you to all of their employees who were working remotely. Another company sent out 200 to their employees to celebrate a business anniversary and they all opened them up together on a Zoom call. We have realtors sending them to clients when they buy a new home and on it goes. Because of that interest we’ve expanded our line of cards into other events and holidays and even customize cards for larger orders.”

InstaCake Cards are made in our Canadian peanut free facilities from the highest quality ingredients, including Madagascar vanilla and real butter and eggs.

instacakecards.com

Originally Neal thought it would be the millennials who would be their primary customer. “We’ve discovered that the millennials like to receive it and it’s the Baby Boomers who love to give it. They’ll send it to their grandkids and get a kick out of seeing the photo when they make it.”

The cards have found their way around the globe, thanks in part to interest from online platforms such as Amazon and Zulilly. “I was talking to Amazon about a shipment I needed and ended up describing my product to them,” says Neal. They loved it so much that they wanted to take it on straight away. InstaCake Cards is now in the Amazon warehouse and they’re starting to sell the product in February.”

For Neal, shifting and adapting to opportunity and change are what she enjoys most about being an entrepreneur. “I have some plans but there have been lots of curves and I love that challenge. I get just as excited when Pepsi calls as I do when I hear the sweet messages from customers about our product. It’s been a great adventure and we’re just getting started!”

DID YOU KNOW? Birthday cakes date back to ancient Greece when round cakes were made and decorated with candles in honour of the goddess Artemis. Ancient Romans celebrated the birthdays (of men only) and on the occasion of a 50th birthday, a cake made of wheat flour, olive oil, honey and grated cheese would be included in the celebration. The most recent birthday ritual, sending birthday cards, didn’t appear in England and America until about 1850.