Pembrokeshire student’s Welsh bakes are on the rise

Pembrokeshire College A-level student Tom Wickens is a new and upcoming baking entrepreneur whose welsh cakes are grabbing the county’s sweet tooth.

Tom, a passionate baker, launched his business during the pandemic of April 2021 selling freshly baked goods from his family home and leaving out an honesty box as a form of market research to see how much people would pay for freshly baked goods and what the most popular flavours were.

The launch became very successful, and the word soon spread, leading to Tom starting to take orders online.

Tom said, “The Welsh cakes really took off and I quickly realised I would need to create a website for customers to order them. This also helped me to stay organised and reduce waste as I was baking to order.”

Tom’s bakes soon started to attract local businesses and now Tom provides a service to local farm shops across the county.

Emma Lippiett, Pembrokeshire College’s Curriculum Area Manager for A-levels said, “Tom is an excellent entrepreneur; he has managed to build his own successful business whilst carrying out his A-level studies. We are thrilled to see Plumstone Bakes grow due to Tom’s hard work and commitment (and delicious Welshcakes). He is a true inspiration to students who have their own business ideas and a credit to the College community.”

After College, Tom is looking to start up his own mobile café in the hope that he can inspire others his own age.

“You can never be too young to start a business. I would advise others to do lots of market research and find a gap in the market that has potential. You also need to be passionate! I learned all my baking skills from my mum and College has supported me with this dream. They have kindly provided me with branded marketing materials for me to use at various events.”

Tom has recently expanded the flavours of Welsh cakes he offers from white chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate and raspberry, lemon and stem ginger and dark chocolate and ginger. To order your favourite flavours head over to his Facebook page.

(Lead image: Pembrokeshire College)