Kristin Kato
Photo from Jennifer Armstrong
For A Cake Life’s fifth anniversary, owner Kristin Kato teamed up with Hawaii Foodbank to help provide for the hungry in the community.
“We thought, (with us) being in the food industry, the Hawaii Foodbank would be a great organization to partner with,” Kato says.
Summertime rings in wedding season, and many people call in for consultations. For the month of July, those who donate a minimum of five canned goods will have the consultation fee waived. The promotion has been well-received, and A Cake Life has received many inquiries about bringing in canned goods.
“One lady who saw our post (on social media) says, ‘I’ll just come in and donate, but I don’t need anything.'”
Even brides-to-be from the Mainland are coming on board with the program.
“They’re coming in later on to do their consultations, but they just pay the $25 consultation fee to be used as a monetary donation to the Foodbank instead of bringing in food,” Kato explained.
Kato’s following on Instagram has greatly helped the promotion. A Cake Life (@acakelife) has more than 13,000 followers on the social media site, where Kato displays her sweet works of art. Kato was not always interested in the baking world. She started A Cake Life, located on South King Street, back in 2009 after deciding she no longer wanted to be a lawyer.
“That was about the time that Ace of Cakes and all those cake shows were just coming out,” Kato says. “I was really inspired watching them, and to get my mind off of law I took a cake class.” It was instant love.
Since opening her company, Kato said it has been a whirlwind of a journey. She enjoys the creativity her clients bring to the table.
“Customers come in and they bring us their ideas,” she explains. “It’s fun to work with them to develop it and see how we can create it into a really special cake.”
Most recently, Kato and her staff designed a spectacular Super Mario Bros. wedding cake complete with handmade Princess Peach and Mario cake toppers.
Many people have supported A Cake Life’s mission to give back. “We recognize the community has helped to support us at A Cake Life, and we want to give back,” Kato says.
Helping others always has been a big part of A Cake Life, and in the past the business has partnered with organizations such as American Cancer Society, Shriners Hospitals for Children Honolulu, American Heart Association and more.
“The atmosphere here is really family oriented, and we’re all open to helping each other,” adds Kato, who wants to encourage other businesses to pay it forward.
“We’re all here to help each other out and give back how we can,” she concludes.
