Dahlia of Butter Digger got her taste of baking at 12 years old when she first played around with a mixer and oven in her mum's kitchen.
An online cake shop based in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Butter Digger is best known for their minimalist designed buttercream cakes that come with sprinkles and a hidden love letter surprise. Dahlia, the owner of Butter Digger was inspired by the minimalistic concept of Korean buttercream cakes and decided to emulate that concept back in Malaysia. We had the chance to talk to Dahlia to know more about the inspiration behind the brand.
Why did you name your brand Butter Digger?
It is easier if you split into two words -- butter and digger. We decided to use the word ‘butter’ in our brand because most of the cake that we sell contains butter. In fact, our best selling cake is the Vanilla Butter Cake with Swiss Buttercream.
As for the term ‘digger’, we wanted Butter Digger to be a comfort place for dessert lovers to dig into their cravings. You can think of us as a place where you can satisfy your sweet tooth guilty pleasures.
Where do you normally source your materials for your cakes?
Our go-to supplier is our neighbourhood baking store. They have most of the things we require to bake our cakes and packages our goods. From our neighbourhood baking store, we usually get our usual baking materials like Grade-A eggs, butter, cake flour, sugar and more.
For the more decorative materials like sprinkles, gold leaves, edible glitters and more, I would usually go to another Baking Store in Damansara.
What is the one lesson you have learned in managing your brand?
To always trust and stand up for your brand, your team and yourself. When starting out, it is tempting for owners of new or small brands to compromise on their brand values due to the fear of losing customers and the social repercussions of getting bad reviews. Always stand your ground as a brand when you need to and the self-confidence in your brand will help you to build meaningful relationships with your customers.
As a cake maker, it is a joy to see different interpretations and definitions of art.
What do you hope to achieve with your brand?
While it is good to know that people are now watching us, I hope the attention we are getting will be sustained. Going forward, I am looking forward to coming out with more designs and ideas that are in line with our signature concept. I am aware that trends change quickly but I hope that we can still stand out as we used to be. One of our goals is to transition from a virtual cake up to a physical cafe or bakery.
What is the favourite part about managing your brand?
I like how everyone has their own aesthetic, vibe and personal preference. As a cake maker, it is a joy to see different interpretations and definitions of art. Some of our customers may prefer a plain colour cake while others may choose different colour palettes on their cake.
This is also this high that comes when we are able to satisfy a customer’s request - it is like the icing on the cake on the whole cake-making process. This is because we know that we are playing a part in a special event in someone’s life and that means the world to us.