Cake Masters Magazine Awards 2019

 

it's time to get voting . . .

 

The nominations are now open for the Cake Masters Magazine Awards 2019, so it’s that time of the year when we ask you to get voting again . . .

We are absolutely tickled pink to have been Cake Masters Awards finalists every year and to have been named 'Best Retailer' twice, but we’re not the type of people to rest on our laurels and we certainly don’t take anything for granted - especially when up against some of the best known names in the industry.

So we’ve been working harder than ever to introduce hundreds of new products, ensure faster deliveries and offer even more competitive prices.

With over 125,000 customers worldwide we have our work cut out, but we absolutely love it and are delighted to be celebrating Cake Stuff's 40th birthday this year!

We're passionate about what we do, so if you feel that Cake Stuff have done a good job looking after you again this year, please nominate us for the Best Retailer Award - category 18.

A lot of new ideas, new investment and hard work have been going on during the past year - much of it behind the scenes. 

Here's just a taste . . .

 

  • we now operate from 2 warehouse locations so our range of cakey products has grown from 8,000 to 9,500 within the past 12 months and should reach 10,000 very soon
  • 2 warehouses and a fully automated order process allow us to operate much more slickly - over 95% of all orders are delivered at least a day sooner than the delivery estimate we show at checkout
  • 98% of Express Shipping orders arrive next working day (and that takes into account any disruption caused by snow, flooding, road incidents etc)
  • whenever we have spare warehouse capacity we offer a Free Express Upgrade (you may have seen the red stamp on your order form) so you may even get your order next working day at no extra charge
  • we have worked with DPD to develop completely ground-breaking technology that allows us to ship orders from 2 different warehouses and still have over 97% delivered complete the next working day, across the UK
  • the Cake Stuff website is fully optimised for mobile and tablet use, so customers can enjoy a much better browsing experience on their phones and tablets
  • despite Brexit uncertainty and poor exchange rates pushing up the cost of just about everything, we have held over 90% of prices at 2018 levels
  • we've used our massive buying power to actually reduce the prices of many popular brands and products
  • we've worked with our customers to develop new products such as Couture luxury sugarpaste which, within only a couple of years, has become one of the UK's top-selling sugarpastes
  • we do not charge any more for delivery to any UK mainland areas that courier companies consider 'remote'
  • we now use DPD for almost all our deliveries - they are the UK's only certified 'carbon neutral' couriers plus they offer our customers unbeatable order tracking and management, with a confirmed one-hour delivery time slot

We take our environmental responsibilities seriously . . .

  • our packing chips are made from maize starch and dissolve completely in water, so can be safely flushed down the sink or loo . . . they can also be composted
  • all our incoming cardboard is recycled and all our outgoing cardboard (the boxes we ship your orders in) has a high proportion of recycled material and can also be recycled again
  • plastic packaging air pillows are made from recycled plastic and use a tiny proportion of plastic compared to the volume of space they fill - burst them and they take up virtually no room in your recycle bin (they can be recycled in most local authority areas)
  • we've invested in state-of-the-art, super-efficient, low energy warehouse heating and lighting
  • we recycle everything we can - recycling targets for businesses in Scotland are pretty strict (and quite rightly too!) so we do everything we can to minimise waste
  • we look at the environmental and ethical impact of everything we buy, right down to toilet paper and Fair Trade coffee for the team.  We're not perfect - not by a long way - but we're working to make the business more environmentally responsible all the time

 We also take our social responsibilities seriously too . . .

  • we work with a number of charities, both local and national.  It's not something we shout about but it is something that the loyal support of our customers allows us to do.  Food banks, homeless projects and countless fundraisers across the UK are all supported, as well as larger projects such as providing a nutritious meal for a child with every box of Couture sugarpaste sold, through the charity Mary's Meals

  • we have supported a number of new businesses and helped them bring their products to the UK market - a bit like Dragon's Den except we're all better looking and less grumpy (!)

  • we champion new brands from around the world - sometimes they prove popular and sometimes they don't, but we feel it's always good to offer something new in the belief: 'let our customers decide'

  • as a company, we are accredited Living Wage employers.  We do not use zero-hours contracts and treat everyone in our team with dignity and respect

  • our famous Price Promise means you can relax in the knowledge that you'll always enjoy some of the very best prices in the UK

  • busy cake makers can apply to be Trade Customers, saving even more with exclusive offers and discounts - our new Business Development Manager is happy to work with you to agree special prices on the products you use most, ensuring you always get the best prices possible to allow your business to grow

  • we work closely with regulatory bodies like Environmental Health, Food Standards Scotland and the Food Standards Agency to monitor and test brands being introduced into the UK. The vast majority are absolutely fine but, occasionally, this work identifies a problem (as with Rolkem) and we highlight these problems to the industry to try and keep everyone safe.  Very often we pay for this testing ourselves to double-check that manufacturers' claims are accurate

  • we're constantly investing in and developing the Cake Stuff website - it's packed with great little features to help you search for and filter on the products you're looking for and each product is presented with loads of information to answer just about any question you may have

  • we never take anything for granted - we are constantly trying to improve every aspect of what we do

As one of the event sponsors, we want to encourage all our customers to get involved again and to nominate those companies, products and individuals who you feel have really stood out this year across a wide range of categories.  You can vote in as many or as few categories as you want, so it's a great opportunity to recognise some of the outstanding talent our amazing industry has to offer . . . bakers, cake artists, sugarcrafters, teachers, authors, designers and manufacturers.  You can also nominate your favourites from the very best products available in the cake decorating world today.

OK, so it's a bit embarrassing trying to blow our own trumpet like this - regular customers know we're not that kind of people and we prefer to just get on with the job of looking after our customers without making a fuss about it.

On the other hand, there has been a lot going on in the background over the past year that you maybe didn't know about so, as every cake supplies retailer in the country now starts begging for your vote, we thought it worth letting you know what we've been up to in a very real effort to 'help you bake it better'.

Don't be put off voting by the number of categories on the nominations form . . . you can vote in as few or as many categories as you want, but must choose a Best Magazine Cover (category 12).

We really hope we've done a good job looking after you and your orders during the past year - if you feel we have, please nominate us for the Best Retailer Award - category 18.

 

 

To nominate, just visit . . .

bit.ly/CMMA2019