Cake
baker extraordinaire Caroline Hill can now add the title ‘award-winning’ to her
menu of business achievements.
Caz’s Kitchen, in Waterloo’s St John’s Road, received the very first Special Judges’
Award in the latest Merseyside Independent Business Awards, organised by
Liverpool law firm Morecrofts.
Caz was
nominated in both the Retailer of the Year and Community Impact categories, but
was presented with the inaugural Judges’ Award after the panel declared it was
“unanimously impressed” by her business model.
They
said: “For the first time we are introducing the Judges’ Award, which is for
one outstanding candidate in the room. Judges on both panels were so taken with
one finalist’s entry that they wanted to ensure they are given special
recognition. Of this finalist, judges said they showed exceptional social
value, demonstrated a great background and an inspiring and delightful
business.”
For
Caz, it was recognition of years of hard graft to realise her business dream,
helped more recently by specialist coaching from The Women’s Organisation,
which has supported thousands of female entrepreneurs across Liverpool and
Manchester.
Caz
admitted: “The judges’ award was better than winning the awards we were
nominated for. We’re still a bit gob-smacked. It is the first award we have
won.”
Being
part of, and supporting, the local community is paramount to Caz, who said:
“We’re very aware of our support locally, but to be recognised at one of the
most prestigious events on Merseyside is fantastic. It’s also great recognition
for our locality, which is really important to us.”
Caz’s
Kitchen opened for business in 2014 and is more than just a cake shop.
She and
her team create exquisite cakes, desserts, tartes, tortes, cheesecakes and puddings, but her
extensive range is also one of the healthiest you will find.
Quality and ethics are paramount.
She favours butter over margarine due to the associated palm oils and trans
fats, she doesn’t over-sweeten or frost her cakes, and flavours come from
in-house roasted nuts, Belgian couverture chocolate and fruits from her
allotment.
Caz has also developed a range of
special treats, her Happy Healthy Yum lines which are gluten-free, dairy-free,
vegan, refined sugar-free treats designed to fill you up and satisfy with
slow-releasing energy, and are a great way of providing essential vitamins and
minerals.
She began her career with a
degree in Food Science & Nutrition and worked in product development for
most of the major retailers.
However, she became
disillusioned: “When I started in
product development I was developing 10 products over six months. By the end I
was juggling 200 products with a three-week turnaround from concept to launch.”
She was
also unhappy with the process: “I was developing healthy-eating products and
would take out fat and sugar, but then would have to put in E numbers to
replace the functionality they represented. In my opinion it’s healthier to
just have a bit of butter.”
So, 10
years ago she decided to set up her own coffee shop and deli.
She
approached The Women’s Organisation who advised her on a business plan.
But
finding the perfect premises proved elusive, so, she split her time working for
a Liverpool restaurant, and baking for friends and clients at home until she
found her ideal location in St John’s Road in 2014.
Recently
she returned to The Women’s Organisation’s St James Street headquarters to hone
her business skills even more.
“A
couple of years into my business I thought, where do I go from here? I asked
The Women’s Organisation if there was any support for people who are a few
years in, and they put me on the growth programme, New Markets 2.”
She
said the programme helped her “grow up, rather than grow” and look at improving
some systems and procedures with specialist help through members of the Women’s
Organisation.
“When
you first start up you have to do everything yourself, I feel one of the
reasons I’ve done so well is that I haven’t shied away from things I wasn’t
good at or didn’t like. You have to make yourself an expert in all aspects of
your business – I was concreting a floor in the shop a few weeks ago.
“I’m
now three years in and can afford a bit more help – it’s the time to hand some
things over to the professionals as they can do aspects of my business better
and faster than I ever could.
“The
Women’s Organisation have helped facilitate improvements to my accountancy
systems and website. For example, we have just launched an online system where
people can order cakes through our website.
"My focus now is to get back to what I am good
at and what I enjoy – that’s what I believe will push my business forward.”
The
shop has built up a strong customer base of regulars popping in for tea and a
slice of cake and has become an established part of the community, illustrated
by one testimonial Caz received which read: “For about 2-3 years I have been
coming to your wonderful cake shop and been buying raw vegan goodies. However,
this week I am being admitted to a mental health ward to help with my eating
disorder recovery.
“Although
this may not seem like a positive message, it truly is meant to be, I may not
have been strong enough to beat the voices on my own, but your cakes were a
large part of my own trial at recovering.
“Your
shop has such a positive vibe towards food and loving yourself. I go in there
and I feel safe and happy, and there are almost no food places I ever felt like
that, but you have managed to create a safe space, and for that I couldn’t
thank you enough.”
Caz is
also keen to expand her wholesale operation on the back of the growing appetite
for her products: “Healthy for me is about proper wholefoods that don’t come
from a manufactured packet. If you want a treat, have a real homemade piece of
cake, not a ‘chemical’ cake from the supermarkets,” she said.
And she
admitted: “When we opened we were the first in Liverpool to do the raw/vegan
cakes. I believe if I had opened a shop just selling the healthy cakes three
years ago I don’t think people would have come.”
She
said people’s tastes have slowly changed: “A lot of regulars would not normally
have tried that sort of thing, but they have now added them to their
favourites’ list. I do feel that we have positively impacted a lot of people by
providing an alternative to a normal cake.
“We
don’t make nearly as much margin on the healthy cakes, but I feel that is my
good deed to our community and I can afford to have my business model work like
that as they sit alongside our standard lines.”
Her
best sellers are traditional cakes like Victoria Sponge, but people also love
the variety in her seasonal range: “At the moment we’re making things like
Sticky Toffee Apple cake and Chocolate Gingerbread – and we’re baking our
Christmas cakes now, too, so they are super-matured for the festive season.”
Looking
to the future, Caz said: “I just want to keep doing what we are doing.
“We are
looking to take on a few more contracts, but slowly, slowly. It’s important to
me to ensure great quality and customer service to our existing customer base
first.
“People
have offered to fund another shop, but I would rather do something well, than
take on the world.”
So, if you would like to visit Caz and try some of her cakes, and believe us, they are INCREDIBLE, you can find all of Caz's details over on her website and by following the links below.
And if you've been inspired by Caz's story and would like to find out how we can help you start or grow your business, get in touch with us! Email us on hello@thewo.org.uk or ring us on 0151 706 8111
Website
Email - info@cazskitchen.co.uk
Address - 47 St John's Road, Waterloo, Liverpool, L22 9QB
