Coaltown X Exploding Bakery

At our core, we partner only with like-minded businesses where values, quality and purpose align. That’s why we’re proud to feature Exploding Bakery in our espresso bars and cafés. Their dedication to exceptional ingredients, playful creativity and sustainable practices has made them a natural fit for our spaces. From humble beginnings in Exeter to becoming a trusted wholesale bakery, Exploding Bakery embodies the hard work and personality we love to support, so we caught up with the team to learn more.

1. For those who may not yet know Exploding Bakery, can you tell us a little about how the business first began in Exeter and how it has evolved into the wholesale bakery it is today?

Our bakery was born out of a love for coffee, we used to guzzle many flat whites at Monmouth Coffee in London and thought people in Devon might want the same, so we opened a little coffee shop and started baking cakes, as you couldn't buy high quality wholesale cakes from anywhere. Turns out lots of people wanted cakes that weren't made with a load of crap ingredients in them.

2. You’ve built a reputation not just for exceptional bakes but for a distinctive, quirky style of marketing and content. How did that playful voice become part of the brand’s identity?

We're super passionate about cake, but luckily, we don't take ourselves too seriously. The brand is just an extension of our personality. I guess it can be a little confusing when we're clowning around one minute, then talking about climate change and responsible agriculture the next. But cake should be fun, it's a celebration and we want to bring the good vibes along with the good flavours.

3. As wholesale partners of yours for many years, we’ve seen firsthand how consistent your quality is. What systems or values underpin your approach to producing baked goods at scale without compromising on flavour or craft?

Our quality control is not easy as we use so many natural ingredients with a huge number of variables. Our UK grown wheat changes with the growing seasons, so will always be a little different or the ground almonds will be milled to a slightly different coarseness. Our fruits will have different sugar or moisture levels from batch to batch. Our cakes will never be perfect and each cake will be slightly different to the next as they're made by people. But we do our best to keep things consistent by giving as much training as possible, having a low turnover of staff and having a team that believes in the product and each other. We simply care and want people to enjoy something delicious with a coffee.

4. There’s a strong sense of personality running through everything you do, from packaging to social media. How important is storytelling to you?

We love to spin a good yarn; it helps people remember the important details about the product and the company. Everything at The Exploding Bakery is born out of creativity, that's the real passion and perhaps cake is just a by-product of this or maybe baking is just an area for us to focus our crazy minds and plough all our creative energy towards the mixing bowl.

5. Your products have become staples in so many cafés and coffee shops. When developing new recipes, how do you balance creativity and indulgence with the practical needs of your wholesale customers?

Ha! Yeah, maybe we're in too many places now. We always try to think about the customer's needs and that applies to both the cafe serving the cake, who is essentially our direct customer, then obviously the end user who is eating the cake in the cafe. We really want our cake to pair well with coffee and sometimes tea. We don't want sugar or sweetness to dominate the palette. We are also mindful that sometimes our ego and personal preference can spill over into a recipe.

6. Exeter has a thriving independent food scene. How has being based in the South West shaped your approach to sourcing, community and collaboration?

We're super proud to be based in the West Country, this is where we grew up and it's home and we love the outdoors. We still try to source as many ingredients as we can from the region, such as butter and eggs. There's a great food community this way too, from great chefs to some of the best bakeries in the country. We're lucky to be in this part of the world, just like you folks in Wales. I hope you appreciate it too.

7. In a competitive food landscape, what do you think makes customers and long-term stockists like us, stay loyal to Exploding Bakery?

We like to think that people do business with people, so it's about relationships. We see everything as partnerships. Our ingredient suppliers are part of our company, so are our distributors and wholesalers, we're all linked and working together. There's symbiosis, so we need to get along. Even the big corporations are beginning to understand this now.

8. Sustainability and responsible production are increasingly important within the food industry. How do you approach ingredient sourcing, waste reduction and building a bakery model that’s designed to last?

Shortsightedness has certainly not gone away, but we hope things are moving in the right direction. Regenerative farming practices should not be used as a buzzword, it's crucial they're in place for soil fertility otherwise nothing will grow in our fields. We always look to improve on what ingredients we have, as long as it doesn't compromise the product. We need to move forward, in the right direction, but this does take time. We try to make cakes with a good shelf life and give training on how to get the most out of the product. This certainly reduces waste. We do get some wastage at the bakery, but not very much. The odd cake gets cracked or broken, so we donate these to local food banks or charities. So it's not real wastage.

9. We’ve stocked Exploding Bakery for years now. What does long-term partnership mean to you as a wholesaler and how do you nurture relationships with the cafés and businesses you supply?

It's all about long-term partnerships for us, but we do want to get better at this by doing more site visits and offering marketing support with photography or little films that can promote us working together. Sometimes it's just great to have a beer together and talk about stuff. We're also understanding that things can't last forever and there could be a more local bakery that replaces us and things like that are ok. We still remain friends when a customer moves on.

10. Finally, what does “purpose” mean to Exploding Bakery as a company, beyond making great cake and how does that purpose guide your decisions as you continue to grow?

Purpose isn't just about the product for us, our ingredients and methods will stay the same as we grow, that's just a given. But our purpose is about doing things right, building meaningful relationships with suppliers and customers and hopefully doing some good on the side with us supporting 1% for the Planet. We also believe that if we can prove to other businesses there's a better way to run a company, they might try and improve, just as we're inspired by other purposeful companies. If we're forthcoming and free with information, our business model can be replicated by others. This may sound a bit like hippy bullshit and we're certainly not anti-capitalist. We just all need to do better, us included.

Exploding Bakery isn’t just about cake, it’s about connection, creativity and doing things right. Through long-term partnerships, mindful sourcing and a passion for quality, they show how a business can grow without losing its soul. Whether through a shared flat white, a perfectly baked slice, or a playful story that sticks with you, their purpose-driven approach continues to inspire both their partners and their customers. Working with them isn’t just business, it’s been a relationship built on trust, values and a genuine love for great cake.