A Labasa woman who started advertising her baking products on the Facebook page ‘Sweet Relief’ in 2020 has finally managed to open a shop at Delailabasa last week.
Sweet Relief, owned by Emma Dunn Matavesi, and supported by her husband David Matavesi, aims to provide fresh pastries daily to ensure quality is always at the forefront of her service delivery.
The 34-year-old mother of four children said baking has always been her biggest passion, admitting that it’s something that runs in the blood from her maternal side.
About Sweet Relief
Up until she was 21, Ms Matavesi had been baking for family occasions and celebrations.
It was not until she relocated with her family to Labasa in 2020 that she and her husband decided to create a little home-based business page on Facebook to see if there was an opportunity to explore her passion.
They began to notice a market for cakes in Labasa.
She said that through COVID-19, while many businesses were down, cake orders would still come in.
“Seeing how we’ve grown as a home-made business over two years, we felt that 2022 would be a good time to venture into actually having a shop that can offer some tasty treats,” she said.
“We’ve started with nothing fancy, but as the saying goes, ‘you need to start from somewhere’.”
Biggest Challenge:
The former All Saints Secondary School student said starting any business meant making adjustments daily.
As a Fiji National University graduate in Commercial Cookery, she said every day was an opportunity to find an easier way to manage the business.
Her biggest challenge was finding ways to set up at the lowest cost possible.
“With how the price of things have sky-rocketed in the past few months, it will be a challenge for many small micro-enterprises to kick start their business and grow,” she said.
She had done her apprenticeship programme with the Holiday Inn, Suva where she had spent a few years.
Why open in Delailabasa
She said Delailabasa was very central and close to where she lived.
“It’s away from the busy town centre and we get to be available for those who just don’t want to drive into town,” she said.
“I’m just glad to have the support of my husband, children and parents who continue to back me and who are pushing me to grow the business.”
Her advice to the women in the Northern Division is to not be afraid to trust and believe in what you’re most passionate about.
The opening hours of her bakery is from 9:30am to 5:30pm, Monday to Saturday.
Edited by Jonathan Bryce
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