From a Humble Home Baker to Building a Dessert Empire with 15 Outlets, Meet the Founder of Gula Cakery

Arieni taught herself to bake when she was a teenager, using her grandmother's recipe book. In an interview with FMT, She said she tried making brownies at the age of 20.

“I would often sleep next to the oven at home without realising it until I burnt a whole batch!” she recalled.

After a few rounds of practice, market-hopping, and many family functions later, Gula Bakery, a home-based bakery, was born. In addition to selling delicious pastries and cakes, Gula Bakery also offered baking classes.

Gula Bakery was a huge success, and by the age of 21, Arieni was already earning around RM30,000 a month.

In 2015, 25-year-old Arieni graduated with a bachelor's degree in early childhood education. In the same year, Gula Bakery evolved into Gula Cakery, which opened its first store in Kota Kemuning.

One of the crucial moments for Gula Cakery came a month after its grand opening. Arieni won the TERAJU Superb 2015 and received a whopping RM500,000 grant. The interesting part is that she was the only F&B winner among various tech-related pitches.

Not everything is smooth sailing

Every business has its ups and downs. Arieni recalls the early days of Gula Cakery in which she received little to no customers and struggled to make ends meet for a year. Arieni said it broke her heart to see her freshly baked pastries being thrown out by the dozens.

In an interview, Arieni said there was a lot of yelling between her and the staff and so many problems.

“I was yelling. The staff were yelling. We were trying so hard to keep the cakes on the counter and not strangle each other.”

Despite the stressful situation, Arieni admits that it was a huge learning process. To develop her culinary skills, Arieni studied in Paris, Italy, and at the Malaysian Institute of Baking.

While the COVID-19 pandemic saw many businesses shut down, Arieni was determined to keep her business and her staff. So, she started taking orders from home and personally baked up to 500 butter cakes a day.

The best part is all the proceeds were used to pay her staff during the months when the cafes had to close down.

According to Arieni, that period was the craziest. Her sleeping schedule was all over the place, and on top of that, her kitchen pipes clogged up and needed repairs.

“My husband protested when our kitchen pipes needed repairs. Even the garbage collectors were pissed off at the amount of garbage coming from my house.”

However, Arieni was headstrong, so she refused to stop. Due to her determination, she managed to keep her business and her staff despite tough times.

The pandemic also witnessed the birth of Arieni's Roti Jala as she started selling roti jala with chicken curry from her grandmother's recipe along with pastries.

The roti jala became so famous during the lockdown that Arieni decided to open a shop specifically for the dish in December 2020 at Eco Ardence, Setia Alam.

The birth of other outlets and brands

Gula Cakery and Arieni's Roti Jala are not the only brands and outlets that Arieni owns. In April 2017, she opened Gula Petite in IOI City Mall Putrajaya. This outlet specialised in mini versions of the products sold in Gula Cakery.

In 2018, Arieni's second brand, Andra by Gula Cakery, opened its doors in Setia Alam. Then, a year later, in 2019, this restaurant opened its second outlet in Puncak Alam. Fun fact: Andra by Gula Cakery was named after Arieni's firstborn son, Andra!

In 2020, Gula Cakery ventured into Tropicana Gardens Mall, Kota Damansara, to reach out to more customers.

Also born in 2020, Arieni created another special brand, Gula Creamery, which happens to be the first cake-flavoured ice cream shop in Malaysia. Gula Creamery serves cake-flavoured ice cream, which originated from Gula Cakery's signature cake flavours, like the Double Chocolate Hazelnut and Pandan Gula Melaka.

Impressively, Gula Creamery has five outlets spread across Klang Valley!

In September 2022, Arieni once again opened another brand under Gula Cakery, this time in Malacca. Named after her daughter, Malaiqa by Gula Cakery offers a wide selection of cakes, ice cream, and hot dishes to customers.

Arieni also ventured into Mexican food by opening El Ocho in Setia Alam and a coffee shop named MN Coffee (Morning Need Coffee), which currently has six outlets.

She has undoubtedly become a beacon of inspiration for Malaysians everywhere, and we eagerly anticipate whatever innovative creations she will unveil next.