Driven by the aspiration to be her own boss, 21 year old Janhavi Amonkar speaks about her saccharine venture, ‘The Cake Factory Goa’, its luscious range of products and much more…
Based out of her home at Porvorim, Janhavi Amonkar, a BBA (Finance) graduate from Dempo College, started her own business, The Cake Factory Goa about a year ago. Speaking about what led her to start the business; Janhavi says that she always felt drawn towards venturing into something creative and doing something of her own. She says that baking had always been her hobby since she was 15 and thus, when she graduated at the age of 20, she took a month off to decide whether she wanted to pursue a finance related job or go ahead with her dream of running her own business and pursue her everlasting love for baking and take it to the next level. Janhavi humbly says “With immense motivation and support from my family and friends, I went ahead with the idea of The Cake Factory Goa and today, I can proudly say that it is the best decision that I have made!”
Elaborating on what her business is all about; Janhavi mentions that The Cake Factory Goa is a home-based baking business with delectable selection of cakes, cupcakes, brownies, chocolates and all things sweet. Moreover, she quips about how it gives her enormous satisfaction to know that something that she has baked with her own hands is a part of someone’s special occasion.
Janhavi further reveals how she has always had an inclination towards the culinary arts; however, what made her particularly drawn towards baking is how creative she could get with it. She goes on to say, “the market potential in Goa is amazing with plenty of space for growth and a lot of competition which always keeps things fresh and innovative and makes me want to do something better every day.”
Speaking of her signature dishes, she says that the cupcakes, especially the classic Red Velvet cupcakes, Hazelnut filled cupcakes and the Bailey’s Irish Cream cupcakes are the most loved items; and among the cakes, the classic Chocolate Truffle cake is a bestseller!
As far as the response to her venture is concerned, Janhavi says that The Cake Factory Goa has completed a year in the business on the 4th of July and in this one year; the response has been nothing but overwhelming! “People are always looking for something new, something innovative and obviously, something tasty. The response especially during festival season like Diwali, Christmas and special days like Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, has been great. What makes this even better is that the business has mostly grown on the basis of social media and the use of apps such as Instagram and Facebook” says a grateful Janhavi.
Moreover, she also states that even though the world is currently facing a global pandemic in the form of COVID-19, what has kept her morale high is the fact that her beloved customers always keep telling her how they crave for the cupcakes and brownies, baked by her. She speaks of how her loyal customers kept telling her during the lockdown that they could not wait any longer for her to resume accepting orders!
Further, speaking about her target audience and customers, Janhavi says that her target customer is anyone with a sweet tooth and the fact that she houses a variety of products over a wide price range makes it suitable for customers with different needs and budgets to approach her. “With customizations and varieties available, we always have something available to cater to every need that a customer has for every kind of occasion,” she says.
Commenting on her plans for the future, Janhavi says that she will continue to innovate and elevate the quality of her products as per market trends. She wishes to see The Cake Factory Goa turn into a brand, with her products being synonymous with the brand; and a long list of loyal and satiated customers.
Finally, when asked what message she would like to give her current and prospective customers, Janhavi signs off saying “I would just like to thank my customers who have been extremely loyal since the beginning of The Cake Factory Goa and made this one year of business immensely successful; and for prospective customers, I just hope to see them placing their orders soon from our wide range of products and I guarantee that they will not be disappointed!”
