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In this series, we talk to people who turned their passion for food and baking into a business idea. We talk to home bakers who are constantly experimenting and innovating and navigating through these difficult times to bring the sweet and the savoury to our doorsteps. 

With a passion and a dream of creating her own baking business, Zakira Nafas started ‘Zakira’s Recipes’ as a home-based venture with plans to open her very own shop in the future. 

What do you offer?
The products that we offer are brownies, savoury boxes, cakes, cupcakes, muffins, biscuit pudding, cookies, and doughnuts. I am very fond of making Brownies - I want them to be the best brownies in town. 

What would you say is your signature style in baking?
I always take special care when it comes to baking and I always imagine how I would want it to taste as a customer so that it will be the best for my customers. As well as the taste, I always make sure that it will be a treat to the customer’s eyes as well as the presentation.

What made you start baking? 
I always had an interest in watching videos about baking cakes and other savoury items. At this point as an amateur baker, I wanted to learn more about cakes and baking, I attended culinary classes in “white flower cakes and weddings” which was conducted by Ms Dushanthi Madanayake who gave me great support in learning how to start baking. The most challenging part of getting the business to take off was creating awareness about my home-baked goods and getting orders, but I had great support from my friends and neighbours. They helped a great deal to reach people to get a few orders in the beginning. 
With this little support, I was able to show my skills which created a chance to expand my business and gain popularity among more people.

What makes your brand stand out? 
For me, when my customers can get a recognisable feeling from your name, logo, or design it means they are now identifying you as a “Brand”. I try my best to maintain the quality standards of the food I prepare and I uphold the business ethos consistently over customer service, email campaigns, websites, and every other touchpoint of Zakira’s Recipes.

What do you enjoy about baking and operating your own home baking business?
I always have plenty of time to try new innovative ideas to make them more delicious and to be loved by my clients. Being a home baker, I have the freedom of creating my own styles and putting them to work.

How can home bakers navigate these difficult times in an economic crisis? 
In my opinion, the biggest issue home bakers would face in these excruciating economic conditions is the inflationary behaviour of ingredients that are essential to delivering the final product. However, I am adamant about making sure I buy the best quality ingredients rather than going towards low-priced ingredients. My advice is we should always give the best to our customers, which will ensure customer retention in the business rather than trying to make profits look greater.  The current crisis has made a bit of a struggle in getting new customers in due to the increase in pricing but hoping it to be settled in the near future

What’s next for your brand? 
The next biggest dream of my brand is to open a cake shop in a convenient and prominent location for my customers

What’s a baking hack you’ve learnt? 
A baking hack that I’ve experienced is that you should always navigate towards new options and new creative measures which will make your products present themselves in a more unique taste and appearance from the competitors, rather than being traditional and following the same way of baking cakes and other items.

Your advice to anyone who wants to start their own business? 
If you really have the passion and the dream of starting your own business, start it right now without thinking of what you have, and put your ideas to work.