Armed with a finance degree from San Diego State University and what appeared to be a clear path into the corporate world, Kathy Phan instead found herself experimenting with Asian-inspired flavors in her parents’ San Diego kitchen.
Blending ingredients from her childhood, such as ube, taro, matcha and milk tea, into American-style cookies and brownies, Phan launched CAKED at local farmers markets in 2017 before opening a Mira Mesa storefront two years later.
What followed proved to be anything but predictable.
Less than a year after opening her bakery, the COVID-19 pandemic upended the events-driven model that had fueled much of CAKED’s growth. Rising ingredient costs, higher vendor fees and softer consumer spending have since created new challenges…