Wild Batter
Strategic Foundation
0.1 Research
Research / Context
The Idea: A playful, story-led cake brand that transforms children's imagination into reality while delivering trust and quality for parents. Wild Batter creates imaginative cake experiences through a branded creative world built around participation, creativity and celebration.
Initial Research Question: How can a contemporary cake brand create an imaginative, character-led world that engages children while building trust and value for parents?
The project initially explored the role of storytelling, themed worlds and character-driven experiences within children's celebration cakes. While these ideas resonated strongly, the research revealed a deeper opportunity around creative participation and ownership. Children were most engaged when they were actively making decisions, generating ideas and shaping outcomes themselves. Rather than simply exploring imaginative worlds, they wanted to contribute to them.
This insight led to a strategic evolution. Instead of positioning Cake Worlds as the final experience, they became creative starting points within a wider child-led cake creation system. The worlds provide inspiration and guidance, helping children begin the creative process while still allowing them to personalise and shape the final outcome.
To explore the dual-audience dynamic of celebration cakes, where the parent is the purchaser and the child is the creative influence, two forms of research were conducted.
Firstly, a quantitative survey was sent via email to parents to understand the factors that influence cake purchasing decisions, including attitudes towards creativity, personalisation and child involvement.
Secondly, an in-person children's workshop was organised to explore children's attitudes towards celebration cakes and creative expression. The one-hour session included group discussions about memorable cake experiences, a drawing activity in which participants designed their dream cakes, and a cupcake decorating exercise that allowed children to make their own creative decisions.
Together, the research revealed a clear opportunity: children want creative ownership, while parents want simplicity and reassurance. This insight became the foundation of the Wild Batter experience, a guided cake creation system that balances freedom to imagine with structure to begin.
Research / Parent Survey Key Findings
80% OF PARENTS BELIEVE THEIR CHILD WOULD WANT TO BE INVOLVED IN DESIGNING THEIR OWN CAKE.
Parent Survey Key Findings
-
80%
Said children would want involvement in their own cake design
-
90%+
Said creativity is important in occasion cakes
-
80%+
said imaginative cake experiences add value
Research / Children’s Workshop
Children’s Workshop
BIG IDEAS
Children naturally described cakes through stories, characters and worlds rather than simply flavour or decoration. Their ideas often extended beyond the cake itself into wider imaginative scenarios and environments.
A creative workshop encouraged children to share cake memories, talk about their favourite themes and create their own cake concepts through drawing and decorating activities.
Across the session, children showed the greatest enthusiasm when generating and developing their own ideas. Rather than discussing flavours or practical details, conversations quickly moved towards characters, stories, places and imaginative themes.
DRAWING AS A CREATIVE TOOL
Drawing emerged as a natural way for children to communicate ideas. Some children arrived with detailed concepts and immediately began sketching, while others needed encouragement and inspiration to develop and explore ideas as they went.
CREATIVE CONTROL
The most engaged moments occurred when children were making decisions themselves. They enjoyed sharing ideas, personalising designs and explaining the thinking behind their creations.
The workshop demonstrated that for many children, the creative process itself was just as important as the finished cake.
Research / Strategic Insight
Freedom to imagine. Structure to begin.
| Research Findings | Children naturally communicated ideas through drawing. | Some children needed inspiration before creating. | Children wanted ownership over decisions. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strategic Response | Upload Your Sketch Turn a doodle, drawing or idea into a real cake. | Cake Worlds Creative starting points such as Fairy, Pirate, Rocket and Unicorn that provide structure without limiting imagination. | Customisation Journey Shape, characters, colours, decorations and flavours can all be personalised. |
Research / Conclusion
Traditional cake ordering asks customers to choose from a set of finished designs.
Wild Batter takes a different approach. Research showed that children wanted to participate in the creative process, but they approached creativity in different ways. Some arrived with clear ideas, while others needed inspiration to get started.
To support both behaviours, Wild Batter was designed around multiple entry points into the same creative experience.
Start with a sketch.
Start with a Cake World.
Start with inspiration from previous creations.
From there, children personalise their cake through characters, colours, decorations and flavour choices before seeing their idea brought to life.
This system balances freedom and guidance, giving children ownership of the outcome while providing enough structure to help them begin - Freedom to imagine. Structure to begin.
0.2 Strategy
Market Opportunity
-
What exists now
Pre-designed cakes
Surface-level personalisation
Child has limited input
-
What people want
Creativity
Participation
Ownership
Guidance
Opportunity
-
What We Will do
Create a cake brand where children have creative ownership over their cake designs.
Strategy / Competitive Landscape
Strategy / Competitor Audit
| Brand | Type | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adams Cakes | Bespoke novelty | Highly creative, strong wow-factor | Expensive, no cohesive brand world |
| Ollie The Choc | Chocolate brand (indirect) | Strong branding and merchandise | No website |
| Cakes by Robin | Bespoke cakes | Strong customisation, broad appeal | Product-led, limited storytelling |
| The Cake King | Novelty / sculpted cakes | Highly detailed, realistic designs | Focus on technical skill over brand identity |
| Zoe's Fancy Cakes | Custom novelty cakes | Fun, child-friendly designs | Inconsistent branding, no narrative system |
| Lola's | Luxury bespoke | Premium quality, refined designs | More adult-focused, less playful |
| Peggy Porschen | Premium bakery | Strong aesthetic identity | Lifestyle-led, less imaginative for children |
| Crumbs & Doilies | Trend-led bakery | Bright, social media appeal | Product-focused, doesn’t do creative cakes |
| Cutter & Squidge | Mid-premium bakery | Accessible, strong branding | Safer designs, limited creativity |
| Biscuiteers | Gifting / experience-led (indirect) | Strong storytelling, packaging, brand identity | Not cake-focused, less customisation |
Strategy / Audience
PRIMARY Purchaser:
Parents who make the purchasing decision.
Freedom for children. Confidence for parents.
Primary Creator/user:
Children who shape the creative outcome.
Wild Batter is designed for two audiences: parents who buy the cake and children who bring it to life.
| Parents Need | Children Need |
|---|---|
| Trust | Freedom |
| Quality | Creativity |
| Convenience | Ownership |
| Reliability | Imagination |
| Value for money | Self-expression |
| A simple ordering process | Guidance that doesn't limit imagination |
Wild Batter balances these needs through a guided creation system.
Children are free to imagine, while parents are supported by a simple and structured journey.
Strategy / Audience Profiles
| Demographics - Adult | Psychographics | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Rebecca Whatts | Music | Hozier, Mumford & Sons |
| Age | 39 | Hobbies | Screen printing, ballet |
| Gender | Female | Sport | Spinning, Reformer Pilates |
| Marital Status | Married | Interests | Nature, Art, Film |
| Location | City/suburbia | Brand Alignment | Biscuiteers, Aesop, Anthropologie, Space NK |
| Education | University | Car | Volvo XC 90 |
| Job Title | Brand Marketing Manager | Favourite Food | Brunch, café culture, treat-based foods |
| Income | £80,000 | Leisure | Coffee with friends, family days out |
| Goals: Make birthdays feel amazing without adding extra stress. She wants to create something that feels personal, thoughtful and completely unique to her child. | Motivations: Seeing her child excited, creating genuine wow moments and making memories that last longer than the cake itself. | ||
| Frustrations: Generic cake options, surface-level personalisation and ordering processes that feel more complicated than they need to be. | Desired Outcome: A cake that feels made for her child, delivered through a simple and reliable experience she can trust. | ||
| Demographics - Child | Psychographics | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Issy Longthorp | Music | K Pop, Taylor Swift |
| Age | 8 | Hobbies | Drawing, Crafts, Baking |
| Gender | Female | Sport | Dance, gymnastics, ballet, netball |
| Location | City/suburbia | Interests | Nature, crafts, cartoons |
| Education Level | Primary School | Brand Alignment | Lego, Disney, Pixar |
| Income | Pocket money | Favourite Food | Chocolate, strawberries, cakes |
| Leisure | Crafting, watching TV, playing with friends, dressing up, baking | ||
| Goals: Turn the ideas in her head into something real and create a cake that feels completely her own. | Motivations: Making, drawing, imagining and sharing the things she loves. The more creative she can be, the better. | ||
| Frustrations: Being limited to pre-made options and having someone else make all the creative decisions. | Desired Outcome: To see her imagination brought to life in a cake she’s proud to show off and excited to celebrate with. | ||
Strategy / Positioning
POSITIONING
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
The market is mostly made up of: Product-led cake brands, aesthetic-led bakeries, highly technical cake makers. Most of these focus on the final cake, rather than how it’s created.
POSITIONING OPPORTUNITY
Existing cake brands focus on choosing a cake. Wild Batter focuses on creating one.
POSITIONING STATEMENT
Wild Batter exists to turn children's imagination into real cakes by combining creative freedom for children with a structured, parent-friendly creation journey.
Strategy / UVP
UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION
Wild Batter enables children to create personalised celebration cakes through sketches, Cake Worlds and guided customisation, giving them creative ownership while making the process simple and reliable for parents.
Structure to Begin
Upload a sketch, choose a Cake World or browse previous creations.
GUIDED CUSTOMISATION
Define the structure. Shape, size, and layers - make it yours. Add characters, colours, and details.
TURNING IDEAS INTO CAKES
We make it real. Every design is executed with care and precision.
CREATED TO CELEBRATE
The final cake feels more meaningful because the child helped create it.
0.3 Brand
Brand / Naming
Wild Batter
Wild Batter captures the balance between imagination and making.
“Wild” captures the way children think: creative, unpredictable, and full of ideas. Let your imagination run wild.
“Batter” brings it back to baking and keeps it grounded.
The name is distinctive, easy to remember, and flexible for growth.
Your Cake. Your Rules.
The tagline captures the core idea behind Wild Batter: children are not passive recipients of a cake, but active participants in creating it. Short, memorable and empowering, it reinforces the brand's belief that every child should have ownership over their celebration.
Brand / DNA
PERSONALITY
BRAND ARCHETYPE
Primary: Creator
Secondary: Magician
Wild Batter is driven by the Creator archetype, enabling children to design and build their own cakes, while drawing on the Magician to bring those ideas to life in a way that feels special and unexpected.
BRAND PERSONALITY
Wild Batter is imaginative, hands-on, playful and confident in its craft.
Brand Roles
• Child = creator
• Parent = facilitator
• Brand = enabler
BRAND DNA
Wild Batter gives children the freedom to imagine and the structure to create, transforming their ideas into celebration cakes that feel uniquely their own.
Brand / Tone Of Voice
Tone of Voice
VOICE CHARACTERISTICS
• Playful, not childish
• Clear, not complex
• Imaginative, not whimsical
• Energetic, not chaotic
• Confident, not exaggerated
COMMUNICATION PRINCIPLES
• Keep things simple and direct
• Focus on making and creating
• Don’t over-describe
• Balance excitement with reassurance
• Don’t use vague or sickly language
• Don’t be overly childish
• Don’t be overly whimsical
Brand / Story
BRAND STORY
Most cakes start with an adult’s decision. Wild Batter starts with a child’s idea.
A dinosaur with roller skates. A mermaid in space. A rainbow castle with wings. The ideas might be unexpected, but that’s what makes them special.
Usually, children get to choose a flavour or a colour. Here, they get to do more. They imagine it, shape it and bring it to life. Wild Batter gives children a way to be part of creating their own celebration cake, turning imagination into something real.
Because the best part isn’t just blowing out the candles. It’s seeing your idea become something real.
Brand / Brand Foundations
BRAND Foundations
MISSION
To enable children to design their own cakes through a fun, guided system that helps turn ideas into something real.
VISION
To change how celebration cakes are made by shifting creativity from the bakery to the child.
BRAND PROMISE
To help children create their own cakes through a guided process, making each celebration feel more personal and imaginative.
Brand / Brand Values
BRAND Values
Imagine Wildly
Every great cake starts with an idea. Big, small, silly or spectacular, imagination comes first.
MAKE IT YOURS
No two children are the same, so no two cakes should be either. We champion creative ownership and personal expression.
MAKE IT REAL
Turning imagination into celebration. If you can imagine it, we can bake it.