Flake Bake
Background
Founded in 2012 by father-and-son team Paul and Mike Williams, Flake Bake soon went from passion project to phenomenon. Specialising in authentic Jamaican patties, the family-run business sold over 6 million patties within a decade, cementing its position as South London’s largest handmade Jamaican patty provider.
Having built the brand entirely through organic growth and social activity, Paul and Mike were ready for the next chapter:
• Accelerate brand awareness
• Drive national sales
• Take Flake Bake beyond local hero status
The catalyst came via Channel 4’s Black in Business initiative.
The Big Idea
Channel 4’s Black in Business, delivered in partnership with Lloyds Bank, exists to address the systemic barriers faced by Black founders. With 56% of Black founders only receiving funding once already successful, and just 0.24% of UK venture capital going to Black-owned businesses, access to scale remains a major challenge.
As a 2025 winning brand, Flake Bake unlocked:
• £150,000 of premium Channel 4 airtime
• Six months of business mentoring from Channel 4 and Lloyds Bank executives
• A brand-new TV commercial
For Flake Bake, this marked a turning point, the chance to go from cult favourite to national FMCG brand.
Making It Happen
TV was a first for Flake Bake, so the brand worked closely with Channel 4’s commercial team to build a campaign designed to deliver maximum impact from day one.
The launch began with a Premiere break during Bake Off: The Professionals, Channel 4’s biggest show of the day, reaching 1.4 million passionate food fans.
From there, the campaign scaled across the Channel 4 ecosystem, spanning both linear and streaming. The brand appeared in culturally relevant and high-attention environments including:
• Sunday Brunch
• Countdown
• George Clarke’s Kitchen vs Garden
On Channel 4 Streaming, Flake Bake featured alongside powerful entertainment and reality tentpoles such as:
• Gogglebox
• The Great British Bake Off
• Married at First Sight
This delivered both mass reach and consistent frequency, ensuring the brand landed with audiences primed for food inspiration.
Results
Flake Bake entered the campaign with two clear objectives: drive awareness and unlock sales growth. On both fronts, the activity exceeded expectations.
Key outcomes included:
• Supermarket sales almost doubling year-on-year
• Brand awareness peaking at 20%, moving to within 2% of established category competitors
• Increase in online orders
From a brand-building perspective, the creative delivered where it mattered most. As an FMCG challenger, Flake Bake benefited from clear branding, strong distinctiveness and memorable messaging, resonating particularly well with 25–40 year olds and driving mental availability at the point of purchase.
Momentum didn’t stop when the campaign ended. Off the back of increased demand and brand recognition, Flake Bake secured a major product expansion with Aldi in 2026, unlocking wider distribution, increased shelf space and a nationwide footprint.
In the founders’ own words, Black in Business “made Flake Bake a recognisable name and elevated the business to a national brand.”