The Bakers Fairy sprinkling tasty joy
Established at the start of the Covid-19 era, when the pandemic had just plunged the country, and indeed much of the world, into lockdown, one might have thought The Bakers Fairy would struggle to survive.
Time would prove them wrong!
Three years later and the confectionary is still going strong, its tasty, sugary treats proving a real hit.
Owned by 33-year-old Polokano Tshegofatso Molebatsi and boasting over 7, 000 followers on Facebook, The Bakers Fairy specialise in fresh cakes of various sizes, cupcakes, chocolates, marshmallows, and pastries.
“This business was formed in April 2020, roughly two days after a national lockdown was announced. That was when my husband had a conversation with me that we will have a lot of time stuck at home doing almost nothing. He challenged me to think about what I can do as a business and offered his support. I came up with a list, and baking was among the ideas but I never thought I could successfully turn it into a business. Within no time he had convinced me that it is best from the list. He then registered the business with CIPA while I researched on how to make it a successful business,” Molebatsi tells Voice Money.
Indeed, research and trail-and-error, have played a big part in building up the business.
“I’m someone who likes doing research. I spend a lot of time finding information online and making recipes and taking them to my friends to taste and judge me.”
Based in Tlokweng, where the production magic takes place, the enterprise has a stall at Rail Park Mall, targeting both individual customers and corporate organisations.
Going forward, they are looking to penetrate the lucrative retail market.
“My biggest challenge has always been finding a bigger place to run this business; retail spaces are expensive and difficult to find. At times, we would think we have found a good space only to find that the electricity connection is single phase when the equipment we have purchased needs three phase. But we are closing on that,” declared the self-taught baker, who has a BSC in Computing from Teeside University in the northern English town of Middleborough.
Despite operating a single stall in Gaborone, Molebatsi prides herself on getting big business from major corporations.
Past clients include giants such as: Orange, ABSA Bank, JCB, New Era College and Access Bank, who put in an order for 400 cakes on Valentine’s Day.
The Lentsweletau native believes the big companies keep calling as, once they’ve sampled her yummy delights, they are completely hooked.
“We offer unique family recipes that differentiate our products from others. One thing I’m sure of is that you will never eat a cake that tastes like ours anywhere. We also bake products that assure quality and taste. They taste as good as they look. We are constantly looking on how we can improve our products, be it the product itself, packaging or branding. Lastly value your customers and their feedback: we are where we are because we improve on the areas they have pointed out.”
To take her business to the next level, Molebatsi plans to offer specialty products to retail shops around the country, with an eventual dream of going regional and even global.
To achieve her lofty ambitions, Molebatsi has to balance her business with her full-time job at Botswana Post, where she is employed as a customer service assistant.
Currently, The Bakers Fairy employs a single individual, who mans the stall, while Molebatsi focuses on baking after-hours; she can often be found slaving away at the oven in the wee hours of the night.
“Time management and planning are key to my success story. Hard work, encouragement and support from my family, more especially my husband and our lovely daughter. Had it not been for them, maybe I could have long quit this,” she admits.
