EMBRACING THE RIGHT IDEA: AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH MARK JOLL (SPONGE)
Scott McLeod
Popular online cake company Sponge delivers their delicious homemade products to dessert lovers all across the UK. All cakes are made fresh to order from their bakery in the market town of Holt, situated in the English county of Norfolk under the watchful eye of co-founder Mark Joll.
The food industry was something that Mark showed interest in from an early age as he spent his school holidays helping out in local factories.
Mark grew up in Norfolk as his family moved their when he was 6 months old when his father started working for Bernard Matthews. Mark told us about the influence his father’s successful career had on his own ambitions.
He said: “My dad has had a significant impact on my career trajectory. My first role was at Bernard Matthews where he worked, standing at a conveyor belt, hard at work on the production line.
My dad had a very successful career, working his way up to become a Managing Director at Bernard Matthews. His accomplishments have certainly driven me, both in my early career and now at Sponge, as well as inheriting his passion for creating a strong British brand.”
After graduating Royal Agricultural University with MSc in Business Studies, Mark worked in several roles for multi-national contract food service company called Compass Group.
He would remain at Compass Group for 15 years, at one point as the Purchasing Manager, supporting brands and businesses across Europe, before eventually relocating to the Netherlands to head up the Purchasing team.
Mark believes it was in this role that he truly learnt the trade and grew an interest in the possibility of creating his own business.
He explains how the initial idea for the business came to be: “The idea for Sponge was first born in a cafe/deli in our hometown of Holt, Norfolk. The cafe was originally opened by my now business partner Iain Wilson and his wife Clair in 2000.
Due to the rising popularity of the homemade cakes in the cafe, Iain conceived the idea to launch an online business to sell the cakes far and wide. After moving back to the region, I was introduced to Iain and with my food background, we soon created the perfect recipe for success and Sponge was born in 2009.
I had wanted to start my own business for a long time, but it wasn’t until being introduced to my now business partner Iain and hearing his idea to create an online cake company that I started to think about it seriously.
I’m glad I waited until the right idea came along before starting a business and I’m immensely proud of the brand we’ve built and how quickly it has grown in 14 years.”
Mark & his wife had only intended to move back to Norfolk temporarily but ended up staying when Sponge took off. They’ve brought up their children in Holt and have two Border Terriers that they enjoy walking.
For Mark an advantage to being based in his home county of Norfolk once again is the large number of long costal walks he can take with his family and the dogs. This one of his favourite ways to unwind from the stresses of the business.
He was envious of his father as he was known locally and didn’t have to explain what Bernard Matthews was. While people recognised his surname it was a struggle to get them on board with the concept of Sponge.
“The idea of selling cakes online, and explaining the process to people, was quite challenging. Online cake retail in 2009 was nothing like it is now and many people did not understand or engage with the concept.
Since then, the category has grown massively with more people now preferring to buy cakes online for the ease as well as reasonable prices.
We make our cakes with a lot of care and love in our bakery, using quality and local ingredients to ensure the highest standard of products, as well as robust packaging to ensure Sponges arrive at the customer’s door undamaged and in great condition.”
Since the start Sponge has always encouraged customer feedback which allows them to taken on any potential criticism and uses it to make the business better. When more and more of the customers were leaving comments talking about the special moments their cakes provided them, it was the first sign for Mark that Sponge had become successful in their goals.
One of the initial goals for Mark and the team when Sponge started was to help the “free from category” with plenty of cake options that suit people with different dietary requirements. Today 30% of the cakes they produce are gluten free and these alternatives are well loved among their regulars.
“We understand that there’s always work to be done to cater to all dietary needs, so we have more exciting plans for the future to build on this.
As the company has grown, we have always remained committed to keeping the manufacturing process as free as possible from automation. Cake making is a skill that we love and we’ve worked hard, despite increasing numbers of customers far and wide, to ensure that our beloved Sponge cakes remain hand-made.
Our growth in the gluten-free category has seen us become the exclusive cake provider to a number of businesses and estates, including Holkham.”
All their products are made from their bakery in Norfolk ready to be shipped off all over the country. The popularity of their free from range has led to their kitchen spilt in two with one focussed on their regular products and the other for free from products.
Both kitchens are identical but it was felt keeping the production of free from products separate allows for quality and control to remain a priority.
So many of Sponge’s cakes are popular amongst the customers but among those fan favourites are their Baby Sponges. These have become the most successful item online, so much so that we provided these cakes to British Airways passengers, to celebrate its 100th birthday.
Mark attributes the love for Baby Sponges to their uniqueness, great-quality flavour as well as the reduced packaging waste has seen them soar in popularity after the pandemic.
One item that became their flagship product is the Cake Card which for just £10.50 is a favourite for corporate gifting customers who are looking for a cost effective but memorable gift for their customers or staff.
“Our bakery consists of great bakers from across the country, who share our values and a passion for cake making, as well as a breadth of experience in the sector.
We started with only two team members (myself and Iain) but now Sponge employs over 40 staff members and we plan on continuing to expand our services while remaining here in the beautiful town of Holt.
Our wholesale business has grown tremendously and now 25% of our business is wholesale, providing cafes and restaurants across the country with the very best, handmade cakes and treats.
During tougher times, the love of Sponge and what we’ve built here in Norfolk keeps me motivated to work through difficulties. The business has grown incredibly since COVID and we’re fully focused on coming out of the cost-of-living crisis just as strong and more determined than ever.”
When asked about future aspirations for the brand Mark commented: “We want to become the UK’s first choice of online cake manufacturer and the feedback and growth we have experienced in recent years would suggest that could absolutely be possible one day.
Sponge is also determined to continue growing the exciting free-from range. This covers both vegan and gluten-free, but also some of our new products such as ‘no refined sugar’ and ‘no buttercream’ cakes.
Perhaps our main goal for the future, which takes us right back to the start of our mission in 2009, is to continue providing great Sponge moments for our customers.”
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