From Three Branches to 12: How a Small Cake Business Survived and Thrived During and After the Pandemic
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It is a truth universally acknowledged: cakes are the centerpiece of any celebration.
Marita Laddaran learned this early on in her journey as a baker. In 1997, she chanced upon a basic cake decorating class, was thoroughly inspired, and the rest, as she says, is history. Her newfound passion for cakes led her to start her business, Hearts and Bells, in the same year.
It was a simple dream, one that began in the comfort of Laddaran’s home. In fact, Hearts and Bells’ legacy as a famous wedding cake supplier goes back to the first celebration that it catered to: Its owner’s.
“We believe in making cakes for everyday celebrations,” Laddaran share. “That is, we dedicate ourselves to making beautiful, memorable cakes for our customers’ special milestones. We make our cakes fresh daily with the best quality ingredients, adorned with buttercream flowers. The love and care we pour into each cake is what makes Hearts and Bells unique.”
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Later on, Laddaran earned her title as a professional pastry chef from the Northwest Culinary Academy in Canada. Decades passed and with her success, her business also rose to greater heights.
Hearts and Bells stood witness to thousands of weddings, birthdays, and every other celebration imaginable. She sold love and celebration, until the pandemic hit and she had to wrestle with keeping the business afloat.
Laddaran and her talented team’s resolve was tested when COVID-19 struck. Much like other enterprises, Hearts and Bells went through the struggle of keeping itself afloat amid the pandemic by drastically pivoting its business strategy to survive.
It was during that time that they focused on creating more buttercream flower cakes, treats small enough for intimate celebrations which families and loved ones can enjoy in the safety of their households. The founder elevated staple flavors such as chocolate, caramel, ube, mocha, and mango into centerpieces—small beacons of joy amid a troubling time.
“There actually was quite a demand for cakes during the pandemic,” she says. “It’s a testament to the human spirit to keep going, keep celebrating those little achievements even though there was so much uncertainty."
Laddaran also shares that flowers are her main inspiration for designing cakes, owing to their natural beauty.
Marita Laddaran is the founder of Hearts and Bells
To get these cakes to their destinations involved looking for a groundbreaking logistics strategy as well. Hearts and Bells found a partner in Grab to enhance their deliveries, enabling the business to continue offering their products to customers, especially during the peak of indoor celebrations.
“Grab connects us to customers all over the metro,” Laddaran says. “It’s amazing that our cakes reach areas like Cavite or Antipolo (where we don’t have physical stores), all because of the fantastic Grab drivers who carefully transport our cakes to homes,” Marita said.
Today, a big chunk of Hearts and Bells’ sales come from the delivery app. Embracing technology and its efficiency proved to be the right strategy, as its benefits endure even in the post-pandemic climate.
Aside from its delivery services, Hearts and Bells was also involved with GrabKitchen, a cloud kitchen that serves as a central commissary for multiple restaurants. Through this, entrepreneurs like Laddaran no longer need to make heavy upfront investments in their own facilities.
From three branches before the pandemic, Hearts and Bells has expanded to 12, with five of those branches located in GrabKitchen.
“We appreciate the strong support that Grab provides in ensuring that we’re able to introduce our cakes to a wide customer base,” Laddaran says. “GrabKitchen has also enabled us to set up multiple cloud stores in prime locations. Moreover, we are proud to partner with the leading food delivery service that strives to provide top-notch customer experience, which is exactly what the Hearts and Bells team values.”
Despite its expanding customer base, at the core of Hearts and Bells is its promise to make every celebration special by delivering beautiful, freshly baked cakes that never scrimp on quality.
More than cakes, the centerpiece of any celebration is the meaning it brings to the people behind it. Most customers would ask to include little notes with the cakes that they order for their loved ones.
“It’s the messages that warm my heart the most,” Laddaran says. “Sometimes it’s words of encouragement to someone who’s feeling down, a sweet love letter to a spouse, or a family brimming with excitement to celebrate Lola’s 80th birthday with her. We really dedicate ourselves to the little details to make the cakes all the more special to the recipient.”
