FRAZER ANDRADE
What began as a hobby dur ing the uncertain days of the COVID-19 lockdown has gradually grown into a promising small business for Sarina Janis Fernandes from Bolepand, Fa torda, who is turning her passion for baking into a sweet entrepreneurial journey. Sarina’s journey into baking be gan during the lockdown, when she found herself without a job for sever al months. She later secured her first corporate job at the Verna Industrial Estate, where she worked for two and-a- half years before taking a break from employment for personal rea sons. A few months into her break, a dessert-related reel on social media unexpectedly reignited her interest in baking. Baking had always been a hobby she genuinely enjoyed, par ticularly experimenting with different desserts and sharing them with family and friends.
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The response she received from those who tasted her creations gave her an unexpected boost of confi dence. Their encouragement made her realise that something she had enjoyed purely as a hobby could po tentially grow into something more. That realisation inspired Sarina to take the next step and transform her passion into a small business. The idea be hind her pop-up stall was simple, to bring her baking di rectly to customers and make her desserts more accessible. She felt that a small evening stall would pro vide an ideal opportuni ty to introduce people to her products, interact with customers and understand their preferences. More im portantly, it would allow her to gradu ally build something of her own. Among the highlights of her menu are bomboloni, the popular Ital ian-style filled doughnuts that have become a social media favourite.
Sari na offers them in a variety of flavours, including dark chocolate, milk choco late, Oreo cookies and cream, custard, Biscoff and Nutella Her menu extends beyond bombo loni, with mini cakes, cake jars, cake tubes, cake dips, brownies and other sweet treats. The intention is to keep the selection in teresting while ensuring that every item remains fresh and enjoyable. Sarina’s baking skills were not developed through formal train ing. Instead, she be gan by learning from short YouTube vid eos and experi menting with dif ferent recipes at home. With every at tempt came an other lesson. Grad ually, what began as casual experimentation developed into a genuine interest in baking and even tually into something she wanted to pursue more seriously. For Sarina, the process has been one of continuous learning, experi mentation and improvement. The response to her pop-up venture has been particularly encouraging. Customers have shown curiosity about her products, while some have returned after trying her desserts for the first time.
Those repeat visits have become among the most rewarding moments of her journey. For a young entrepreneur building a business from the ground up, know ing that someone enjoyed a dessert enough to return to the stall provides a special sense of satisfaction and mo tivation. These seemingly small interactions have reassured Sarina that the hard work behind each creation is worth while. Like any small business, the journey for Sarina has also come with its share of challenges. Weather, in particular, has presented difficulties for her out door pop-up stall. Each product is prepared from scratch, requiring considerable time, pa tience and attention to detail. Maintain ing consistency and quality while dealing with unpredictable circumstances can be demanding. Yet Sari na views these chal lenges not simply as obstacles, but as part of her learning journey.
For Sarina, three things remain cen tral to her approach freshness, quality and homemade preparation. She believes that using good ingre dients and paying attention to detail can make a significant difference to the final product. At the same time, she enjoys experimenting with fla vours and developing new ideas for her customers. Her aim is for every person who buys from her stall to feel that the food has been prepared with genuine care and affection. For now, Sarina’s focus remains on growing her pop-up stall, understanding what customers enjoy and developing strong relationships with them. Looking ahead, she hopes to ex pand into a proper home bakery or an online bak ing business, with the eventu al dream of having a space of her own. Rather than rush ing towards expansion, she wants to take each stage as it comes, continu ing to learn, improve and grow along the way. For young people who are consid ering starting something of their own, Sarina’s message is rooted in faith, self-belief and perseverance. She believes that the first step is to pray, believe in oneself and not be afraid of starting from zero. Even the smallest idea, she feels, can grow into something meaningful when ac companied by faith, consistency and passion.
She encourages young entrepre neurs not to give up when things become difficult. Every new jour ney comes with its share of ups and downs, but overcoming those chal lenges can bring valuable lessons and greater confidence. Her own journey from discovering baking through social media to serv ing her creations to returning custom ers is a reminder that beginnings do not have to be big. Sometimes, all they need is a little passion, a willingness to learn, and the courage to take the first step. “The beginning may be small, but the dream does not have to be”, says Sarina.
