Most of us know Kirti Bhoutika as the youngest winner of MasterChef India 2016. Since then, not only has Kirti’s city-based baking brand – Sugarplum Cakery – grown leaps and bounds, but so has her digital presence. When she’s not baking cakes or hosting masterclasses, she’s creating content for YouTube and social media.
During the pandemic, her Instagram followers shot up to 200K, her Facebook page has over six lakh fans and in the last two months her YouTube channel has touched 51K+ subscribers. “I love creating content and I love being in front of the camera. I think my experience with cooking shows has helped with this,” says the Mahadevi World Academy and J D Birla (Nutrition Science) alumnus.
My Kolkata chats with Kirti Bhoutika on juggling cakes and content…
Your social media engagement rocketed during the lockdown of 2020. Can you tell us how and why?
Before the pandemic, my Instagram account had around 62K followers. During the lockdown, it shot up to 200K! I remember the first video during the lockdown was a very casual video. I was wearing the worst clothes possible and was totally unprepared, but it’s a very special video for me. It was a whole wheat ravioli with a spinach and ricotta filling that went viral. After that video, I realised that everyone was cooking at home, it wasn’t just me, so I figured that uploading what I was cooking and how I was cooking it would be fun. I think one of the main reasons why my lockdown videos went viral is because they were all made with ingredients easily available in the kitchen and without any fancy equipment.
What’s the recipe to becoming popular on Instagram?
My secret ingredient is to be myself. What I can say with utmost surety is that being myself worked for me. I have noticed that some videos that are professionally shot don’t do as well as the videos I shoot with my own phone, only because the ones from my phone are more real.
Tell us more about your digital journey…
I think my digital journey has been similar to my entrepreneurial journey. I began Sugarplum Cakery as a home bakery when I was in college and as a young entrepreneur, I had to do everything myself. What I realised was that I had to know how everything worked before I could delegate to somebody else.
Kirti’s journey with Sugarplum Cakery
So, I have done things as basic as logo designing or creatives for my page. I learnt to edit videos by watching YouTube tutorials. Now, of course, I have people helping me but I did it all myself during the pandemic. I am very invested in leaving new things, so I keep myself updated.
I used to enjoy Instagram a lot, even though I have more Facebook followers, but recently I’m beginning to enjoy YouTube more. I have begun diversifying into other platforms. The way Instagram is rapidly changing, I can’t afford to depend on only one platform.
Your YouTube channel, with 51K+ followers, will turn five on May 24. What are your plans?
I started my YouTube channel right after winning MasterChef India, but have only started being really active over the last two months. If you see the older videos, they’re all recipes that were made for Instagram and reshared on YouTube. Now, I’ve started creating videos specific to YouTube, which will cater to young chefs looking to acquire serious skills.
As far as my plan for the page goes, my strategy right now is to simply not get restless and to avoid concentrating on numbers for at least one year. You see, when it comes to YouTube there are no instant results which is why a lot of creators get into YouTube but don’t survive. If I post a reel on Instagram, it gets around 1 lakh views in two days. But for YouTube, it’s completely different as it’ll get about 15K views at the most. So, I just need to be consistent in the beginning to see results in the future.
How do you juggle content creation and operating your business?
I have devoted a big chunk of my life trying to figure this out (laughs)! But what I’ve realised recently is that when I divide my day into two – dedicating the first half to Sugarplum Cakery and the second half to content creation – I am a lot more efficient. Also, I have an excellent team who I can blindly rely on.
I am working on Sugarplum Cakery delivering cakes across and outside Kolkata. I would like to see a future where a cake from Sugarplum Cakery is one message away from our customers.
In today’s age of everyone-is-an-influencer, how do you stay away from the noise and yet create your own niche?
I follow certain guidelines. Firstly, I don’t work with non-vegetarian food. Secondly, I should like the product and if it caters to my audience, I will promote it. It should add value to my followers and my page.
Staying away from the noise has become so difficult right now! Especially because I don’t hop onto trends for the sake of it. I really don’t like making trending reels just because they will get me views. I want to make good food and create good content that adds value. I am happy with fewer videos if it means valuing quality over quantity.
Finally, what would the Kirti of today tell the Kirti of 2016?
I would tell my younger self that whatever is happening is happening for the best. I’d tell her to do what she’s doing and have faith because all the experiences that you’re having will amount to something. Actually, this is something that I keep telling myself right now also. I tell myself that even if it feels like I’m not making the best decisions, like there’s something better out there, I need to have faith in my choices.
