“I started my business during the pandemic. What better time to start a baking venture than during a time when all shops are closed down and people need to alleviate their COVID-19 anxiety?”, says Ananya Ganesh Shandilya, a passionate chef who is also a finance professional. ‘Fully Baked’ was started in February 2020 as a ‘two birds, one material’ way to transform her creative thoughts and build a business that she was passionate about. In an interview with News Aur Chai’s Feba M. Abraham, Ananya shares about her personal venture that reflects her simple, fun and an absolute foodie personality!
Ananya grew up eating decadent desserts and pastries and found immense joy in watching cakes being baked on television. She recollects her hilarious ‘maiden baking experiment turned disaster’ after receiving a baking oven as a gift 5 years ago. However, that did not hold her back. She was determined to learn the chemistry behind baking and improving her skill set.
“A dissatisfied customer is an entrepreneur’s worst nightmare! I know the rage a person can feel when they order a cake and bite into a stale, dense mess that is neither delectable nor alleviates your dessert guilt”, said Ananya. When it comes to planning, she creates her baking workflow the day prior to delivery in order to avoid any mishaps and to account for logistical delays. Being an early bird, all desserts are freshly baked to be delivered on the same day as the order date. She usually puts up the various bake sales along with the dessert choices of the day, on the official Instagram page. The desserts are normally ready to go out by 9 A.M., but on busy days, the desserts will be out latest by noon. Once her baking hustles for the day are over, she then sits down for studying with her CA books. She never fails to take breaks wherein she plays chess.
When asked about the creation of the recipes, Ananya describes her journey as a learning curve of tweaking internet recipes and experimenting with several flavors till she found the ones that met her expectations. She gives importance to her customers’ preferences and be aware of health related issues. She records customer feedback and then improves upon the taste by adding possible new elements. She goes on to add, “This has been the most indispensable tool for improvement and I find myself putting two contrasting ingredients only to hear that they created an exotic burst of flavors in my customers’ mouths!”
So, what exactly makes ‘Fully Baked’ unique and distinct from the others? Here, all the desserts are 100 per cent eggless. She also makes sugarless desserts as she strongly believes everyone should get to taste her delicious treats. Without compromising on the quality, she tries to cut costs and also maintain rigorous accounts for her business. She reinvests all her profits back into the business, like the small businesses.
Out of all the desserts introduced so far, the customers’ all-time favorites have been the chocolate ganache cupcakes and tarts. The coffee and mango cupcakes also started give a strong competition to the chocolate ganache delicacies recently.
Ananya’s parents have greatly supported her in this venture. Her mother has been involved in every step of the process and her father has instilled in her a strong work ethic and a special kinda love for spreadsheets for better organizing. “I certainly would not be where I am today, without their emotional support along the way.”, said Ananya. Right from childhood, Ananya has been huge fan of the reality TV shows, ‘Cupcake Wars’ and ‘Masterchef USA’. “Florian Bellanger and his unparalleled skills as a pastry chef awoke my inner Nigella Lawson. His fortitude to experiment with and create new twists on classic French pastries like macaroons and éclairs inspired me to venture outside my comfort zone as well—becoming a baker.”, said Ananya.
When it comes to the advertising segment, the following are the main means that contribute to the growth of the business:-
- Word of mouth and valuable customer feedbacks;
- The official Instagram page, @ananya_shandz, showcase all the colorful and eye-catching desserts;
- Once sales started taking shape, she listed the entire host of desserts along with the corresponding prices on the website, www.fullybaked.in .
- The customers are also free to contact the business’ number (+91 78670 04000) to place the orders.
She takes precautions, such as the personal protective equipments, to carefully bake the desserts. Both pick-up and home delivery are available, according to the convenience of the customers. Also, her couriers practice social distancing while delivering. Her utmost priority is to ease the customers of their doubts of having to order food during the pandemic. She says, “I try to proactively communicate with them and reassure them that all requisite precautions have been taken.”
In the course of pursuing Ananya’s passion for baking, her patience and ability to improvise have certainly improved. She has personally understood the importance of active listening and paying attention to detail.
When asked about the future of the business, she went on to say, “I want Fully Baked to be inclusive of people with a myriad of health ailments, dietary preferences and restrictions. I am planning to develop an entire host of vegan and gluten free desserts. I am also planning to branch out into savories, particularly the Italian food, especially the preparation of pizza and garlic bread from scratch. Also, I currently deliver only in Chennai. I hope to expand the delivery boundaries soon.”
As mentioned initially, Ananya is a dual professional handling finance on one hand and baking on the other. When questioned whether home baking is a better option than any corporate job, she replied that the answer to this questions depends on what you want from life and who you are as a person. She strongly believes that “if you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life.” By doing so, she gets to be her own boss, set her own business hours and work hard till she drops doing something she loves. She then concluded saying, “However, it is important to acknowledge that not everyone has the liberty and privilege to pursue their passion. To each their own!”. Let us not forget the main tagline of this blooming business, “Have your cake, and eat it!”
I am pretty sure that after reading the above article, you must be really hungry. What are you waiting for then? Head over to Fully Baked’s official Instagram, @ananya_shandz, and order away!
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