Startup of the Week: Baking creatively with a touch of art

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The world of technology, particularly social media, may have sparked plenty of opportunities for young entrepreneurs to launch their business, but the competition is also immense.
In such an environment, where hundreds of businesses are offering similar services or products through Instagram or other channels, a creative idea and business strategy are a must to sustain one’s business.
There are many people trying their luck in the baking business these days and using Instagram to market their products.
Afshan Afzal, 27, is one of those young entrepreneurs associated with the baking business and is making their mark through creative ideas.
Afzal has combined art and food to create some of the prettiest cookies in Jeddah. “I was trying to find something where I would have my own freedom and creativity that I couldn’t find in a job. So I wanted my own business,” she told Arab News, embarking on the journey with the encouragement of her friends and family.
“They said that my baking was good and I should try my luck in this business. I wanted it to be sustainable. I did not want to pursue it as a hobby.”
To carve a niche for herself she used her love of art and her baking skills to launch her business. Afzal specializes in sugar cookies that look like intricate pictures. She is a self-taught artist who learned baking by trial and error.
“I started recently, so there are many challenges that I have not faced as yet. But, what I have had some difficulty with is time management.”
Afzal is the sole owner of the business and so is tasked with creating and executing the recipes, baking, design, product photography, and Instagram posts.
She said that Instagram was a challenge because of the huge variety of existing home businesses on the platform, making engagement and outreach more difficult.
Afzal said she took special care to make her products look beautiful, but also so they tasted just as good.
“I have seen a lot of beautiful things that don’t taste that great. So, I start from the best base product and tweak my recipes to make sure the final product is as close to perfection as it gets.”
She also made sure to keep her products affordable for whoever wished to place an order. “Every time a customer gives me a good review and if someone has a special day planned and I get to make them happy with my products is extremely rewarding.”
She offers soft cookies, customized sugar cookies, and milk cakes, and in the future would like to have an established line of products and something that stands out in a crowd of “very amazing bakers.”
Her products can be found on Instagram: @asterix.sugarfix