Kim and Scott Forsythe’s donuts are world-famous in New Zealand. Customers have been known to drive from as far away as Tauranga and Hamilton to sample freshly baked goodness from the Taupō Baked With Love kitchen.
The couple’s thriving café and cakery is full of unique and interesting flavours, and dietary requirements are well catered for. “For us it’s always been about listening to our customers” says Kim, Baked With Love’s Chief Baking Officer. “Food trends are constantly evolving, and we’re always looking for new ways to create great flavours. We really see ourselves as custodians of our customers’ café - we’re here for them.”
Kim and Scott made the move south from Auckland seven years ago and enjoyed becoming part of a supportive business community. “There’s a lot of help available locally and good opportunities to collaborate” says Scott, Baked With Love’s Chief Business Officer. “Participating in Enterprise Great Lake Taupō initiatives like the Accelerate Programme and the Alternative Board has been really valuable to us. Working with other non-competing business to build business plans, test ideas, and ask for advice, has given us a solid knowledge base to grow from. We all face similar challenges, so it’s great to be able to work on problems together” says Scott.
Expansion plans are well underway for the business. A larger eatery and cakery is set to open in December this year and the couple are looking to open sites in other regional locations. Growth has come with its own challenges and building their team has become a focus. “In hospitality it can be hard to find skilled staff who are passionate about their careers” says Kim. “We’ve started to work with local schools to provide apprenticeship positions. We’ve also given a different focus to each role within our business, breaking the jobs down into areas like customer service, baking, sales and stylists” says Kim. This approach means the pair can recruit people with the skills to match, rather than trying to find the “perfect generalist”.
Kim and Scott love the Taupō lifestyle and don’t miss the long commutes of Auckland. They regularly drop off baked treats to the local hospital and police station, and joke about their strenuous seven-minute journey from home to work along the lakefront. It’s all about balance, and these two seem to have found the perfect recipe.
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