Ashish, The Cakeman who delivers feelings not cakes!

“About 2 decades back, as a kid studying in a hostel I always longed to get letters from my near and dear ones. And whenever I would get those blue inlands my heart would be filled with happiness for a couple of days. So every time, I saw the khakee man with a brown jhola at the school lobby (I kinda knew when he usually comes) I felt no different from the kid in the candy store. And, my mind would be busy making up stories of what the contents of my letter would be.” 

Coming back to the present when I saw this amdavadi chap sign off as cakeman who delivers feelings, nostalgia hit me. I saw my post man! And, I actually sense what Ashish Parik means when he says that.

Meet The Cakeman

Ashish Parik, the guy with a never say die attitude is the ultimate example for failing is learning. A 45 minutes conversation with him reinstalled in me the faith that winning and losing are just obnoxious words in the dictionary. The truth is that you can give up on your ideas/ventures/businesses umpteen number of times but must not give up on yourself. And, I swear by that!

Basically from a business family, his first entrepreneurial experiment was at the age of 12 when he tried his hands by selling ‘goli’ biscuits to buy a full pant and note books of choice. The definition of business changes with age and reason.

However the routine tensions related to business forced him to go for engineering so that he could “get a good white collar job with fat salary.” He completed his BE (Mech) from government college of Engineering, Amravati, Maharashtra. With his circumstances then he had no option but to work at the first best place he got – a publishing house as a Store Assistant in 2003 and he worked there only for 13 days before leaving that place (even i was reminded of Vajpayee!).

He then moved onto another publishing house Chate Publications Pvt. Ltd. and in the process of discovering himself and finding what works and what doesn’t, he finally shifted and settled in Gujarat with his family. He was working with ICICI bank when the startup genes reactivated. Ashish started working on an idea (on paper) for a colleague in 2010 and that traces the baby steps to what cakehunt is today.

His first venture ICS Trading services began with a single goal in mind – to deliver everything to everyone. Though it did not take off well he and his fellow guys decided to divide the whole pie into smaller pieces. So while ICS became a FMCG distribution company, Cakehunt was started to deliver cakes and flowers and Deliverybhai to deliver food.

“May be a decade later or whenever the right opportunity comes we will integrate all such small things and then we will continue our dream ICS24BY7”

Distinctive ingredients

Cakehunt is the first multi branded cake shop from where people can buy any cakes of their choice and get it delivered at the place and time they wish. A buyer actually gets the cake at a discounted price and also saves around 30%. Almost all the cakes are made on order and therefore delivered fresh. The smaller bakers also have been provided with a platform by Cakehunt and they now are getting recognition for their work. Deliveries are managed by in house team (yes, Ashish personally goes to do them) thereby punctuality and quality of service is maintained. Everyone seems to be getting a good share of the flavor, no?

The Downside

As with every business, Ashish says that Cakehunt also has its fair set of negatives to tackle. The average shelf life of a cake is 3 days. So to get a fresh cake baked every single time from the bakers when there is a same flavor cake already lying on their shelves becomes a challenge. The other problem he has confronted and managed to handle well is delivering the cake on time without spoiling the intricate designs. To match the speed of in-time delivery and ensure no damage to the cake itself requires great caution.

Ashish’s happy customer – Raj (in green kurta) lives in USA and studies in ATM University. “He wanted cake similar to one which he saw in USA… Nobody was ready to give it in 2 Kgs. We agreed and arranged the best cake from the best baker in town. He and his family were very happy to receive it. Raj specially requested me to stand with him for a photo at the time of delivery.”

Spreading the aroma

Ashish frankly says, “we do not advertise. Our service, cost and quality of products has taken us from no delivery to an average of 3.5 kg per day in one year’s time!” As a person who refuses to accept no for an answer, Ashish proudly says that it’s his relentless passion for his work and his undying sincerity that has got them a good footing in the gujju’s minds.

He admits that though he may lack business intelligence but he keeps learning and is at it every day.

“We never rest when it’s time to work. I am open to learning every single day and despite failures I will not give up.”

No wonder they say that the best teacher is experience.

The cake wreck moment

A midnight cake delivery somewhere around July End. Ashish says he rang the door bell 25-30 times, called the recipient at least a good 15 times but to no response. He knew he could not leave the place without delivering the goods. The sender asked him to leave the gifts outside the door, but, he wasn’t convinced and as a substitute rang the next door neighbour’s bell. Being in the same community and with the same surname Ashish confesses he thought he would be helped but instead without listening to anything the guy started screaming and refused to accept the gifts.  It was 12.05am, midnight! Ashish left dejected; a thankless job he thought indeed. But the next morning (or rather same morning) he woke with a beaming smile recalling the many others who appreciated his little effort to a big extent. He blushes saying “we get at least 1-2 appreciations every day.” Now that’s how you pull yourself up each day.

The icing moment

This August, there were around 3 deliveries between 9 pm – 12 midnight. The first two deliveries were in the old city area. When he reached his first destination, it started pouring heavily. None of his other partners were there to execute the deliveries as they were busy with some other work. It was then that his wife came forward and accomplished the task. Completely drenched in the rains, stuck in an area with water logging problems is when he got a call for a third delivery. Because of the strong family support he proudly says that they managed the third one as well and gives all the credit to his wife and his brother’s wife.

However, the ultimate joy for the family was when the client from UK called up saying “You people deliver feelings in the true sense…Keep up the good work…” Ashish then added that it was the customer’s wife’s first birthday after their marriage. Sitting thousands of miles away he wanted to make her feel as special as possible. Cakehunt team sensed that and despite the odds made sure they did what their client wished. 

Flavour which he relishes

“Through Cakehunt I feel like a messenger of love, feelings, gratitude and affection.” And, that’s what keeps him going. In these times of instant gratification, there are still many people who care so much about relations. “If they can take time and effort to order a cake, how can I feel tired to deliver it?”

“Many a times I sleep at 4-4.30 am and wake up at 6 am for a delivery.”

Closing words on home delivery biz

 “Home delivery business has a very good future.. Keep the cost low. Give personal touch to the business and remember after all we are serving humans.” Don’t people love interacting with humans more than machines? He smiles off saying

“I want to be a part of my customer’s special days and want them to remember me as a person who was a part of their wonderful moments.” 

Be their well wishers on Facebook

(Ashish, truly wish you nothing less than the best… May all your dreams come true. You are truly a wonderful person.)

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About the Author:

Sunaina Shenoy is a hobby writer, dreamer, eco-enthusiast, a wannabe philosopher, lover of good food but isn’t a good cook. Likes to travel and explore places. She loves donning multiple hats in her work sphere and hasn’t yet found her right fit. Currently she is associated with Parentune helping them bring brands on board and of course does her little bit as the editorial assistant with TheRodinhoods. 

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