4 minute read
Bakescape-A home-based bakery
Bakescape, a home-based bakery operating since July 2020 and located in Carmona-Zalor is owned and operated by Joana Luis. Bakescape is highly known for its customized cakes and also prepares diabetes-friendly and allergy-free baked goods for those with special dietary restrictions so that everyone can enjoy their baked goodies.
Bakescape was started amidst the Covid-19 pandemic in July 2020 by Joana. At that time, she was pursuing her final year of BSc. in International Hospitality Management at V.M Salgaocar Institute of International Hospitality Management, Raia. When everything was shut down due to the lockdown, stuck at home, Joana started diverting her mind from the ongoing crisis by baking things that she loved eating like brownies and cookies. She’d post her baked creations on social media which got the attraction it deserved and her family and friends would encourage her to take up orders. Soon, she took it up and her hobby turned into a business.
“I started loving the idea of making money by doing the things I loved the most”, says Joana. The name Bakescape was her brainchild, BAKESCAPE - Escaping reality through baking. Bakescape is run solely by Joana who has earned fame for baking cakes and pastries that are of utmost quality, made in a hygienic environment, taste delectable and of course for her unique creativity, all of these, and yet she provides quick service and even home delivers the baked goods. “These qualities have made me stand out from my competition”, she says.
Her clients include people of all age groups, from families and couples to school and college-going teenagers and young adults and that’s because she bakes something for everyone. Her most popular food offerings include Chocolate Cake, Cheesecake, Brownies, and Banana Bread, with the Christmas Rum Cake taking the top spot for the most loved on the menu. She provides the option for egg and eggless throughout her menu in all categories along with many allergy-friendly and diet-friendly cakes and goodies as well.
The primary USP of Bakescape has always been Joana’s creative designs, innovative ideas, and customization in terms of design, flavour, and ingredient usage. She did an internship at Anantara Resort in Portugal specializing in Bakery and Pastry which helped her gain knowledge and experience and that has been her biggest strength.
Joana says that finding and sourcing good qualityingredients was always a big challenge for herwhile running BakeScape. She overcame thischallenge after doing thorough research andtaking help from fellow bakers. She uses the bestquality ingredients for all her products.
Joana recalls her Mom, Dad, sister, and brother helping her out initially. They would help by cleaning the mess in the kitchen first that was caused by baking so many different cakes and then they’d help her by eating all those cakes. She’d take their feedback and that’s how she became skilled in her craft.
As the venture took off, Joana started getting more help from people she did not even know! Her customers loved her products as well. “I would wait for feedback from my customers and would ask them if there was something that the product lacked”, says Joana. She accepted both the positive and negative feedback and criticisms and worked on them. Her school teacher, Tr. Luiza Ferrao, helped and encouraged her the most as she stood beside her and even got more customers for her.
Joana says that Bakescape is a home business for now. However, she does plan on expanding the business after she completes her Master's Degree. She has plans of opening her own café or a studio in the next few years.
Joana never imagined herself starting and running her business even during the beginning of the pandemicinduced lockdown. She thought she was doing it just for herself. She believed God had different plans for her and helped her achieve a lot through her business. “Put God first, be humble, follow your dreams and do your work with honesty! The rest will follow! Focus on your own growth and eliminate the distractions!”.
