In the world of Masterchef, My Kitchen Rules, and whatever this Hot Plate show is going to turn out to be, it seems like people everywhere are harbouring secret, and not-so-secret “food dreams”.
But while having a dream is great, having the business sense to recognise a gap in the market and fill it is even better.
That’s exactly what Heather Woodcraft did at the age of 25, when she realised Toowoomba people who wanted in on the cupcake craze were having to drive to Brisbane to get their fix (or worse, make their own).
After putting the word out to friends and family to crowdfund a birthday present of a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, and working with a chef to develop recipes, Crave Cupcakes was born.
Now, three years later, Crave Cupcakes is a definite Toowoomba small business success story. I spoke to Heather about how she started Crave, where she wants to take it, and how not having a sweet tooth is an important ingredient when it comes to running a cupcake store.
Can you tell me about why you started Crave?
It was super spontaneous. Originally my background was music festivals and events. I worked for Easterfest for four or five years and then I worked for Brisbane Carnival, Woodford and Carnival of Flowers and pretty much any major music festival in South East Queensland.
When I moved up here I worked for the Carnival of Flowers for a year and a half. I finished up with Carnival of Flowers and found myself in Toowoomba with no more events that I had work for and I needed something to do. And I’d been talking about selling cupcakes at markets, because I knew it was huge in Brisbane and no one up here was really doing it. So we started just trying to find a little commercial kitchen I could work out of, so I could get the food licence and sell safely and found out this place was for sale.
Super spontaneously we decided “let’s just buy it that’ll be great!” and so it was about three weeks before finding out it was for sale and then having the keys. And that was two and a half years ago.
Why cupcakes? Have you always been interested in baking?
No I’m terrible at baking! It was just because it was so big and successful in Brisbane and no one up here was doing it. So I just saw the market and thought “someone has to do this and I need something to do”.
I’ve got a girl, Simone, who comes in the morning and does most of the baking for me, which is great and I just finish off some bits and pieces and make sure it all runs.
I saw on your website that you crowdfunded a stand mixer?
I was looking at just selling cupcakes at markets, and because I don’t normally bake I had no baking equipment. My birthday was coming up so I just put out to my friends and family that I started a crowdfunding page and asked “can you guys help me buy a mixer?” and it worked really well.
I bought this beautiful Kitchen Aid mixer, that we still use in the kitchen and I promised everyone that donated that I would make them a dozen cupcakes with it. It worked really well and it’s a cool birthday idea.
And is everything baked here?
We make everything here, to control the quality and things like that.
How many cakes do you make a day?
About 100. It depends on orders. For the shop we’ll do 100 or 200 a day and if we have orders like weddings and birthday cakes and anniversaries and all sorts of different things then we’ll make that on top of whatever we need for the shop.
Are there any special, secret ingredients?
Yes. All secret. The icing is a secret because we formulated our own icing recipe over a few months that works really well and people seem to like. So, yep super secret.
You have different flavours every day. How do you decide – is it just what you feel like?
Just what we feel like, or what we haven’t done for a while or if we feel like making something new and different we can. It’s really good we keep it really casual so if we just want to do something we can, we don’t have to stick to any sort of rules, which is how I like it. They’re just cupcakes we try not to take it too seriously.
And if something’s a complete disaster then the next day we just do something else.
What’s your favourite flavour?
We do a maple bacon flavour and it’s so good, I love it. Because I spent six months in Canada a few years ago and maple and bacon was everywhere and so amazing. It’s so tasty.
What’s been your biggest achievement has been to date?
Just making it work. The fail rate of small businesses is so big, so to still be here after three years.
We opened a second store at Highfields late last year and it was just awful. There’s a little Coles complex past the Woolies complex so we went in there, and the other tenants and new regulars we got were lovely but the store just wasn’t busy enough to sustain. It was really disappointing but we had to close it up after about six months.
But it’s that sort of thing we had no way of knowing when we went into it. You never know if you don’t try.
Would you consider opening a second store somewhere else in Toowoomba?
Not at the moment. I don’t think Toowoomba needs a second store, as we’re pretty central and we deliver orders all over the place.
Why do you think people love cupcakes? It’s a massive craze that’s not ending.
I think it’s just super trendy, people love new things and they’re way better than cakes in terms of price, looks and serving. I think they’re a practical choice for any occasion.
It’s still super trendy for weddings and birthdays and things like that. So I think it’ll be around for a while.
What would you do if everything declined?
I have no idea. I would deal with that when it happened, if it happened. But it’s a risk in business, there’s always a chance that will happen, I’m just enjoying it while it’s good.
Is it fun to come in to the shop and be surrounded by colourful cupcakes and things that make people happy?
Yeah, it is, you never get people coming in who are sad. Well, if they are we give them cupcakes and then they’re happy. We get amazing regulars, the people who we see all the time are so lovely, and I made a whole heap of friends just through having this, which is cool.
What are your goals for Crave for the future?
So many – different every week depending on how I’m feeling. I would love to franchise it at some point that would be amazing. I don’t know what the future holds for Crave. We’ve started to get invited to markets down in Brisbane, which is great because it’s a much bigger audience.
We do the Margaret St markets every month. We did the Eat St ones at Portside, and the Eagle Farm ones at Ascot racecourse, which was lovely, they’re really cute little markets.
Is there a limit to how many cupcakes a day a person can eat?
There should be, but I don’t know what it would be. We tell everyone that cupcakes are a sometimes food.
So the secret is to not like what you cook?
Yeah, I think I’m lucky in that aspect otherwise I’d be running to work and back every day. But I’m glad other people like them, that’s good.
Toowoomba Tip
Our interviewees give us an insight into their favourite things to do and places to go in Toowoomba. Heather’s partner Simon runs the Mort Estate Hotel, so you shouldn’t be surprised by her tip.
I would tell you to go to the Mort Estate Hotel. The steak is super good, the chef we have is super nerdy about his steak, and the wings are amazing and I love their burgers.
Crave Cupcakes is located at 86 Russell Street and is open six days a week, closed Sundays. You can order online, so check out their website and like them on Facebook to find the flavours of the day.
