'I turned a lockdown hobby into my own business'

Abi Smith has launched her own business, Bake Baby, at Oswestry Market, a venture that grew from a lockdown hobby.

"It started as a lockdown hobby when I was pregnant, I was craving sugar," Smith explained. "I started baking, posting photos on Facebook and people were just going mad for it."

During the pandemic, Smith began as a home baker, delivering cakes to customers while fully masked and gloved. She has now elevated her pregnancy-inspired baking into a full-fledged business with a stall at Oswestry Market.

Bake Baby offers a variety of cakes and desserts, including "school cake," cornflake tarts, and deep-filled cookie pies. Smith also provides food prep bowls under the name Buff Box Meal Prep.

The journey wasn't without its challenges. After lockdown, Smith temporarily paused her baking business and returned to her job at Costa Coffee due to the unpredictable nature of home baking.

"When you're just a home baker it's not the most secure job, because one week you'll get loads of orders and the next week you won't get any," she told BBC Radio Shropshire. "So when you have kids - I've got two now - you just want that security."

However, Smith eventually returned to Bake Baby and is now celebrating her new presence at Oswestry Market, a location she had always aspired to.

"I'd say most business owners' dream is to have a premises and I just feel like businesses don't get enough help for that, with business rates, all the bills," she commented. "You have to make sure you're getting that custom in and I just feel unless you're viral on social media you're not gonna get that custom in forever."

She has revitalized the previously grey stall with a vibrant pink makeover.

Smith's passion for baking dates back to her childhood. "I've been baking since I was a kid really," she recalled. "Dad says I used to just chuck stuff together without scales in the kitchen. I just come in with muffins and stuff and they'd taste them and they'd be good - I don't remember any of this."

Beyond sweet treats, a significant part of her business focuses on healthier options for those mindful of their macronutrient intake.

Smith stated: "I always struggle to eat in town. Not that I'm fussy, I like to know what's going in my body and none of them put the macros on the menu. All my menus have the macros: the calories, the protein, the carbs, the fat. Everything on the menu is what I eat every week, so I've literally created a menu of what I like to eat and hopefully people like to eat it too."

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Related articles include: "County's visitor economy tops £1bn for first time," "Cake and sandwich shop opens in memory of teen son," "How an honesty box became an award-winning bakery," and "Oswestry Town Markets."