Serving up tea-riffic new business idea

Nichola Hughes (31) is offering to bring afternoon tea to your home, office or anywhere you want it served.

She came up with the idea of the takeaway treat when she couldn’t find anyone to deliver it to her friend’s baby shower.

The former bakery manager from Larbert decided to fill the gap in the market herself and launched The Coffee Perch.

Using her grandparent’s vintage china tea sets and cake stands, Nichola, who prepares the dainty sandwiches and indulgent baking from scratch, will deliver and set up the scrumptious spread, leaving customers to enjoy the treats before returning to clear up.

As well as offering afternoon teas, Nichola has invested £15,000 to buy her own Caterpod, a lightweight mobile unit, which will allow her to take her delicious cakes and locally sourced roasted coffee to events throughout the country.

She said: “I love taking a traditional cake recipe and personalising it before decorating it – baking can be tasty works of art! So, everything I will sell from the pod will be made by me that can be enjoyed with high quality coffee.”

She’s also grateful to the support she had from Business Gateway Falkirk, adding: “My plan is to start employing staff next year and to rent a kitchen space for food preparation and I’m sure Business Gateway will be able to help me put everything in place before expanding.”