Candice Bannister is the founder of Candy’s Cupcakes, a Manchester-based online cupcake business.
From baking cakes in her home kitchen to turning over £900,000 last year, Candice Bannister has now found the sweet spot for growing her business through TikTok Live.
From being completely new to the app in 2020, the platform now generates 24% of the total sales made by Candy’s Cupcakes.
In our first edition of ‘behind the brand’, where we delve into growing brands across the North of England and Scotland, we chat to Candice Bannister to find out more about Candy’s Cupcakes…
If your brand would like to take part in future editions of ‘Behind the brand’ – please get in touch via rachael@prolificnorth.co.uk
What does your brand do in a nutshell?
Candy’s Cupcakes brings freshly baked goods straight from the oven to the front door. Our selection of delicious bakes, perfect for all occasions, include personalised cupcakes, brownies, cookies, and cakes.
Can you bring us up to date with the company’s latest performance and headcount numbers?
In 2023, Candy’s Cupcakes turned over £900,000, which was an increase of 31% from the previous year. Starting from a team of one and growing to 16 in 2024.
With the success of our new TikTok platform and the hard work of the team, we have generated a £210,000 turnover from TikTok since September and the account now boasts 27.4k followers and over 144,000 likes. We have also received numerous press mentions in high-end publications, including The Daily Mirror, BBC Good Food, The Sun, GQ, and The Daily Mail.
What key factors have contributed to your recent growth?
A key factor has definitely been TikTok shop. We began selling on TikTok Shop last year in June and we employed ‘TikTok-only’ staff in September. This allowed us to go ‘live’ for 13 hours a day, six days a week. The platform gives us the opportunity to react to customer demands in terms of products, flavours and stock. We are also able to work with affiliates and have grown our revenue to approximately £1,200/day. TikTok Shop has helped us get seen as a brand and we have now been recognised by TikTok and been given an account manager, who supports our growth on the platform.
How do you differentiate your brand from competitors in the market?
At Candy’s Cupcakes our USP is that we can provide next day delivery on freshly baked treats in stylish eco-friendly packaging. We also sell our cakes directly to our local loyal customers who continue to buy custom cakes, wedding cakes and treats. We have reviewed and revised many of our products and ways of working to get the most out of the business and not get sidetracked with other appealing bakes that we could offer. Specialising in cupcakes, cake jars and cake slices has been crucial.
Working with local businesses is also key to building relationships locally. We work with local businesses and colleges, many of which have been helpful in the growth of our business.
How do you cultivate a positive and productive company culture?
As a business owner it’s very important to me that our employees are happy. I love watching everyone work as a team to bring my creations together and to help with this I will handle most customer service enquiries, order processing, staff HR and frequently order team treats.
On a regular day, I enjoy keeping in touch with each member of staff and making sure they have everything they need to carry out their tasks. I have always, and still am, keen to support people. I continue to work this way with my staff and will take time to get to know them all and support them if they have any personal issues where possible. What I love about being a female founder is that I get to work with great people each day!
What’s the most important part of the company’s marketing mix?
Getting ahead of the game with social media platforms has been key to growing our business, as an online bakery we have tough competition. However, the drive towards our website, and the high-quality products we bake and ship, has attracted some amazing orders from the likes of Goldman Sachs, Amazon, Jardine Motors and various legal and professional businesses.
It’s also important to ensure that businesses are satisfied with your products. We make sure we are offering personal service that results in repeat customers and regular recommendations.
Regularly reviewing your outgoings is also key. Keeping costs down is the most difficult part of running a business, so we make sure we regularly review our suppliers, and courier rates and pass this down to the customer.
To what extent does the company use the support of external agencies?
We’ve worked with Full Volume PR for almost 12 months. The experience has been positive and we have been featured in several articles. The return on investment has been fantastic. Weekly communication and regular meetings to discuss where the business is going has been instrumental in getting the most out of the service.
Where do you hope the brand will be in two years’ time?
Over the next two years, the brand plans to be even more ambitious with a goal to surpass £1m turnover this year. We want to expand further on the app to help reach the £1.5m target.
We also want to drive further growth via a B2B approach, selling branded cupcakes to businesses for incentives and events. This is an area that can be developed significantly, with existing clients including Virgin Atlantic, BBC, Amazon, and BMW.
