Founded by Candice Bannister in 2011, Candy's Cupcakes has grown from a home kitchen baking business into a nationally recognised bakery brand, delivering handcrafted cupcakes, cookies and celebration cakes across the UK.
GM Business Growth Hub supported Candice from the early days, and her business has now surpassed £2 million turnover, and she’s built a team of more than 20 people.
Yet as the company expanded, it faced a new challenge: making growth more profitable and efficient. Through recent support from ASCEND, GM Business Growth Hub's scale-up programme designed to help ambitious business leaders grow and develop, Candy's Cupcakes embraced new technologies, fresh ideas and different ways of working to build a stronger platform for future success
We caught up with Founder and Managing Director Candice Bannister about the company's latest chapter.
From Growth to Scale
Since we last spoke, how has Candy's Cupcakes evolved?
We've continued to grow significantly over the last few years and recently surpassed £2 million turnover. We've also strengthened our management structure and developed a much more strategic approach to how we run the business.
One of the biggest shifts has been moving beyond simply growing sales and focusing on building a sustainable business. At the same time, we've expanded our marketing activity, embraced new technology and continued developing our online sales channels, helping us grow without simply adding more people.
What challenges were you facing as the business continued to grow?
One of the biggest misconceptions people have is that business growth automatically solves problems.
This time last year, we weren't in a particularly good place as a business. We'd reached a stage where profitability wasn't where it needed to be, and we had to take a hard look at how the business was operating.
As a seasonal business, managing cash flow is critical. Controlling staffing, stock and marketing spend is incredibly important, while a larger team inevitably brings HR and people management challenges.
As a result, we reviewed every area of the business. We removed our night shift, reviewed staffing levels, redesigned processes and reassessed our pricing strategy. We also worked closely with suppliers to reduce ingredient costs and improve purchasing efficiencies.
The biggest shift was changing our mindset. Instead of immediately adding more people, we started asking how we could get more from the people, systems and resources we already had. Our focus moved from simply growing revenue to improving profitability and efficiency.
Agile Support for an Evolving Business
How has GM Business Growth Hub supported the business over the years?
I've worked with GM Business Growth Hub at different stages of the business journey, and the support has evolved alongside the business.
In the early years, the support focused on helping me navigate the challenges of building and growing the company. As the business matured, progressing onto ASCEND, GM Business Growth Hub's flagship scale-up programme for founder-led businesses, felt like a natural next step.
The programme introduced us to a network of ambitious business owners who challenged our thinking, shared new ideas and helped us look at the business differently. Many of the ideas we've implemented since then have been influenced by those conversations and the wider peer network we built through the programme, which has helped us improve efficiency, make better decisions and continue growing sustainably.
How have technology and new sales channels helped the business?
Technology has transformed the way we work.
Through ASCEND, we were exposed to new ideas around technology, efficiency and business improvement. Hearing how other founders were approaching similar challenges, alongside the programme workshops and discussions, encouraged us to explore how AI could help us work more effectively.
That ultimately led us to develop and implement a range of AI-powered systems that automate work which previously had to be done manually. AI now helps process orders, manage production requirements and even assess which deliveries require ice packs based on weather conditions.
One of the most significant improvements has been in order processing. By automating previously manual tasks, we estimate that one AI implementation alone has saved around 80 hours of work, allowing the team to focus on higher-value activities while processing orders much more efficiently.
AI also helps us analyse campaigns, identify high-performing products and improve marketing efficiency. It's improved everything from website content to customer communications.
Ultimately, it's helping us save time, reduce mistakes and make better decisions.
At the same time, TikTok Shop has become a major growth channel for the business.
We joined TikTok around three years ago and have continued to develop our presence on the platform. Today, TikTok accounts for around 40% of our revenue, up from around 30% previously, and generates more than £3,000 in sales per day. We spend around 12 hours a day selling live on the platform.
TikTok attracts a very different customer than our website. People on TikTok often want something quickly or are making impulse purchases, whereas website customers tend to be ordering gifts or planning for a particular occasion.
The two channels now work together. TikTok introduces people to the brand, while the website gives them somewhere to return when they want something more personalised or special.
The ASCEND Effect
How did ASCEND influence the way you think about the business?
I'd already worked with GM Business Growth Hub for several years but ASCEND gave me something different.
While the workshops and speakers were valuable, the biggest benefit for me was the opportunity to learn from other business owners facing many of the same challenges.
Running a business can sometimes feel quite lonely. ASCEND brought together founders who were prepared to be honest about what was working and what wasn't.
We've implemented several ideas after conversations with other founders. Some of the changes we've made around staffing structures, efficiency and business planning came directly from those discussions.
It also made me much more open to different ways of thinking. Often other business owners had already found solutions to challenges we were facing ourselves.
The peer network has been incredibly valuable. A group of us still meet regularly, share ideas and support each other. That ongoing support has introduced us to new opportunities, new contacts and fresh perspectives that continue to benefit the business today.
Looking Ahead
What's next for Candy's Cupcakes?
Our focus is on sustainable growth through TikTok, partnerships, automation and continued efficiency improvements.
The goal isn't simply to grow bigger, but to build a more profitable and scalable business for the future.
Candice Bannister, Founder and Managing Director, Candy's Cupcakes
Get in touch
Please contact us at 0161 3593050 or query below.
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