5 minute read
Cake-A-Licious
Samantha Pereira is a young entrepreneur from Panjim. Her love for baking a few years ago led her to start Cake-A-Licious, a home bakery based at St-Inez in Panjim. Cake-A-Licious offerings include a wide range of customized cakes (2D as well as 3D), chocolate fudge brownies, mousse bowls, cake pops, as well as corporate orders/ hampers as per the client's budget. “At Cake-A-Licious, my aim is to make your occasions memorable through my delectable custom-made cakes, which is a great way to celebrate that someone special!” says Samantha.
Professional Profile Samantha is a geologist by profession. She holds a Master’s degree in Earth Science from Goa University as well as an MBA from Goa Institute of Management. She is associated full-time with one of the top mining firms in Goa. Along with being a part time-cake artist, she has also dabbled in Konkani cinema, bagging cameo roles in two movies, along with modelling deals for couture brands.
What Inspired Her To Start Cake-A-Licious? Samantha's journey in the field of baking started off initially as a hobby when she began trying out different recipes, baking cookies, and cupcakes. “The first product that I vividly remember baking was chocolate-mint cookies, which I distributed among my family, friends, and neighbours,'' says Samantha. “The feedback I received from them regarding my cookies was extremely encouraging. This motivated me to continue making and selling these amazing cookies,” she says.
The next item that Samantha tried baking was a cake for her birthday - it was a rich chocolate cake loaded with strawberries and since then, there has been no looking back for her. “I baked a couple of free cakes for many of my friends and family's birthdays and that is how I practiced and gained confidence. Gradually, through word of mouth I started getting my orders.”, she says.
Samantha continued to receive great feedback from a lot of people who tried her products. Many of them kept suggesting that she should go commercial and that’s how ‘Cake-A-Licious’ was born.
Being a ‘one-woman army,’ Samantha does not provide delivery of her orders. Hence, all her clients from near and far pick up their orders from her place in Panjim.
Samantha’s USP Samantha’s signature at ‘Cake-A-Licious’ is her 3-D cakes which are a one-of-a-kind offering in Goa. These cakes bring the design requirement to life in 3-D view and that too all in cake! Samantha provides ample flexibility to her clients to mix and match ideas, reference images, etc. “In short, a completely customizable cake from scratch,” she says.
Samantha's forte does not include just customized cakes for weddings, birthdays, and other occasions, but also exquisite festival/special occasion hampers. She receives orders for cakes and other confectionery products, not only from people within Goa but also from people living in other parts of India and abroad. This is a testimony to the consistent quality of her products. Every product of hers is made utilizing the choicest quality raw materials and her secret ingredient “love,” to make your cake exquisite and delicious.
competitions in Goa and has won many prizes for her work. Some of the feathers in her cap of achievements include:
-2nd place at the Cake Bake Fest powered by Goa Times, Universal Alliance Group, and Monginis in 2013 -2nd place at the Sweet Treat contest powered by Zomato, Monginis, IFB, and Lakme in 2019. -Recognised as the “Best Outstanding Entrepreneur” by the eminent GoWomania platform spearheaded by Mrs. Siya Shaikh in 2020
Challenges Faced “Every venture has its ups and downs, but each situation always has a lesson to be learned,” says Samantha. Market saturation due to an increase in the number of home bakers and cartelization of prices are among the few challenges Samantha faces while running Cake-A-Licious. Also, customers who haggle had initially been a challenge for her since she was still trying to make her place in a market that was oversaturated. However, with time, she understood that her time and expertise are what makes her home-bakery unique. This led her to cater to high-end clients only.
Her Support System
Samantha says that she would definitely credit the success of her enterprise to herself first since it definitely wasn’t easy to push through the crowd. Also managing two job profiles wasn’t an easy task and required strong multi-tasking skills. Nonetheless, her family as well as a few of her close friends have been of constant support to her. But most importantly, even to this day, if there’s one trusted business partner who has helped her with managing her Christmas orders, it is her mother – Maria. “She makes many things easier for me, be it with the preparation or dispatches. She is of immense help always,” she says.
Her Message
Samantha says that if you believe in yourself, then nothing can stop you. “There will be challenges all throughout the journey. There may be times when it gets too much and you want to give up, but you have to keep yourself motivated, take breaks to rejuvenate, hustle and work hard, and the results will show up. Keep learning and keep growing!,” she says.
To place orders for cakes and other confectioneries with Cakelicious, contact Samantha on:
WhatsApp: +91 96734 43087
Facebook: facebook.com/pg/sam7antha/about/ Instagram: instagram.com/cake_a_licious_stinez
