WHEN food technology teacher Alison Patmore spoke to husband Simon about her dream to give up teaching and bake cakes every day, she never really thought it was possible.
But Simon, a seasoned entrepreneur, saw an opportunity and went about researching how he might be able to turn her ambitions into a viable business.
The couple, from Whitley Bay, soon discovered a way of printing logos, images and messages directly onto icing which could then be placed on cupcakes. They knew this was something they could offer to the corporate market, for customer service, marketing and business development, especially as they could produce different designs on each one at no extra cost.
They saw that this offered a flexibility and an impact that couldn’t be achieved with more traditional marketing methods.
Simon said: “I have set up and run a number of businesses and understand the challenges companies face in standing out in terms of their customer service and marketing. From my own experience I understood how Alison’s skill, along with the unique and versatile nature of the product, could help companies attract customers and hold onto the ones they already have.”
And so the company was formed in February 2011 and named SmartBakes, after the Smart car they use to deliver the cupcakes. The name was also chosen to represent their opinion that when it comes to marketing, SmartBakes products are the intelligent choice.
It was their link with the car that gave them their first ever order, from Smart of Newcastle, providing Smart branded cupcakes for customers
And when a customer asked for ‘another of those delicious cupcakes’ when he got his car serviced, SmartBakes found themselves with an order to provide cakes for every one of Smart of Newcastle’s service customers.
Jeremy Simpson, dealer principal for Smart, said: “The branded cakes are a low cost and fun method of getting a message across. We have been able to promote several different messages and as most people enjoy a cake now and again, these are very well received”.
The branded cupcake orders have gone from strength to strength with SmartBakes fulfilling regular orders for Ikea, Smart of Teesside, Mercedes Benz of Newcastle, Watson Burton, Sintons and the Evening Chronicle Sunshine Fund. And the cakes have been used as raffle tickets, for promotions at exhibitions and events, for thanking clients and for sending to potential customers .
The business is now expanding into other products and has already started to take orders for branded mince pies to be used as corporate gifts. In the pipeline, there are plans to develop a whole range of edible promotional products.