Meet Khyati Rao of Absolutely Yum in Frisco

Today we’d like to introduce you to Khyati Rao.

Khyati, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I hail from a family where everyone believes that “nothing brings people together like good food.” Anyone who visited us wasn’t allowed to leave without eating something. And nothing has changed yet. I grew up watching my mom make the best meals for us with the same enthusiasm every time, no matter what time of the day. She happily managed to cook different items for everyone in the family in one go. She was never afraid of experimenting with food, trying new recipes and learning about food from different cuisines. She never required an occasion to bake the best of cakes for us and she still doesn’t show up for anyone’s birthday without a cake. Back in those days when it was hard to find all ingredients for baking, she would run errands to collect them.

Growing up, I would help her out with whatever I could while she baked and then sit near the oven waiting for the cake to come out. The sight of the cake rising and a room full of sweet smells were enough for me to fall in love with baking. I started taking over her baking skills and then came a time where she didn’t have to worry when it was a birthday or any other celebration in the house. With all the passion, I started reading baking books, watching shows, trying out new techniques and improving my skills. My parents were brave enough to taste whatever I prepared even if it wasn’t up to the mark and that always kept me motivated.

When I moved to the US with my husband right after marriage, I wasn’t working. And I used all that time to master my baking abilities. Also, I was delighted to see that everything that I need was so easily available. I started learning from all possible means – from borrowing books from the public library to reading blogs, watching YouTube bakers, checking stuff on Pinterest and joining cake forums. Just like mom and dad, my husband would happily try out everything and encouraged me to bake more. He would eagerly wait for our special occasions where I would surprise him with not just a basic homemade cake, but something special every time. When we started sharing the cakes with our friends, they were an instant hit. I would make something every week and send some off to friends and family. After looking at a cake picture I had posted on social media one day, one of my friends messaged me saying “Don’t give it away for free, coz people will happily pay for this.”

Another friend of mine asked me if I can bake one for her neighbor who is willing to pay for it. And that’s how the idea of starting a cake business struck me. My husband helped me figure out all the technicalities, licenses required and the math behind the business while I worked on setting recipe standards, testing the shelf life of every item before designing the menu and advertising. I have even designed the logo all by myself and thus Absolutely Yum came to life. We are only three months into the business and I must say it has picked up very well. The early sign of success is what motivates me to keep working, learning and innovating.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
With respect to starting the business and improving daily, the path has been pretty smooth. There are so many amazing things about doing business in this country. Firstly, the easy availability of ingredients and equipment. Most things that we need for the business are either a click away or are available under one roof. With a vast variety of bakeware options available, it becomes easy to find any item with the shape and size we require. I remember, back home in India, I once had a hard time finding cupcake pans, liners, different flavoring extracts, and even gel food colors. Second is the ease of doing business. For getting licenses and permits to opening a bank account, the process is smooth and simple.

As for the challenges, figuring out the business altogether was the tough part for us. We had no experience as to how, when and what to begin with. So we worked day and night to soak up all the knowledge that we could and then connected the dots for a failproof business plan. Also, I sometimes get clients who ask for things we don’t serve like cakes dressed up in fondant. I wasn’t confident in working with fondant and so none of my cakes or cupcakes are decorated with it. But there are people who believe that a cake would only look good when done with fondant. I’m committed to great customer service so I don’t say no to any request. So when the first time I got a request for fondant cupcake toppers I said yes even though I had no clue of working with fondant. I had about a week’s time to deliver that order which I utilized in learning, perfecting how to make fondant and working with it. Upon seeing how happy my customer was with those cupcakes, all that hard work became so much worthy. Success doesn’t come to those who are scared of struggles.

Please tell us about Absolutely Yum.
Absolutely Yum is a Frisco-based cottage bakery offering a variety of cakes and cupcakes, also with customizations. From mermaid cupcakes to tiny Christmas trees, every delectable treat is made fresh to order, from scratch, with the finest ingredients that define our quality. Our motto is serving the community with the freshest and quality baked goods possible and giving people the best customer experience. I single-handedly regulate even the tiniest of the requirements. I make sure to get the best of raw materials, checking how fresh they are, keeping a track of what is bought when and ensuring nothing goes outdated. I just don’t compromise with the quality of ingredients used. They are always the same ones that I use for my home kitchen, just bought separately. All menu items that we offer have been tried and tested for shelf life in their original form and we use no added preservatives to increase their life. From a using hairnet, food-safe hand gloves and maintaining the overall cleanliness of my workspace, great care is also taken while handling the food.

Sometimes people call us saying they just want to pick up something if it’s there in stock. But that’s the only customer request I always have to say no to as we don’t stock up on anything as it’s against the motto of our company. One of the best things that my mother has always taught me is not cheating in the name of food, no matter who that is, a family member, a friend, domestic help or in this case a customer. All my regular customers know how I keep up to my words. All our goods are labeled with storage, freshness and consumption instructions as well as the major food allergens. Even though some items have a longer shelf life, If someone is unable to pick up their order due to some reason, they are clearly informed how long it would stay fresh. I never take orders more than my capacity as that would require prepping up things in advance, storing them or freezing them. Our buttercream is something that sets us apart. People have by far loved it. So many of them misinterpret it for fresh whipped cream.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Better digital presence before launch, for sure. After the launch, it took sometime before we got our first couple of orders. Then we found out it had a deep relationship with the digital marketing and presence. We were extremely focused on getting all the numbers right before the launch, but now we realize numbers actually don’t matter when you want to reach out to people to spread the word. Brand awareness is a must.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 859-536-6146
• Email: absolutelyyum@gmail.com
• Instagram: Absolutely Yum
• Facebook: @absolutelyum

Image Credit:
Prismatik Photography

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