It’s 11.30 p.m., and you are holed up on your couch watching reruns of Lost and it suddenly occurs to you that in less than half an hour it’s your best friend’s birthday. What do you do? Whom do you call? The Ghostbusters aren’t an option. But you could bank on >Caked.in to come to the rescue. Started a few months back by Vineet M. Benny, this 24-hour portal that delivers cakes around the clock, is a saviour for all those absent-minded, scatter-brained or just buried-in-work types.
“We do plenty of last-minute cakes because a lot of people, we’ve noticed, forget anniversaries and other special dates…” laughs Vineet. Their major chunk of business therefore happens between 11.30 p.m. and 2 a.m.
At Caked.in, in addition to the cake, you can also order bouquets, teddy bears, chocolates, or other desserts. And the good news is that delivery anywhere within the city is free. Their most popular feature however is the services of a ‘music man’. Imagine standing on your balcony as a musician strums his guitar and sings for your loved one. “It’s a service much in demand and the reason why we had to hire two musicians,” says Vineet, recalling the day four people had asked for the musician and what a challenge it was for him to race him from one point to another.
Caked.in manages at least 30 orders every day. “We always have extra cakes for emergencies. One of our challenges involved delivering a six-tier cake. Our delivery personnel usually travel by bikes, but in this case the towering cake had to be carefully taken in my SUV. We deconstructed it and then put it together at the venue.” A cake weighing more than 3-kg gets delivered by car, sometimes even in Vineet’s Audi.
While it is a joy to see a smile on surprised faces, the team at Caked.in has also had its share of not-so-nice experiences. “A guy wanted us to deliver a cake to his girlfriend. But the girl’s father opened the door and didn’t look too pleased. My delivery boy had to answer numerous questions till the girl came to his rescue…all the while her boyfriend watched, hidden in his car,” he laughs.
Vineet’s future plans include extending this service to other metropolises, starting with Bangalore. Guess as long as there are people who forget important days there will always be services like Caked.in
