The Hanmade’s Bakehouse journey: from home business to ECQ expansion

Running a small business is challenging so you need the right type of support. Hannah Tamayo found it at Frasers Property Australia’s Eastern Creek Quarter – so much so that her business is not exactly ‘small’ anymore.

Originally from the Philippines, Hannah moved to Sydney in 2006, bringing a love of desserts and a passion for perfecting recipes with self-taught techniques with her.

Living in western Sydney, her love of baking took on a new dimension, while still paying homage to her Filipino culture. It eventually led to her establishment of a home-based business in 2018, Hanmade’s Desserts, a time in which she balanced the lessons of some satisfying successes with a few mistakes made along the way. The experience ultimately gave her the confidence to set up a first physical store.

“The most satisfying part of baking cakes and creating desserts is getting to know my customers. With my own store, I knew this would mean many more opportunities to meet people face-to-face,” she says.

Eastern Creek Quarter, at the time under development, seemed like the ideal location. Hannah went to school five minutes up the road. She’d lived in the local area for over a decade.

“In 2020, I had the opportunity to open in the ‘hawker-style’ precinct at ECQ Social. It was a small shop, just 25sqm, so it was an affordable way for me to test out the idea and to see if I could make my dream work. Thankfully, I had the right kind of support from the start,” she explains.

“Frasers Property runs The Retailer Academy and it covers a whole range of support and resources which helped me get going. It touches on marketing plans with useful templates, business awareness, branding support, social media and digital strategies and more. In particular, the marketing resources were very helpful in those early days.

“Then, of course, during COVID, the need for support became even more crucial. With an improved digital strategy and initiatives like click-and-collect through the ECQ App, we were able to better manage our business operations during those challenging times.”

Hanmade’s Desserts did more than merely survive. The unique nature of what Hannah was creating was attracting a loyal customer base and the business was growing. The 25sqm tenancy would no longer suffice, especially given Hannah’s desire to provide a dining space in which her customers could really feel at home.

Frasers Property also recognised the business’s growth potential. In 2022, by working together, Frasers Property helped Hannah transition to a larger tenancy at ECQ - a 105sqm shop opposite Fruit World - where Hanmade’s Desserts evolved into Hanmade’s Bakehouse.

As well as a homely place for customers to visit, and a uniquely delicious range of treats to enjoy on site or at home, Hanmade’s Bakehouse also creates bespoke cakes for celebrations like weddings, engagements and birthdays. There has always been a personal touch: people can ring up or drop in and discuss their specific ideas.

Once again, as the business has grown, Hannah has leaned on The Retailer Academy’s resources to make the transition to a larger store a success in its own right, as well as a stepping stone to further expansion.

“Through The Retailer Academy I was able to gain plenty of insights from a presentation by expert food consultant Charles Bowie. I also had the chance to connect with him individually. With his hospitality assistance, we worked through everything – my branding, products, pricing, staffing and more – to ensure that the business did not become stagnant,” she says.

“Together we refined the menu by focusing on products which drove sales and which aligned with what our customers really wanted. By honing our range to really suit the community, we’ve been able to drive loyalty among different profiles, from office workers to tradies and more.

“With Charles’s help, I also refined my staff rostering, enhanced the store’s visual merchandising and presentation, all of which helped set the platform for the next phase of growth.”

That next phase is wholesaling and it came about through an approach from Costco, no less. According to Hannah, wholesaling wasn’t always necessarily the plan. But it was an opportunity which couldn’t be ignored.

“I was approached by a Costco representative about potentially offering some of my creations in their stores. There were some qualifying processes to work through, but as of 2025, our products have begun to appear on their shelves.

“More demand means more staff. We’ve gone from 10 people to around 30 people at the moment. I have a great team – head chef, head baker, head decorator, plenty of talented assistants and front-of-house staff, and I still take care of the admin,” she says.

So what’s next?

“I’m ambitious and I see a lot of potential to take the business into new places,” Hannah says.

“There’s an opportunity to move into event catering, home delivery services, and to broaden our product range to create package deals. We know our customers like what we do, so our challenge is to make our products even more easily accessible.

“I’m looking at baking workshops too, so I can share my love for creating desserts with others in a face-to face, fun and interactive setting.

“As we grow our wholesale operation, I’m also interested in ways we might broaden our production and reach customers in other areas of New South Wales. One of the main lessons I’ve learned is that you need to be open to new opportunities, and I’m actively looking for new ways to grow.”

While the future for Hanmade’s Bakehouse could see her creations more widely available, she remains rooted in the ECQ community.

“Even after all these years, I’m still in touch with the amazing business owners I met during those early days at ECQ Social. We’ve built a strong support system, always cheering each other on. To give back to the community, every ECQ retailer receives a special discount at my store. I’m just up from the florist at ECQ, where I’m a regular customer, sourcing flowers for our custom cakes. Supporting other local businesses has always been important to me - it’s all about growing together on this journey.

“Plus, centre management is there every day to offer support, and The Retailer Academy has regular information sessions and webinars to keep us all up to date with new trends and opportunities. It’s a real community atmosphere and a fantastic environment to be a part of.”