A mum was told her homemade cakes were too expensive and were 'just butter and eggs' by a disgruntled customer.
Charlotte Church, runs Cake Mamma Lancashire, from her home in Burscough, where she bakes for all sorts of occasions and preferences. One night last week, her daughter came home from school and told Charlotte somebody had said her mum's cakes were "too expensive", with another customer saying "it's only butter and eggs".
The mum spoke to LancsLive about how her business was affected by the rising cost of living. Soaring costs have subsequently had an affect on the price she is able to sell her products.
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Following a series of complaints, including over one six-inch cake which costs £80, Charlotte felt she had to speak out. The business owner took it upon herself to explain the pricing on her Facebook page and broke down each element of costing.
She said: "I'm really lucky to have a busy business but there are sometimes these disheartening comments when people don't realise the hard work and money that goes into what I sell. People saying it's 'just cake' is quite common, but other people in the same trade as me understand and even say I'm quite cheap.
"There's no need to be negative. I source all of my own ingredients but everything has gone up at least 20%, including dried flowers which people love but are really expensive. My husband suggested I keep my prices low to help people out but why wouldn't I since everything else is going up, including how I make my cakes but also the cost of running my home."
In the post, Charlotte breaks down the components of pricing, including the ingredients at £12, board and box at £4, topper and palms at £12, homemade macarons at £4 and flowers at £6. Charlotte also states that the baking and decorating time for this particular product would be around four hours, meaning a cost of £40 to pay herself a reasonable amount of £10 per hour.
She then states, the total as £78 would be rounded up to £80, but in that breakdown hasn't included other costs such as petrol and electricity and water expenses.
Charlotte said: "Last week, my 10-year-old daughter came home from school and she was upset because someone had said my cakes were 'too expensive' and I've heard other people say it too. I told her that people will say that, but they don't realise what goes into it and some people like having those special, bespoke cakes.
"It's also my full-time job whereas some people do it for a bit of extra money as a hobby, but I am accredited and registered properly so I need to spend money on being insured and registered and doing everything the right way."
Charlotte added that although her business is still getting demand, she is noticing a trend with people buying less cakes for events such as Christmas and Valentine's Day but people are still after cakes for birthdays and other occasions. She opened Cake Mamma Lancashire four years ago after demand grew "out of the blue" from making cakes for her friends and family.
Cake Mamma Lancashire "thrived" during lockdown, as Charlotte explained she was able to work from home.
She continued: "Throughout COVID the council said I could work so I carried on and delivered people their cakes contactless and made treat boxes to cheer people up. The job is demanding though as it's only me and I'll make around 10, maximum 20 cakes a week.
"I pay myself hourly but if I'm working on social media or other aspects of it, then I don't really get paid for that. I have a loyal base of customers which is great, but I just wanted to give a little insight into what goes in to making my cakes."
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