Founder of Custom Cake Boutique, Chic Sugars Talks Expansion, Being Affected By COVID-19, & More

Chic Sugars Founder & Cakestress, Erika Oldham always loved baking but understood it wasn’t necessairly the traditional path. Though she didn’t grow up baking, she had her mind set on a goal and from the looks of it, she made it happen plus more! Chic Sugars has celebrity clientele including Missy Elliott, Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z, and more, it’s no surprise to us why people love this custom cake boutique so much! We caught up with her to discuss the inspiration behind Chic Sugars, the expansion of her boutique, and more!

What inspired the creation of Chic Sugars?

I must credit the television show Cake Boss because I saw them make this FABULOUS cake for an event and I figured “I can make that for my daughter’s 1st birthday.” Well let’s just say I tried and it was an EPIC fail. However, with trial and error I started getting good at it and Chic Sugars was born!

What is your favorite creation you’ve done thus far?

I would say my daughters, Whitney (12) and Marley (5). They are my motivation.

Tell us about the new location.

Our new location is anticipated to be open in December 2020. Not only is it a larger space, but we will be offering more sweet treats for our customers to enjoy! Also, we are making it a priority that we abide to all social distancing rules/guidelines so that our customers feel safe all while shopping.

How has the global pandemic affected you and your business?

YES, but in a positive way. We are fortunate enough to be expanding our services and ship to more states outside of the NYC/NJ/CT area. Also, are incorporating new monthly flavors for our customers to indulge in, which is pretty exciting.

The global pandemic prevented us to have one-on-one interactive classes, so the cake kits will let customers still enjoy the experience of creating their own cake (with their own razzle dazzle.) This will also allow children to express creativity into new projects with the help of their parents.

We currently offer our quarantine size cakes, which is a scaled back version of our normal size custom cakes. When COVID-19 ravaged through the NYC/NJ/CT area, you weren’t able to order a cake without a month’s notice and the minimum serving size was 25. With the quarantine cake, you are able to downsize to a serving size of 10 and receive the cake with a week’s notice.

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?

Back in 2016, I was watching The Steve Harvey Show. One of his guests was discussing her non-profit, The Birthday Party, who partners with homeless shelters across the country to provide monthly birthday parties for the children in the shelter. I knew instantly I needed to be a part of what they were doing because this was an amazing idea.

As someone that was homeless for a short period in my young adult life and as a parent now, I couldn’t imagine being in a position that wouldn’t allow for me to do something special for my kids on “their” day. I knew I needed to do what I could to help parents in that situation make their children’s birthday as great as it could be. So, I reached out to them and partnered with them immediately to provide customized cakes for children at a local homeless shelter every month. We worked with this organization for over 18 months before a back injury I had (slipped disc – later required surgery.) It got so bad that I couldn’t maintain the same level of cakes on a monthly basis. I got a call about month later saying that the Birthday Project was going to be on the Today show in 4 days and they only trusted Chic Sugars to create the cakes for the kids they would be celebrating on the show. I sucked it up, did 3 awesome superhero themed cakes for the kids to be presented for their birthday party at the flagship Lego store in the Flatiron district of NYC.

This organization brought my purpose and passion together – we literally brought joy to kids/families with cake.

How can our readers further follow you online?

PLEASE follow us on our social media platforms! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Also visit our website and make sure you sign up to our mailing list so you will be the 1st to know about our NEW flavors of the month and other cool, exciting initiatives.