She had a career in the skies, but it was lost overnight when COVID-19 hit.
Instead of feeling demoralised, Chanel Li decided to turn to something she had enjoyed from a young age—baking—as a way to tide her through the tumultuous period.
From her home kitchen, she started Whisking Bakes in 2020, selling basque burnt cheesecakes—a dessert that surged in popularity during the pandemic.
However, as the hype died down, the business began losing its traction. At its lowest point, Whisking Bakes only received one order per week.
Unsure of how to move forward with her business and career, Chanel decided to take a two-month break to recalibrate and explore new ideas—one of which led to her first major breakthrough just as the Chinese New Year period approached in February 2022.
Her experimental bake, orh nee (yam paste) tart balls, sold out within minutes of launching order slots and continued to grow in popularity.
Despite this, Chanel didn’t plan to turn Whisking Bakes into a full-fledged business, as she still considered returning to the aviation industry at that time—until an interview with Mothership had her phone “exploding” with DMs, calls, messages and enquiries.
To cope with the demand, she took a leap of faith and opened a commercial kitchen located at Tai Seng in August of the same year. “After all, I was only 23 with nothing to lose,” added Chanel.
Opening a cafe
According to Chanel, the cost of opening her commercial kitchen amounted to S$30,000, funded by her earnings from her home bakery. To cut costs, she undertook the majority of the renovations herself, with the help of her husband and family.
However, after just shy of a year, she soon decided to move out of the commercial kitchen due to frequent power trips that hindered her operations, and to search for a bigger space that could accommodate a dine-in cafe.
Although she eventually found a shop space at Lavender, the path to opening was anything but a piece of cake. Her landlord had forgotten to submit a specific document when seeking approval for the cafe’s operation, resulting in a month-long delay.
Chanel also had to confront her inexperience in running a cafe, so she spent time observing how different businesses operated. She even took on a part-time barista role at Lola’s Cafe to learn the ropes, as well as a barista course at Common Man Coffee Roasters.
Armed with new skills, she opened her cafe in August 2022, specialising in taro desserts.
But then came another challenge: the layout of the cafe left her team working in cramped conditions, and the location itself made it easy for customers to miss the store, which resulted in a drop in sales.
This led Chanel to make another hefty gamble—to renovate the entire cafe once more, which she claimed cost an additional S$55,000.
While she admitted it was a significant investment, it was a strategic move to support the brand’s growth in the long term. She also took the chance to rebrand the cafe, expand its menu, and improve the overall ambience.
After a month-long renovation, the cafe opened its doors once more—this time under a more fitting name: Cafe Lilac.
Baking for music superstars and K-POP idols
According to Chanel, it took Cafe Lilac about six months to break even, and the business has since grown to become a six-figure venture.
Along the way, she’s also had the rare opportunity to bake for music superstars including IU, Super Junior, and Joker Xue.
All it took was a single message from Chanel to a concert organiser, offering to prepare a dessert table for IU’s two-day concert in Singapore last year.
“Being a K-pop fan, I know concerts often have cakes or desserts for the idols. I did it without much expectation, but one day, I received an email back, getting the thumbs up from the organisers,” she explained.
With a strong desire to give the best impression possible, Chanel and her team went “all out” in their preparations, from crafting detailed decorations to hand-piping a cake that matched her album cover.
Their dedication impressed the concert organisers, which helped them land more concert deals.
The cafe also received attention from the artistes’ fan clubs, who began partnering with Cafe Lilac for fan cafe events and concerts. These collaborations helped them secure numerous opportunities in 2024, with more to come this year.
It takes “a lot more than good food” to survive
While having a niche in taro desserts and drinks has helped the business stand out in the competitive F&B scene, it has also turned out to be a double-edged sword for Cafe Lilac. It loses out on a significant portion of the Singaporean crowd who simply don’t enjoy taro.
Ensuring that the business remains relevant has become an ongoing challenge for Chanel, who has observed the rapidly shifting preferences of consumers. “I think it takes a lot more than just good food [to survive.]”
Hence, Cafe Lilac is looking to expand its non-taro menu to cater to a wider audience, including those who are not huge fans of taro.
As for her long-term goals, Chanel states she doesn’t want the business to grow “too much.” While this seems contradictory to what many entrepreneurs strive for, she explained that her focus is solely on creating desserts her customers enjoy and building a company that journeys alongside its staff.
I don’t wish for us to become a multi-million dollar company where each staff [member] is just a part of the machine. I hope that everyone who works with us gains something out of the experience and achieves what they want in life.
Chanel Li
Now 27 years old, Chanel has always operated the business on a whim. While the journey was far from smooth, one thing is for sure: her hard work has borne some sweet fruits along the way.
- Learn more about Cafe Lilac by Whisking Bakes here.
- Read more stories we have written on local businesses here.
Featured Image Credit: Cafe Lilac by Whisking Bakes
