The owners of a luxury cake company, who made Pixie Lott’s wedding cake and provide services to The Savoy hotel, have said they will need to raise their prices to cope with the “unnecessary stress” of the cost-of-living crisis.
Husband and wife Khaled Moustafa, 39, and Nina Kamal, 36, own Erzulie Cakes, founded in 2014 in Melbourn, Cambridgeshire.
Mrs Kamal, a former school teacher, told the PA news agency: “The profit margins are decreasing due to the rising costs in general.
“We’ve got to think about whether it’s worth our time or not, in terms of being a small business in the luxury market, with all the increases of energy prices and all that.
“So it’s stressful, not going to lie. We just want to focus on creating something beautiful, and being a big part of people’s big days and celebrations and this just adds a lot of unnecessary stress.”
The couple plan to increase their costs by at least 10% in the autumn due to inflation.
However, Mrs Kamal believes that this could rise after Ofgem confirmed an 80.06% rise in the energy price cap.
The Erzulie Cakes studio runs air conditioning and dehumidifying units 24 hours a day to keep the room cool so that cakes do not melt.
They also have two ovens which run for a minimum of five hours a day, three large fridge freezers and a separate freezer.
The company’s energy bills have almost tripled from £150 a month to £390, with prices set to increase further in October.
Erzulie Cakes made singer Pixie Lott’s wedding cake and often work closely with high-end hotels.
Mrs Kamal said: “We work with the top London venues like The Savoy and The Dorchester.
“We are also a recommended supplier at the Corinthia London.”
While the business is still getting the same volume of orders, Mrs Kamal has noticed that people now have stricter, tighter budgets.
“We have to increase our prices and still be able to have this creativity and not cut down on the services that we do,” she said.
Erzulie Cakes increased their delivery minimum spend in the summer in line with rising fuel costs.
Previously, a minimum order value to deliver to London was £50, but it has risen to £95.
Mrs Kamal, a mother-of-two, often works at least 13 hours a day in the kitchen to complete orders with her husband, and sometimes works through the night to finish sugar work.
“We wanted to get someone to work in the kitchen with us and we just keep delaying this part so we don’t have to let them go,” she said.
“We keep working silly hours just to try and make up for that until we’re able to decide whether we can afford to hire more people.”
The couple also have plans to open a cake-craft and sugar-work school, but are considering operating remotely to curb extra expense.
