Established in 2012, the inspiration for Flake Bake came from Paul Williams, who honed his baking skills working in his uncle’s bakery during the late 90s.
The business closed, but in 2008 the retail unit housing the original bakery became available for lease. Paul acquired the unit and set about recreating his uncle’s business. His son, Mike, worked with him on weekends and evenings while attending college.
“I gained further encouragement from witnessing the rising popularity of Jamaican food in the UK, particularly through figures like Levi Roots and his Reggae Reggae sauce,” recalled co-founder and director of Flake Bake, Mike Williams.
“Observing established brands like Island Delight and Port Royal Patties successfully entering supermarkets confirmed that the market was ready for Jamaican patties.
“To further support my ambitions, after graduating from the University of Sussex with a degree in Economics and Politics, I pursued a master’s degree at the University of Warwick, where I wrote my dissertation on launching a Jamaican patty business in the UK using Blue Ocean Strategy.”
In those early days, the duo didn’t have much capital, so they acquired a small bank loan, found a new location for the kitchen and got refurbishing.
“We had to utilise second hand machinery, and did a lot of the different jobs ourselves,” Williams added.
“We had a small production team from the previous retail space and a driver but I was the managing director, accounts department, sales department, HR department and dispatch agent. If the driver didn’t turn up, I would also have to do the deliveries. If we had a lot of orders, my father would also have to help with the deliveries and then return to finish the baking. I learnt very quickly that in order to lead a successful company you need a diverse set of skills when you can’t afford to employ experts in every area.
“Hard work was the key to success for us. This became the ethos within our company. Everybody had to learn each other’s role on the production floor. This allowed production to continue even if senior people were off.”
In a similar vein, Joe Hill, co-founder of One Planet Pizza also launched his business with his father (incidentally, another Mike).
“Back in 2016, my dad came to me with a crazy idea: build the biggest vegan pizza brand in the world together,” said Hill.
“From a young age I was obsessed with nature and animals. My dad had been a vegan since he was a teenager and so I followed in his footsteps – going vegetarian at 10 years old.
“As a family, we cooked at home a lot. Friday night was always pizza night. But my dad always missed out and his vegan pizzas never looked appetising. By 2016 the world had changed. Veganism had become mainstream and plant-based ingredients had come a long way. That’s when my dad sat me down and told me about this crazy idea he had: to go into business together and build the world’s biggest vegan pizza brand.”
How did you get a listing?
Whilst both father-son-businesses, the two companies secured their first listings in different ways.
“In June 2023, I discovered an application for a TV show called Aldi’s Next Big Thing. Despite feeling daunted by pitching on TV and competing against other independent bakeries, I applied and was thrilled when our application was successful,” said Williams.
“Going into the competition, I felt that Aldi were a good fit because we had a product which was already cheap to make and could easily be produced at scale.
“Winning the TV show led to partnering with one of the UK’s largest manufacturers to supply Aldi with an initial order of 25k Jamaican beef patties. A week before the show aired, I teamed up with @eatwithtod in April 2024 to create what became a viral video of our handmade process, where we received over 2m views in four days.
“A week later our win of Aldi’s Next Big Thing on Channel 4 was aired and we were able to direct all our followers to go to Aldi to buy our patties. These sold out in less than 48 hours - the fastest selling product from the TV series. Aldi subsequently placed an order for 100,000 patties in which 80,000 sold within in a week!”
The business ended up securing a long-term contract to supply Aldi’s 1000 stores.
However, scaling up the business proved to be difficult, and despite its success Flake Bake struggled to find a manufacturer who was willing to make its products. Reasons such as ‘you don’t have enough volume’, ‘it will be difficult to work with that yellow pastry’ and ‘doing something like this is not within our corporate strategy’ were thrown back at them.
“It was a difficult pill to swallow,” continued Williams, who said even a consultant was unable to find a partner for the business.
“Thankfully, with the support of Aldi who were able to lead the discussions with a manufacturer we were able to fulfil our listing.”
The first big listing for One Planet Pizza wasn’t easy either, with Hill revealing it had been “a failure”.
After lots of personalised emails, Linked posts, and a bit of guerilla marketing, the business secured its first retailer – Ocado. Whilst Hill said it was a perfect fit for the brand, the reason it didn’t work was a matter of expense and brand development.
“Our price was too high. What worked for years in independents, was too expensive for the Ocado shopper,” explained Hill.
“Second, our brand was too focused on what we thought was important, sustainability and animal welfare. We were pigeonholed as a ‘vegan’ product and failed to appeal to flexitarian consumers.
“Finally, we didn’t deliver on the most important thing of all – taste. The plant-based cheese we were using needed to be better.
“Losing this listing was the best thing that could have happened to us back then. We were forced back to the basics. Those lessons then helped us come up with version 2.0 which we knew would deliver for major retailers.”
Standing out from the crowd
It’s important to remain authentic, Williams said.
“It’s difficult for larger brands to replicate authenticity,” he explained. “The most important thing is to never compromise on key ingredients. While you can change the type of flour or butter, you can’t swap the herbs. Scotch bonnet pepper can’t be replaced for another chilli. Thyme can’t be substituted for oregano. We understood these things and so the product is a very close match to handmade range from our Peckham bakery.”
For Hill, it’s about drumming up the drama: “We 100% believe we can beat bigger players on taste and quality and so we adopted a ‘us vs them’ mentality and use this to our advantage.
“We also embrace being the only true challenger brand in our space. Calling out the big boys for what they are and educating shoppers on how we’re doing business better and why they should buy from a smaller, family-run business instead of a global conglomerate.”
Williams also offered a reminder that social media is free and to use this to your advantage: “It’s your only chance of competing with brands with millions to spend on marketing. Most content creators don’t charge independent start-ups for initial content.”
Gearing up for your first listing
Before your first listing, Williams said it’s all about getting “your product shelf ready”.
This includes using a reliable lab that can conduct nutritional and shelf-life testing, as well as ensuring your product is easy to spot on shelves.
“People should know what the product is within the first 3 seconds of picking it up,” Williams advised.
“Understand the MOQs [minimum order quantity] of your desired manufacturer and cost of trails,” he continued. “Think about marketing budget and margins. The margins are small in retail so be sure to know your numbers to identify feasibility of a listing. It is not always worth it.
“Research your industry and build a case for why your brand should be on the shelves instead of others. There’s no empty shelf space in retail.
“Have a story. People love a story to aid their buying decision - especially when it comes to new products.”
Hill agreed: “Make it crystal clear what problem you are solving and how valuable that solution is to the retailer.
“Deliver this information as a compelling story and have fun doing it. How can you stand out and get their attention? Can you make them laugh or smile? Can you make them stop and think about what you’re saying in a fun or clever way? Be brave and be bold – what’s the worst that can happen if you stand outside their head office with a placard?”
Things to know before you commit
When it comes to deals with retailers, Williams reemphasised knowing your MOQs and added that it is also worth considering how different the product will be at scale it you co-manufacture.
“You have less control of production however packaging and logistics will all be covered via manufacturer,” he said.
Hill also noted the importance of MOQs: “What’s the least they need to order (in total or per SKU) – does it impact your transport costs and is it worth doing?”
His list of red flags also included the following:
- Unfavourable payment terms that can cause nightmares with your cash flow
- Promotional requirements and media spend – what is expected and how will it help you grow sales?
- Exclusivity – is this a requirement for the listing and what are the terms if so?
- Listing fees – this is less common but one to ask about early on in conversations.
As the entrepreneurs reflected on their respective journeys, they shared some of the lessons they learned throughout the process.
“There will always be another brand doing what you do. There will always be difficult economic times around the corner, but you can’t give up. Be realistic about your vision and follow it through,” said Williams.
“I would recommend finding a mentor or ally who has experience in the industry to help you figure things out. There are lots of legalities when producing food for other people’s consumption. These are things that you must know.”
“Any job can be tough on you. Over the years we’ve discovered the key to survival is getting better at enjoying the ride,” added Hill. “Always try and find the funny side of things – especially when things go wrong. Embrace the mistakes and enjoy the lessons you learn from them.”
Hill added: “Be kind and give back – the more you help others, the more others will help you on your journey.”
