Country Life - 4 July 2002

HOME-MADE IN THE HOME COUNTY (Surrey)

A more recent example of Surrey-style initiative is located just outside Guildford, at a small business unit in Bramley. This is the base of Honeybuns, a wholesale bakery run by a young and enterprising business woman. When studying for an MA at Oxford, Emma Goss-Custard, perhaps inevitably, given her name, began dabbling in the cake and baking business: 'I had always enjoyed home-baking, so I saved up £50 for an old Post Office bike and did a sandwich and cake round. Cakes are easy to take forward as they require no capital.' When her husband got a job in Guildford, she decided to set up a business there.

'It is labour-intensive and no corners are cut,' explains Mrs Goss-Custard, who employs a predominantly female team of seven.
'We worry about cost later, as I refuse to stint on ingredients - we use pure orange juice, pure vanilla and no margarine or fats. Our aim is to make the best.'

Mrs Goss-Custard's industry has paid off. She recently took on Waitrose as a client, and supplies Harvey Nicholls in London, the Windsor Farmshop and numerous independent delicatessens. A year ago she started putting Honeybuns forward for awards and has won several, including Supreme Champion at the Great Taste Awards, 2001. The bakery has also gained prizes for its gluten-free lines 'which we are working hard on.'