Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
From a young age, I would always love to bake. Whether it was just for my family, or something I was craving, or even for friends as a “just because” or their birthdays, I would always enjoy baking the very basic brownies, cookies, and cakes. As much as I loved baking them, I equally loved how everyone reacted to it. It all started in May with me, sitting in my room, working from home because of the Pandemic, scrolling through social media. I noticed a trend starting with “Ube” and came across the famous “Ube Pandesal.” Once I saw that I told myself, I NEED to try to bake that because. Uh. PANDESAL! Who doesn’t love pandesal?! Because of the situation we were in, I had a lot of time on my hands, so why not do what I enjoy doing and bake?? After one try, I realized, wow, making bread is HARD. A few fails, but I was determined to perfect it. The second try nailed it! We were so proud of how it came out. We decided to give them out to our nearest relatives and friends. We had so much positive feedback from everyone that we decided to sell them! From there, my entire family was in on it and we came up with Catapia’s Kitchen! Now, we are at almost 700 followers in six months and it’s been great! We’ve connected with our families, other fellow small businesses, new friends, old friends and would always have their constant support and help. Because of them, I would say they are a big part of how we’ve succeeded today.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. In the beginning, we had to figure out how much we can handle since we were receiving a lot of requests. Having both only my mom and me in the kitchen and still working full time, we had to make sure only to make what we are physically and mentally capable of. Also, did I mention? Bread is DIFFICULT! It doesn’t always turn out how we needed them too and sometimes that’s what frustrates us the most. We did have to take a few mental breaks to keep our sanity in check.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about you’re your work?
Currently, we specialize in baking. We are most known for our Ube Pandesals (Ube Pandesal with Cream Cheese is everyone’s favorite). We love to make everything related to our Filipino culture and have been trying to expand our menu. What might set us apart from others is probably how we offer many different pandesal fillings and flavors. We care most about how everyone will react to them and make sure that we always give them options. The feedback that we receive saying how much they love them honestly is enough for us. I am most proud of how far we’ve come and how much closer we’ve become like a family. We are able to schedule more orders easily and effectively, making sure we can take in as many orders as we can. We’ve been able to expand our menu for the holidays and seasons. Because of this, we’ve been able to bond and spend more time as a family together. I can say that our business is a blessing.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Patience. Baking and communicating with different people is not always the easiest, and it takes patience. I’ve also learned that it’s okay if not everything turns out how you want it to, you learn from it and become better.
Pricing:
- Ube/Pandan/Classic Pandesal with Regular Fillings- $6 for half a dozen, $10 for a dozen
- Leche Flan- $8 for Regular, $10 for Ube
- Mango Floats- $8 for 16oz, $15 for 32oz
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @catapias_kitchen
- Facebook: @officialcatapiaskitchen
Image Credits
@darrencatapia (instagram) @tinyhulkaileen (instagram)
