Dundee dad Aaron Mackie started baking brownies in his spare time in a bid to improve his mental health.
When colleagues told him his sweet treats were good enough to sell, the marketing manager began attending local food markets most weekends.
Now, the 32-year-old hopes to turn his side hustle into his full-time job.
Up to 1000 traybakes a month
Until now, Aaron – whose wife Shannon is an NHS nurse – has been running Very Good Baking Company out with working hours.
However, since becoming a father to baby son Logan in August last year, he is keen to move away from the 9 to 5.
Aaron is already baking between 800 and 1,000 brownies, blondies and stuffed cookies a month from his kitchen in the West Ferry area of the city.
As well as selling at markets across the region and from his website, he now supplies Maison Dieu Coffee in Broughty Ferry.
And this week he discovered Very Good Baking Company has been shortlisted for best online bakery and best home-based business at the Small Business of the Year Awards.
Aaron, originally from Glenrothes, said: “My goal now is to go full time with the baking business.
“I have worked in marketing for a long time and am ready for a change and a move away from an office-based lifestyle.”
He continued: “I started baking when I was going through a stressful period and found it helped my mental health.
“Baking is a mindful thing to do and takes me away from any worries – I also discovered I am quite good at it.
“I would take things into work and my colleagues kept telling me they were good enough to sell.”
Why he is taking Very Good Baking Company full-time
Currently a “one man show”, Aaron is finding that as orders increase, baking is taking up more of my time.
But, he admits, he is happier in his apron than behind a desk.
He said: “When my wee boy was born I realised that I want to be available during the week to spend time with him.
“When he goes to nursery and school, I want to be able to go his sports days and other events.
“Having my own business will enable me to do that.”
He is, however, keen to stick to what he does best.
He said: “I’m not a cake maker. I can’t bake fancy, themed birthday cakes like some bakers.
“I focus on the three things I am good at – brownies, blondies and cookies.
“For me, its all about the taste. I have spent years perfecting that.”
The current cost-of-living crisis doesn’t appear to be putting people off brownies, he noted.
He said: “Everyone needs a sweet treat now and again, so I haven’t noticed a huge impact on my sales.
“I try hard to keep my costs as reasonable as I can but I find people are keen to support local businesses.”
He added he has expansion plans, explaining: “I have been using my home oven for all my bakes but I am hoping to build a bespoke kitchen space in my garden in the near future to help me upscale.”
Aaron revealed his top-selling items – priced between £3 and £4 – are his triple chocolate brownie, Kinder brownie, brownie log and cookies and cream stuffed cookie.
He also sells mix and match treat boxes on his website, which are popular as gifts.
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