Key Points
- With more than a decade-long experience as a food scientist, Browne has utilised her knowledge to improve the safety and quality of her baked goods.
- To set up her desserts business, the initial investment she poured in was $5,000 AUD which includes insurance, council certificate, and appliances such as an electric mixer.
- One of the challenges in running her business is ensuring the kitchen is compliant to all the regulations of council.
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Trial and error: Susi sa matamis na negosyo
SBS Filipino
02/04/202412:04
With more than a decade-long experience as a food scientist, Erika Browne has utilised her knowledge to improve the safety and quality of her baked goods.
To set up her desserts business, the initial investment she poured in was $5,000 AUD which includes insurance, council certificate and, appliances such as an electric mixer.
One of the challenges in running her business is ensuring the kitchen is compliant to all the regulations of council.
Being a baker was unplanned
For then-food scientist and now full-time entrepreneur Erika Browne, being a contributor to this industry via her desserts business might be a sweet treat, despite it being an unintentional path.
Upon migrating to Australia when she was 17, Browne says, her first love was not baking but singing.
“My passion at the time was singing so I did a lot of singing when I was younger and Australia, I did a lot of singing performances. I joined a lot of singing competitions and I wasn't really a good baker”.
But somehow, she was lured to put her baking skills to the test when she wanted to recreate a sticky pudding given by a relative in one of the parties she attended.
“As Filipinos, we always love to eat desserts, one of my aunties brought sticky date pudding and I just fell in love with it,” according to Browne.
Using trial and error, Browne was satisfied with the taste.
Feedback from friends and relatives somehow fueled an avenue for her homemade desserts business - Mrs. Browne Bakes.
Compliance to council requirements is a must
With an initial investment of $5,000, covering insurance, and tools such as an electric mixer, Browne’s homebased bakery was good to go.
However, she had to ensure that her kitchen was compliant to the council’s stringent rules.
“When I decided to start the business, we were living in a house that was really old and it only had one sink which was not compliant at all to the regulations of the council. So I had to look for an external kitchen that until we were able to renovate our kitchen."
Food market success
From her cookies to croissants and other baked goods being sold out in food markets across Victoria, it’s not a surprise that Browne adores the food market mood.
Markets are a really good because overheads are not massive and you don't have to stay open like every day.Erika Browne, entrepreneur
“You can you control your hours and you can work from home and people are excited to buy products.
“Whereas if you have a store, they’ll buy from you some other time and they just keep putting it off."
Food Scientist vs. entrepreneurship
Turning her back on an 11-year career as a food scientist and choosing the road to entrepreneurship is one the risks she bravely took.
You're not always sure how much you're going to earn. It's not like when you're working full-time, you know exactly how much you're going to earn each month.Erika Browne, entrepreneur
“It changes every time just depending on how much products you can sell,” says Browne.
For those who are keen on starting a food business, Browne advises to contact your local council to guide you with the correct procedure.
Amid stiff competition from other bakers, Browne says her homemade products are full of passion. And conveniently, her knowledge of food science helps as well.
