The business of lockdown: Littleuns Cakes & Bakes

An excerpt is now published in Salad Days Magazine

In March/April 2020, a second pandemic struck. Sales of flour in the UK went up by 92% and supermarket shelves were stripped bare of this elusive powder. My village had a secret hookup from a supplier who has links to a local mill, the location will remain undisclosed, due to the likelihood that we will enter a second wave shortly. Instagram was inundated with images of the nation's Banana cakes. Everyone and their mum turned into Mary Berry, in a bid to stave off their isolation boredom, not knowing then, that the pandemic would continue for months upon months. This online display died out shortly and those crazy cats instead started bingeing Netflix and completing Joe Wicks workouts. 

However, for many, isolation forced people to diversify and create new businesses with the rise in online sales- up to 50% higher than pre-pandemic figures- amid high-street lockdowns. Food and drink consumption also rose significantly during this time. Tara Geraghty, like many others, decided to take advantage of this increase and after having been furloughed at the end of March, decided to fundraise for the NHS by selling a few cakes around her village. Excited by their popularity, she launched Littleuns Cakes & Bakes (Littleuns) in May 2020, a UK postal bakery business operating out of her home kitchen in Bishops Stortford.

Feeling like Sir Alan Sugar looking over his potential apprentice's business plans, minus any successful business knowhow- kind of like Donald Trump on the US version of the same show and in office- I sat down with Tara (virtually, because I respect social distancing rules and have probably taken these several steps too far by only leaving my house twice since lockdown, aside from daily walks...) to discuss Littleuns and how she launched a new enterprise whilst in the middle of a pandemic.     

First things first, why the name Littleuns? 

I was really struggling to come up with names, and didn’t want to simply call it ‘Tara’s Bakery’ or something along those lines, as I wanted to make it more of a brand. I was discussing name ideas with my family, and my brother actually came up with Littleuns so I can take no credit for it! I was very tiny as a baby, so ‘Littleun’ was my nickname growing up and it just stuck. As soon as my brother suggested it, I was sold and here we are today!

Who is eligible to purchase your bakes? Are there any restrictions? 

The business started off as a local bakery, however my website and postal menu now means that anyone from the UK is eligible to order some delicious baked goods to their own front door! 

In terms of restrictions, the most frequent thing I get asked about is Allergens. I can’t tell you how many times that word comes up in my daily vocabulary! Having lived with a flatmate with a severe nut allergy, I am very conscious about allergens. It was this experience that inspired me to make my bakery primarily nut free, and also pushed me into expanding my gluten free and vegan range, so that there is something for everyone! I also have a very extensive list of every single ingredient I use in any of my cakes to ensure that my customers know exactly what is in their bakes. DM me for details! 

As a new business, how did you build a customer base? 

Now that’s the hard part! 

I am so lucky to have such a wide supportive network of friends and family, and they all really helped me kick-start my business. 

To develop a broader client base, I reached out to the wider community via local Facebook groups and pages. I had already connected with my village’s group, as step one of establishing Littleuns was a simple bake sale (all with contactless home deliveries – to ensure Covid-safety), whereby I sold a variety of cupcakes and larger cakes in aid of raising money for NHS charities.  

This then prompted me to take baking a little more seriously, which then transpired into now having my own business!

How did you work out your pricing? How do you ensure that you are making a profit? 

This was something I had absolutely no clue about at first – and might be why I’ve only recently stopped making a loss on my cakes! 

With little to no business experience, I went into this project with limited knowledge or research. I only wanted to bake cakes! Once the orders started piling in, I realised that I was spending way more than I was taking in, so I started to make endless spreadsheets to work out where all of this money was going.

So you have the basic ingredient costs, but when you are adding the equivalent of  three chocolate bars into one brownie order – they start to add up. Then there are the costs of packaging and delivery; I wanted to make my orders pretty as well as delicious! I also offer free Hermes postage on all of my online menu, and have to buy custom postage boxes, so they are the exact size of the brownie slabs (to protect them as much as possible during transit!) On top of that, when you factor in additional business running costs, insurance, and my time; there’s not a whole lot left over!

I also donate a percentage of every cake I sell to CHIPS. CHIPS are an amazing local charity and they have a special place in my heart, as I used to work for them a few years ago. CHIPS offer play and social opportunities for children with additional needs, living in East Hertfordshire and the Borough of Broxbourne. When I started my business, I wanted to use it as an opportunity to do some good and raise some money and awareness for an incredible charity, so please do check them out!

What effect has the pandemic had on you and the business?

The business was definitely at its busiest in its first month or so. I think this was partially due to the novelty and excitement of it being new. However, I also think Littleuns was more appealing during lockdown when people couldn’t go out as much and it wasn’t as easy to access to such sweet treats.

Where do you see Littleuns going? 

I’m really hoping to push the ‘postal bakes’ element of the business. I offer brownie slabs and unique cake treat boxes, all of which can be posted to anywhere in the UK. 

I think the pandemic has encouraged us all to think of new ways of staying in touch with distanced loved ones, and I don’t think there’s a better way of showing someone you care, than sending them a big slab of chocolate brownie! 

Focussing on my postal menu also means the business is location independent, which I hope will make it a sustainable business once I return to work. 

Furloughed at the beginning of the pandemic, both Tara and I work in the theatre industry (we met at University, studying, yes, you've guessed it: theatre.) That industry has yet to recover and we've both had our furlough extended until the end of October. However, Tara has been informed that once she returns in November, this will be on a part-time basis until theatres can officially reopen to pre-Covid capacity. This will therefore incur not only a reduction in hours, but also in salary (I'm not yet sure what my situation will be). 

Thankfully for Tara, she has Littleuns, which hopefully by then will have grown to supplement her earnings, but for others in similar situations, this is not the case. Tara also moved back to her childhood home when the pandemic struck, moving out of her London flat early last month. So for her, rent is currently not an issue, but again for those facing a potential reduction of income- for instance some people are only earning 20% of their pre-pandemic salary (depending on how many days they then work in a week)- it will be. The Covid-19 pandemic will have lasting impacts on life as we know it. The 'new normal' will be difficult for many. 

For this reason, as lockdown restrictions ease, support for small businesses must be ongoing. The UK is now in the grips of its third recession in three decades. Fuelling the economy in any way is reason enough to lend our support for small proprietors, if one can. I certainly will be, and am starting with Littleuns.

Follow Littleuns Cakes & Bakes on Instagram.