Sabie's Mom I have known Palawan for its amazing sights from the Underground River to the white sand beaches. Before moving and starting Sabie Bakes in late 2015, I never realized how vast Palawan was. Moreover, starting a business here, let alone creating cakes for the people of Palawan, I did not know what to expect from the market and what challenges I would be facing.
Having a cake shop is not easy as pie
We did encounter a lot of challenges when we started the business. During that time, resources in Palawan were quite limited. I had to look for suppliers who can ship key ingredients without breaking the bank. So I decided to turn to local ingredients and sources to create the products and the quality we wanted. It helped that we were also starting a farm. It gave us the direction of what to produce and what to plant.
Every business starts small. As Palawan and Puerto Princesa progressed as a city and destination, our business grew as well. When SM opened in 2017, we decided to open our first branch in the mall. It was not easy to be sure, but I think every sweat and tear was worth it.
What do Palaweños like?
Our best seller cake flavor is chocolate caramel. Locally, for the past few years, it is widely called “choco moist” which I honestly dread! Argh! I did see a change throughout the years. With the increase of people migrating from the more developed cities to the slow-paced lifestyle of Palawan, palete and tastes have evolved. To date, our most requested cake would be the Salted Caramel cake but still have a lot of orders of our Chocolate caramel.
As for design, I noticed that it is usually by the trends in weddings and what kids usually like to watch online. Early on, I was making My Little Pony 3d figures and a lot of painted cakes on fondant. In later years, I was making Unicorn cakes week on week and Hot Wheels for the boys. Wedding cakes also moved from fully fondant cakes to naked cakes adorned with sugar flowers. (I predict that this trend is here to stay). The changes in the trends keep me on my toes when it comes to design. I try to keep myself on-trend and work on improving the quality of the product.
Cakes in Palawan now
I have noticed the cake market in Palawan be more competitive in recent years. I remember being asked what I thought about it and I said that I know what sets my product apart from the others. We all make cakes, we all make good cakes for our customers. For Sabie Bakes, I would continue to improve and be extraordinary. I want to distinguish Sabie Bakes creatively, that the difference is in the details and I hope that our customers appreciate and see that in the products we deliver.
