What Are The Ingredients Of SME Success

Annabel and Emily Lui (aka The Lui Sisters) are the bakers and owners of the Soho, London- based bakery, Cutter & Squidge. It is the only all natural baking business (think real butter and less sugar) that offers UK-wide delivery.

It is quite the career pivot for the sisters who have been incredibly successful in their respective careers as corporate financier (Annabel) and lawyer (Emily).Certainly their family roots will have influenced their choices. They were born into a family of restaurateurs, spending many hours as children in their parents’ restaurant where they developed their passion for developing flavour combinations.

In house, Cutter & Squidge successfully sells traditional English afternoon tea favourites like lemon drizzle and victoria sponge alongside more modern flavour combinations, such as passionfruit and mango. In addition, the business has mastered the art of sending cakes through the mail, carefully sealed in a tin.

This is one of many bakery brands that has grabbed the opportunity of home delivery, fuelled by consumer change during the pandemic. Consumers are seeking out more artisan suppliers as they demand quality from the provenance of the food that they buy.

The resurgence of our interest in baked goods is stimulated by TV programmes like Bake-Off and Baking Impossible; it has seen social media platforms filled with images and tutorials from master and amateur bakers alike.

The Savvy Baker based in Leeds, Yorkshire is another flourishing business founded by a career changer. Former make-up artist Savannah Roqaa lay down her brushes after the pandemic forced an abrupt stop to her work and she now produces on-trend brownie and blondies.

Whilst Roqaa has moved from one form of creativity to another, many might find the correlation between finance and baking not as easy to understand.

Annabel Lui enjoyed a successful career as a corporate financier, overseeing multi-million pound transactions and stacking up 100-hour working weeks. The shift to focus on Cutter & Squidge was one that would allow her to enjoy a more fulfilling outlet for her creative skills, but she highlights that her foundations in finance have been a great help

“ The disciplines you learn in banking can be applied to business in general. I use the skills I needed in for my role in finance on a daily basis – obviously a commitment to hard work- but also maths, spreadsheets etc for baking. Although most people think that baking has a creative side, which of course it does but it’s foundation is very scientific…

…it’s about the right ingredients and right quantities to create the perfect rise…” explains Lui.

The real surprise has been just how much work is required to make it all happen. She tells us: “If I thought corporate finance was a career-path with intensive working weeks and hard work..creating Cutter & Squidge was just another level. Thankfully I had the stamina to build this business from ground zero and to this day I still have it. When we opened Soho, I would make the cakes in the early morning, drive them to Soho, start selling at 11 and stay until 10pm to close up. I even drove the van to drop off products to Harrods and Selfridges everyday.”

That commitment to service and going the extra mile was instilled into her by her mother who baked bespoke celebration cakes. From a young age, the sisters understood the importance of food being of high quality, using the freshest and finest of ingredients.

The business has achieved the level of growth and success that Annabel’s former self as finance specialist would be proud of. The brand boasts a team of over 50 employees and continues to use premium natural ingredients.

The Cutter & Squidge entry price of £4.99 is intended to appeal to an increasingly cost-conscious customer and with Easter fast approaching, the business is hoping for record sales with a wide range including vegan and wheat-free recipes.