A CAKE-making business is in advanced negotiations with a UK-wide retailer over a deal expected to result in more than 10,000 orders a year.
Cakecetera has only been up and running for about a year, with founder Pauline Quigley making her £30 cupcake bouquets – containing 13 cakes, six chocolate leaves and a ceramic re-usable flower pot – at home.
She also does the deliveries herself, driving her creations to customers in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Lanarkshire.
The former clothing designer came up with the idea for the company while visiting her mother in hospital and saw it as an alternative for wards where flowers could not be brought in.
As well as the cake recipes, Ms Quigley has helped come up with a robust insulated box using technology from the seafood and meat-packing sectors.
That means the bouquets can be frozen to ensure they can be delivered around the UK without being damaged.
She said: "I have been looking for a packaging solution that would allow me to take the cakes nationwide as we have been bombarded with interest from down south. We are just about at that point.
"A fragile courier service does not really exist. We had to design a box that could be thrown upside down and the cakes still look great.
"We are actually going to have to send the cakes frozen and they then defrost in about 10 minutes."
Ms Quigley, who formerly worked with Glasgow-based outdoor clothing company Trespass, has been working with a number of designers.
Through Scottish Enterprise, she was put in contact with a fish supplier and began looking at how other industries transport products.
Ms Quigley said: "We are getting a patent for the box as it has not really been done before. There have been lots of designs and disasters before we got to this point."
Talks with the large retailer – which has operations across the UK – are expected to be concluded in the next few weeks with a view to the Cakecetera range launching before Christmas.
Ms Quigley said: "Getting the packaging right has been what has holding us back. Now we can launch nationwide and target [more] retailers.
"As we have this unique box we can design other products and build our portfolio as well. The retailer we are in talks with has estimated more than 10,000 orders per year and that is just one retailer, so it is going to be a bit busy."
Alongside that Ms Quigley, who has been mentored by the Entrepreneurial Spark organisation, is moving into her own premises in Hamilton shortly, and is part of a pop-up shop at Princes Square in Glasgow this weekend.
She also expects to open discussions with baking and distribution partners in the next few months, ahead of the expected rise in production and ordering.
She said: "Eventually, we will have to liaise with a bigger supplier and distributor. That will be the next stage."
At the moment most of Cakecetera's orders come through its website and Ms Quigley uses social media to boost the profile of the business.
She provided a range of creations for the Scottish Fashion Awards and also supplies events such as weddings and birthday parties.
Ms Quigley is also bidding to secure up to £50,000 through the Scottish Edge Fund.
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