An East Hampshire businesswoman has shared her journey from not knowing how to bake to receiving the keys to her second unit to create more delicious baked goods for vegans across the UK.

In 2018, when Claudia Marsh was just 24, she decided she wanted to run her own business. After recently turning vegan and seeing a lack of vegan bakes, she turned to a baking business.

With no prior baking experience, Claudia began baking in her mum’s kitchen, using trial and error to test various recipes. She would then take these to markets and sell them on her website. Claudia sold 15 Christmas boxes that year; in 2025 she sold 1,100.

This was the start of Claudia’s journey into the world of baking and business, leading to the point where she now has a full team of bakers behind her and, with Claudia’s social media skills, the business continues to grow.

During Covid-19 the business boomed, with many people tuning into Claudia’s daily social media content where she shared her story as an independent trader.

Claudia said: “The business went crazy during Covid but then settled down afterwards, which we had to be mindful of, as during the pandemic business was growing really fast and we hoped it could continue at the same pace.”

It was not easy for Claudia, as her personal life became more challenging following a relationship breakdown, and she became a single mum with her 6-month-old son Ezra.

However, she continued juggling being a single mum and a small business owner, managing multiple tasks while also keeping people updated on her struggles and triumphs.

Claudia then set herself an ambitious savings target to buy her ex-partner out of their home and move on for good, setting a goal of £30,000. Shortly after setting the goal, tragedy struck when Claudia lost her younger brother.

Despite everything going on in her personal life, the business continued to grow as she channelled her strength and perseverance, recording its busiest Christmas on record in 2025. By the end of 2024 and early 2025, she had surpassed her goal, saving £34,000 and buying herself a van on top of buying out her ex-partner.

“I have a bit of ADHD and I’m a big oversharer, but that is what has drawn people to the business on social media. People have seen my journey from my mum’s kitchen to my own unit, with another on the way soon.”

Claudia now operates a Bake Shed in Bordon and has just opened another in Alton, with plans to expand to Liss soon.

The Vegan Bakes in Alton has been opening Bake Shed pop-up honesty boxes stacked with treats.

Many people have told Claudia this is a big risk, but she said the success of her first honesty box has encouraged her to do more.

She said her aim is to show that animal products are not needed to create delicious baked goods, while expanding access to high-quality vegan bakes.