A young Cumbrian cake business, Vie’s Jamaican Rum Cakes has launched a new crowdfunding campaign today to raise £5000 to buy a van for the blossoming company. Company founder Elaine Rémy chose the 6th July as it is her parents’ wedding anniversary and the secret rummy recipe that inspired the business was her mother Vie’s.
Elaine explained further: “My parent’s were married for 54 years and gave me so much in their lifetime, their wedding anniversary just felt like the right day to launch. In all I do, I want to honour them and in particular my mother, Agnes Viola Henry, aka “Vie”. Mum was a strong Jamaican woman, a descendent of slaves whose ancestors worked the island’s sugar cane fields. Like many who travelled to Britain in the 1960’s hoping for a better life, she settled and worked hard for her family, but never forgot her Jamaican heritage, becoming renowned for her very rummy rum cakes. Her family recipe passed down from generation to generation is now being enjoyed by so many people and I’m sure if mum was still here she’d be very proud.”
Sadly Vie passed away in 2018 and Elaine moved to Cumbria the following year. Elaine was surprised to learn of our county’s links to the slave trade and was impressed that the tragic stories aren’t forgotten but instead shared at Whitehaven’s Rum Story. Elaine was inspired to turn her loss into a legacy that honoured her mother’s memory and recognised both her new home of Cumbria and her Jamaican roots. The rich and delicious cakes, based on her mother’s original recipe, are produced here in Cumbria and one of the special recipes uses Jefferson’s rum from The Whitehaven Rum Story. The fruity, moist and rummy cakes have proved extremely popular since they went into production and are now being shipped all over the UK. If successful the £5000 crowdfunding campaign will be matched by NatWest Back Her Business, giving a £10,000 boost to the blossoming business.
Crowdfunding is an increasingly popular way of raising finance by asking a large number of people to each give a small amount of money. Investors can contribute from as little as £10 towards the van and each supporter receives special rewards depending on how much they give. Rewards for supporting Vie’s Jamaican Rum Cakes range from slices to whole cakes, tickets for the exclusive Roots, Rum, Reggae launch event later in the year, and even getting your logo on the new van. £1000 has already been raised in its first morning and the campaign closes on 3rd August 2020.
Elaine explained the impact the new van would have: “The van would make such a huge difference to me, I’ll be able to make less trips yet deliver more cakes professionally and in perfect condition, it really will make the whole process more efficient. It’s an amazingly uplifting feeling to be supported by people who want to see Vie’s Jamaican Rum Cakes succeed, especially as many of these people are strangers! I am incredibly grateful to all who have supported me so far – thank you.”
Further details on the Crowdfunding Campaign can be found here https://www.natwestbackherbusiness.co.uk/viesjamaicanrumcakes
