Take a look at your local high street. Aside from a few barbers, bookies or American candy stores, you’ll likely see a series of boarded up windows and ‘everything must go’ signs.
Brick and mortar retailers are closing down in droves, with an average of 38shops around the UK putting their shutters up for good every day.
There’s one exception to this though, and it appears to be going from strength to strength: Cake Box.
Founded in 2008 by Sukh Chamdal and Pardip Dass, the bakery brand sells (as the name suggests) all manner of cakes. It’s unique selling point? They’re egg-free.
Formerly an Indian sweet chef, Sukh – who follows a lacto vegetarian diet, which means no meat, fish, poultry, or eggs – spotted a gap in the market when his then eight-year-old daughter found out there was egg in cakes and told him: ‘I’m not having those’.
The 62-year-old then went to a food technology seminar at South Bank University and asked the professor for help in formulating an eggless cake.
‘Six weeks later, I had a recipe,’ Sukh tells . ‘Coincidentally, the shop next to the one we owned also became empty. And Cake Box was born.’
While businesses struggle to stay afloat amid sky-high inflation and changing consumer behaviour, Cake Box, it seems, is bucking the trend.
In the 16 years since its foundation, the brand has grown from one location to more than 250 across the UK, with kiosks in supermarkets and two to three new outlets opening every month.
Alongside reports the company made a revenue of £37.84million in the last year alone, it also recently turned down a takeover bid from River Capital, an asset firm also owns The Cheesecake Shop, worth over £80million
Sukh accused prospective buyer of ‘materially undervaluing’ Cake Box, which is ‘stronger than ever’ But it all worked out for the best, as River Capital had so much faith in company, it still bought in, and is now a 7% shareholder.
But how has Cake Box managed to not only survive, but thrive on ailing British high streets?
First off, it’s the eggs — or lack thereof. Since none of its products contain eggs, they’re all suitable for those following a lacto vegetarian diet, a factor that has undoubtedly helped make Cake Box a hit among the country’s million-strong Hindu community.
‘We were based on Green Street in Newham, East London – a street my father was one of the founding fathers of,’ Sukh explains.
‘As it’s an area with a very high ethnic population, we tailored the product to the community: by removing the egg it became suitable for those from the subcontinent, where egg is considered meat. It’s Halal by default too, because we don’t use any animal products.’
Yet Cake Box counts people from all walks of life as customers, including many who ‘just love the taste’, and Sukh is proud to have ‘brought back fresh cream into the high street after it vanished 25 years ago.’
On top of that, there’s the buying experience: alongside advanced orders, you can click and collect a freshly-made, personalised cake within an hour.
‘We wanted to be the Amazon of cakes, because even then, our lives were so busy,’ says Sukh. ‘And so given all those advantages, we built up a really good customer base.’
Sukh describes Cake Box as a family, and this has been an integral part of Cake Box’s success over the years. He grew up with co-founder, Pardip, and considers him a cousin, while their dads are lifelong friends too, hailing from the same village in India.
Both Sukh’s (now grown up) daughters are also franchisees with multiple stores, and many of the company’s stores are operated by relatives of existing franchise owners who decided ‘jump on the bandwagon’ as a result of word of mouth.
As an example of the ‘family values’ enshrined throughout the workforce, Sukh recalls: ‘During the pandemic, every single member of staff from one of our shops caught Covid, so they had no choice but to shut down. But when the other franchisees found out, they sent their staff and they kept that shop running so that the community wouldn’t be deprived of their celebrations.’
This is in part why family is so central to a business like this — because its wares serve as the focal point for celebrations, commiserations, and other important moments shared between customers and their loved ones.
audience growth editor Anushka Suharu comments: ‘What makes them special is that the cakes are similar to the ones we get back home in India, a for many of us who have moved away from our countries and extended families, the taste brings back a lot of memories and is an ode to home.
‘We’d usually have big celebrations back home and print names of the birthday girl/boy on cakes and Cake Box allows you to do the same. Plus, they even do cakes and sweets for special occasions like Diwali or Eid.
‘I think this is the biggest factor for their success – they understand the importance of families and retaining culture for the South Asian diaspora and with every new store, bring us a small and sweet piece of home.’
Speaking of home, the retailer weathered numerous lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic, increasing sales and profits where others did the opposite, something Sukh believes is down to people needing a lift while stuck indoors.
‘When it’s dark days, when there’s a conflict, when there is misery, people want to celebrate,’ he explains. ‘And what we found is that the size of the cake corresponded to the restrictions we had at that time; when it was six people, we sold a lot of cakes which served six people, and when the restrictions were lifted, the size of the cakes went up.’
That doesn’t mean there haven’t been bumps in the road though. In 2021, a malware attack resulted in a number of Cake Box customers’ personal data being breached, and the following year, co-founder Pardip Dass stepped down from the business following a controversy over an errors.
Sukh also made the news last summer, when it was revealed he faced criminal charges for allegedly destroying 132 protected trees to build his Essex mansion.
‘There’s always going to be blips in a company,’ the CEO says, adding that the contractors responsible for the latter issue were held to account and there was ‘no material impact’ of these events.
And for customers, the proof really is in the pudding. The company maintains a respectable 4.5* average score on Trustpilot, with reviewers describing the cakes as ‘stunning and delicious’ and praising the ‘lovely, friendly staff’.
‘I’m beyond impressed,’ wrote Manoliu Sumith, while Happy Mum said: ‘As always, the cakes were adored by children as well as adults. Cake Box never disappoints.’
A third, Srivi, added: ‘For me, if it is cake, it is always Cake Box!’
Though wedding cakes (which can be bought with as little as two hours’ notice) are a consistent staple, birthday cakes remain a top seller for many of its franchisees — after all, everyone celebrates them.
‘There’s roughly 6million to 8million people in this country and 365 days of the year,’ says Sukh, ‘That’s roughly 150,000 birthdays that have to be serviced every day.’
What’s it like being a Cake Box franchisee?
Kuldeep, 43, is a multi-franchisee at Cake Box alongside her husband Sunny. The pair currently have six stores – in Hayes, Hounslow West, Feltham, Staines and 2 in Slough – and are planning to acquire three more in the local area with the goal of owning 10 by 2025. Here, Kuldeep shares her experiences with the business.
‘In 2010 a family friend told me about an up and coming company called Cake Box and that he had heard great things about it. I was working for a local authority at the time and was thinking about broadening my scope. My parents have owned their own businesses my whole life so I was leaning towards doing something independently. I contacted Cake Box and after a chat was invited to a store opening – I went along and it snowballed from there.’
‘Our customer base is normal families who work hard and want a fresh personalised cake rather than a packaged item. I have been in this industry for over 11 years and we started with mainly customers who for religious or dietary reasons chose to have a cake without egg. Today I am seeing customers from all backgrounds who simply love the product! We cater to so many people and with our continued growth have caught the attention of a wider audience.
‘Our best sellers tend to be our eight-inch celebration cakes, they come in a wide variety of flavours, toppings and designs. Also our slices are very popular, they are great value for money and delicious, never mind how beautiful they look!’
‘To sell a product that puts a smile on everyone who walks through the door is rare. I am passionate about our brand and product and over the last decade this has never faltered. I think what we do, we do well and I am proud of this.’
‘Our plan to continue to grow – as I mentioned I am in the process of acquiring some more sites. I am also involved with product design and really enjoy testing out new ideas and designs. I’ve a really good team who I love discussing designs with and how this can be made into a reality, what that looks like and how feasible are these designs to 250-plus stores. Sometimes they fall flat but sometimes they become a best seller!
‘I can’t wait to continue this work and help the business grow and adapt. I am excited for what the future holds.’
The brand’s rise dominance doesn’t seem to be dwindling any time soon either. With online sales rising 16.1% in 2023, this will form a pillar in its growth going forward.
But that doesn’t mean bosses have put high street expansion to the wayside, setting an ambitious target to have opened 400 Cake Box outlets in the next few years.
Among the irons Sukh has in the fire for the future are kiosks in train stations and service stations, as well as trying to balance growth with helping wider communities, facilitating franchisees’ outreach projects like hot kitchens for the homeless and free eyecare clinics.
The firm makes a point of putting its people first – from customers to employees to those in the local area – which Sukh believes is where a lot of businesses go wrong.
‘We love going into areas which are deprived and cheering the place up,’ says Sukh. ‘These communities give us a living and we like to give back to them.’
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