It’s Thursday evening and the air smells like fresh cookies. Music plays in the background as students trade their deadlines for dough, and suddenly, phones don’t exist. At the heart of it all is Anna, the leader of her own baking club. Anna is a fourth-year Hospitality and Hotel Management student at BUas, but her real passion lives in the oven. Having moved from Poland to the Netherlands to study, she is also the founder of ANKA, a small pop-up bakery selling cookies and cakes. For her, baking isn’t just a business: it’s the place where she feels most herself. “this is what I do I sell cookies, cakes I bake”

“I see baking as a relaxation, I can listen to the music I like and its just fun for me to bake”

She discovered during COVID that baking brings her a whole new undiscovered emotional journey. She can listen to the music she likes and dance, also the smell and touch sensation from baking is very rewarding. The majority of her free time was then spent baking, experimenting and just enjoying herself and being in her element.

When covid ended and school started again she started bringing her baked goods to school to share her joy with  friends. Without her intending to, people around her started ordering cookies and cakes from her. „ and i thought wow that’s funny like I have some spare time after school”. She received the final push from her parents to start selling her products. The beginning of her journey was very hard on her because she still attended highschool which ended quite late, then had homework and after that she often stayed up late to bake her orders.

“it’s a reward for me when somebody is happy for my baked stuff its such a little thing that can make another person happy it’s the most fulfilling moment for me, that’s also what´s driving me towards baking and starting my own bakery”

Her main inspiration goes back to her childhood they have this little tradition where the whole family gets together to cook and bake. Her favourite part was sharing the journey of mixing ingredients and making them into a final product and then enjoying the food together. Anna admits that a lot of young people including her are busy with phones and they dont have time to just hang out together anymore. That´s what she enjoys about the baking club as well, they all find time to get together every Thursday to bake. After everything is out of the oven they gather at the big table to talk about their joys and struggles, simply enjoying each others company.

“ it was tough for me to understand that im allowed to ask for help”

Anna struggled to ask for help and reach out at the beginning. After juggling the little time she had after school she couldn’t do it anymore and she realized  that she needed help from her family and friends and that made her realize that asking for help and reaching out isn’t embarrassing or weak, its necessary and shows determination and strength. To this day she asks for advice from her sister about social media and marketing, as she isn’t confident in that field yet. More on that subject if she had learned sooner how to manage her time she would avoid many problems and most importantly stress.

Her other suggestions for people who would like to start their own business is to always do a thorough research about the products they are making, the materials they use because every single one is different. To know their customers and the market they are entering.

“ maybe I won´t be a billionare, who knows…..,but I think it´s all about love and passion”

Plans for ANKA in the future are to scale it up and boost the sales. One day open a real bakery, maybe in Madrid or Japan, though she is still exploring her options and travelling a lot. She also plans on working or doing an internship at a bakery that’s not her own so she can get to know the craft more and further her knowledge about baking. Even though she is a very skilled baker there is still a lot for her to improve on. Her most recent goal is to learn how to work with sourdough, because it´s such a good product and there is a big demand for it as well.

Anna’s advice to anyone dreaming of starting something of their own is simple: “If you’re really determined, it can work. It’s never too late, and you can learn from mistakes.”
Want to follow her journey from small batches to her own bakery? Find Anna on Instagram at @anka.bakery.sale, and maybe order something sweet while you’re there.