My success recipes in cake-making business – Henrietta Mark, Henrimac Cakes owner
Mrs. Henrietta Ogochukwu Mark is an uncommon baker in cakery business. She is one baker that allows the wholesome quality of her cakes to do the talking for her. The soft texture, melting taste, perfect sweetness, plus the awesome design of her cakes are a clear testament to the passion and creativity she invests in baking.
Mrs. Mark is a proud owner of Henrimac Cakes, a popular cake brand situated in the heart of Festac town Lagos. And in this interview with The Nigerian Xpress, she shares priceless experience-based ideas on the delicious art of cake baking, the opportunities, how to set and excel running a cake-making business.
Has this business been fulfilling?
Yes, it has. This is a business that you might have just N1000 in your account and the next thing is someone calls you up for a wedding cake worth N150,000 or more. That is the benefit of having a skill. It has happened to me several times, enabling one to take care of financial responsibilities and more.
In the western world, they have what is called ‘Cake Tasting’, and it is usually for wedding cakes. There the client comes to taste different flavours of cakes before making a choice. But do we offer such services?
I used to offer such a service, but it was thoroughly abused by our Nigerian people. I have had issues with that. Some people want to come and taste first before talking about price.
But in the western world, there is a paid appointment, which covers the cake tasting, except of course you already know what you want then you just have the usual appointment where you discuss what you want for your wedding cake. They conclude price and go on to choose flavour, it is not even to taste. Do you see the difference?
There are clients here in Nigeria who would insist that they must taste your cake first before they order from you. They don’t do like that over there, you can’t just walk into someone’s shop and demand to taster her cakes. Of course, if you have made payment into my account and you want to have a taste of my cake, you’re entitled to come and have a taste.
I know you mean business. Some people, it is after eating that they will now start negotiating the fixed price even after I have wasted my time and resources on them. I don’t do that but if you have made a payment, there is room for that, it is included in your payment, you can always choose flavours.
Do you specialise in certain kinds of cakes?
Yes. In the cake industry, we have different people, there are some people that add pastries to their cake, they do cookies and all but I do mostly wedding cakes and birthday cakes. I don’t do cookies and pastries for now. Well, they say, never say never… I do know how to prepare those things but for now, I want to focus on cakes. I have over 15 cake varieties on the menu.
Are multiple smaller cakes more cost-effective than a single big one?
No. I think it depends on your client base. With the economic situation caused by COVID-19, no parties or wedding parties, I had to improvise and explore other options.
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Before now, I didn’t do smaller cakes but now, customers tell me they don’t want to order a big cake, they want to do the small ones so I had to start it. Smaller cakes are not cost-effective. We are all trying to balance with the current situation in the world now. For me, the bigger cake is better.
What has been your biggest source of business?
I think it is referrals. People just call me and the way they pronounce my name sometimes is funny, I try to explain that my business name is from my real name – Henrietta Mark (Henrimac) and they tell me they attended a party, they ate a cake I baked, and they want me to make it for them.
I also get customers mostly from Instagram. People also tell me they referred their loved ones and friends to me and, in general, it is the grace of God that has been helping me.
How can you describe your cake designs?
For me, it is not all about designs; mostly, it is about the cake inside but at the same time, If you have seen my work, if it is not neat, then it is not my cake. I have someone who sent me a message, it is still on my phone.
She told me she went to a party and the celebrant who is also a mutual friend had various cakes. She identified my cake out of several others there. It really felt good to hear that. A neat cake is my trademark. I believe that the eyes eat first before the mouth and more importantly, I want people to eat the cake and come back for more.
No matter how small or how big it is, it has to be neat. No matter how beautiful, intricate a design is, if it is not neat, blemishes everywhere, it looks chaotic. If a simple design is done on a cake, even if you put a small flower there, the beauty pops out.
Then also, it is not all about the design. Taste is also very important. No matter how beautiful a cake is, if the taste is not so great, people will not come back for more.
Do you train?
Right now, I don’t but I have a cake blog, ‘Cake It With Henrietta’, I started with trying to help upcoming bakers. I understand that not all of us are blessed with money or rich background so I know what it means to start from nothing.
Even when I started this blog, I know the kind of negative criticism I encountered because no one was doing what I was doing. I was giving out free cake recipes – everyone was hoarding recipes in the cake industry. My critics said I am teaching for free what people should be paying for.
I was unperturbed and replied to them that this is my own way of giving back to society. I have been down that road before, being unable to pay the exorbitant training classes, I had to resort to watching Food Network.
Lowest points in your business?
In my early years as a cake maker, a client slapped me after I made an error, and baked a smelly cake. I didn’t tune the correct temperature on my oven so the cake was not properly baked inside.
I delivered it, they did not eat it immediately, I think the next day or so when they finally cut it, it was smelling. It was her child’s birthday. It was a terrible experience for me.
That experience made me stop baking for six months. They almost beat me up, I wept for one week, my husband consoled me, telling me that as a freshman in business, mistakes are bound to happen. He encouraged me to continue baking, that practice makes perfect.
I refused still, I told him I didn’t want to enter my baking room anymore that I would try my hands on something else. But my husband countered my decision, advising me that I was perfect in my craft. He pointed out that he noticed I was my in happiest mood whenever I was baking.
He encouraged me to go to baking classes to learn more in a class rather than just via the internet. For those six months, I was working on being better and I got better. That was four years ago, now I have my own recipes and I teach interested individuals via my blog.
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Also, you know our work is all about recipes. It is not like tailoring that a person has to cut a pattern. Our work is quite straightforward, what you need is the recipe, once it is written down, you issue it to your staff. Most have staff, once they stay with you for one month, they presume to have this idea that they have learnt all they want from you, they get the recipes and disappear.
They believe they have got the recipes, not knowing that more will come. Apart from the hard work, I think it is also about the grace of God. If you think you have taken what I’m using to excel in my business, of course, God will raise another medium.
It is not just about having the recipes, it is about the dos and don’ts, do you know all the intricacies involved in baking? It really amuses me when they play these pranks.
I’ve also had an issue in the past whereby someone called my staff and was telling my staff to send my recipes but unfortunately for the person, my other girl was around. I’m a home baker, the staffer was asking which of the recipes the person needed, you can imagine that.
I have also tried to ask them to sign a non-disclosure agreement but even at that, how will you know? Even when they sign, I can’t tell what they do after work, I can’t be going through their phones to know whether they sent someone recipes or not. There is no way you can prevent people from stealing from you in this work, it is difficult. For now, I don’t know how to control it. It is really a very difficult situation.
How do you get your inspiration?
My inspiration comes from the personality of the client. I had issues when I made red velvet cake for a customer. She always ordered vanilla cakes and she has been a loyal customer for years. I thought she didn’t know that we do red velvet and chocolate and decided to surprise her.
She booked her cake, I said let me do something different for her, so when I made the red velvet cake, she called me and was screaming, ‘what is this occultic red cake?’ I had to apologize. She asked me why I didn’t make the white cake (vanilla cake) she always liked.
So for me, If I’m working on your cake, it has to be what you like, I’m meant to serve you and not myself. I will just add a little of me there but it has to be what the client wants because what I like might not be what the client wants.
It’s not really about me, I can put little of myself but it is what you want.
Wedding cakes don’t come in red velvet, … Why?
It is because wedding cakes are in steps and most wedding cakes stay on the table for days but red velvet is a dessert cake, light and very soft and it is meant to be refrigerated. But when a client insists on red velvet, we do it only on the top-tier so that it doesn’t sink.
Significant challenges especially this COVID-19 period?
The price of the items we use is now double of what was obtainable before and I don’t think half of our customers understand that we have to increase the prices because basically everybody is trying to make ends meet business-wise. A bag of sugar was N10,800 before but now it’s 26,000 naira.
Imagine the difference. Flour that I used to buy at N9,800, I bought it at N17,180. Butter was also N9,800 before but it’s now over N15,000. At times, they would even tell you it’s not available.
The increase in prices is a major challenge now, I try to let clients understand that prices of ingredients have increased but most of us still have to do the old prices to stay afloat. If you’re not baking, another person is baking.
The price of items is the number one challenge. Number two is electricity, so the little gain we get from the cake goes into buying diesel. I have to use diesel because of the fridge, oven etc. The little gain we make is expended on fuel and diesel. We basically work for the government.
At the end of the day, we still pay tax, it doesn’t make sense to me. I think everyone is just trying to be working to stay afloat, even if N500 is the gain, it is okay.
How has cake baking evolved over the years?
You know, sometime last year the baker that made my wedding cake called me to tell me that she wants to learn from me. The cake is like fashion. Every day, new techniques come out.
A decade or two ago, baking was seen as a skill for less privileged people but things have changed now. In this FESTAC alone, we have over 100 bakers. I think the government also even changed our view on baking business and other skill acquisition because when you carry your certificate from Ajegunle to VI for months, you have to sit down and think of what you can do to feed. The failed promises are just too much.
Now, you even have people mixing cream so it’s not just in baking. I know someone that, apart from baking, she goes to work, comes back and bakes, trying to do both things.
Everybody is trying to do many things at the same time. Some people are now doing ready-to-wear, small chops, food; it’s not just in baking. I think the government forced us into making everyone learn a skill. I think the economy forced us rather into getting a skill.
What is your advice for upcoming bakers?
When I first started, out in life, I was a jack of all trades. I also learnt how to be a milliner because I tried to add extra to the business. I wanted to do everything at once. My first advice is, don’t try to be a jack of all trades, focus on your strength, I know my strength is baking.
You cannot see me moulding. I can mould too but what I’m trying to say is that moulding is not my strength, I know where my strength lies. Look for your strength. In this industry, you can be good at baking, you can be good in creating sugar crafts used to cover cakes. Don’t allow the pressure of that social media to pull you down. Focus! No one is perfect.
Cake baking is a wide field. It is not compulsory you have to be good at everything. I think that is the pressure they see, it weighs them down. They enter the industry and they’re like, where are they supposed to start from? What are you good at? Focus on that, let people know.
For instance, if people go to my Instagram page, they already know I’m good at baking because I always show the inside of my cake. When someone comes to that page, by the time he sees one or two pictures, he already sees a plain cake. That is my strength, that is where my focus is, you can’t see me doing sugar flowers, no, I can’t do that. Let upcoming bakers focus on what they excel in and make a business out of it. It’s simple.
