In the past week, our Client Success Manager, Alta caught up with Iza of Baked KL during the Movement Control Order period which is affecting local business owners in Malaysia. Amidst the challenging period, we reached out to Iza to see how she is doing and how she is managing her business.

Iza is the founder of Baked KL and one of the trailblazers in the Vegan and Gluten-Free desserts business in Kuala Lumpur. Now, offering an eclectic mix of desserts ranging from the staples like brownies and cookies to the indulgent Dark Chocolate Truffle cake. The best bit is you could have them completely dairy and gluten free. In this interview, we found out the following:

• How the idea of using all vegan and gluten free ingredients to bake brownies and cookies came into fruition
• How did Iza transit from the fashion industry into starting her own business
• How does she focus on her business while raising a toddler of 18 months old (Aww…)
• What did she struggle with running the business by herself
• And, how did we ultimately help her to overcome the challenge

Now, you can sit back, relax and find out about Iza.

Hey Iza! How is your business going in this crazy pandemic period?

It’s going fine so far. The business was actually slower in February. People are craving for cookies and cakes when they are stuck at home so I guess that’s why. As a business owner, I am expecting the worst during this period so just trying to push as hard as I could.

That’s good to hear. Let’s start from the beginning, do you remember when it was the first time you’ve ever baked?

No, I don’t (Giggling at her own answer). I guess it was 2011 when I really started.

How did you get into baking though? How did the interest grow?

I enjoy baking but I wouldn’t say it’s my passion. It's more of a hobby.

I remember in uni, when you would live with a group of friends, we would come up with some desserts during the weekends.To be honest, it was quite accidental how I started making baking a business. My sister and I were baking some cookies for Raya and this was in 2011. On the next day, my mum’s friends were asking if I was selling them.

I was working in a full time job and thought why not just sell them if someone is interested in my cookies. It was more like a side hustle. I wasn’t too happy with my full time job so I quit my job a year after that. I told my boss that I plan to leave and asked her if I could come back if this didn’t work out. She was actually supportive of me trying out a different career.