A small business in Keighley has declined a request to make a cake for an unnamed celebrity's 40th birthday party - after the initial request said payment would be made in the form of promotion on social media.
Three Little Birds Bakery on Cavendish Street shared the email on Facebook on Thursday, along with their response to it which highlighted that the company's staff "can't feed their kids with exposure on Instagram".
The firm, which opened its shop in Keighley earlier this year after 8 years of making celebration cakes, said: "This poor celebrity apparently can't afford to pay people for their products and services. Spare a thought!"
The social media post has received hundreds of comments and shares, with most people supportive of the approach of the bakery to call out the company making the request on behalf of a celebrity, who it's understood is an actor on TV.
However, the Leeds-based company NVRLND has now told Rombalds Radio that its email to the bakery had been "completely misconstrued" and that it would never expect any business to be out of pocket.
Rebecca Severs, owner of Three Little Birds Bakery, told Rombalds Radio: "It's really important to highlight the issue of small businesses, especially in female-dominant industries, not earning a fair wage for their time and skill, especially in the cost of living crisis we are experiencing.
"We are proud of our team who are all highly skilled at cake baking and decorating, and proud to have built a successful business based on correct pricing which means our staff are paid a decent wage and have job stability. We wish the same for NVRLND and offer them and their clients our best regards for the future."
In the original email request, NVRLND asked whether Three Little Birds would be interested in making a 40th birthday cake plus a smaller cake and 100 cupcakes for the celebrity party in Manchester on 1st September. It said: "In return for being a supplier for the event, payment would be made in the form of promotion on their socials with over 700K followers, as well as promoted in OK Magazine. They will be crediting all the suppliers on these platforms. The party has a guest lists (sic) full of celebrities and industry people from tv / film and music, so loads of work would come from it."
In response, the bakery joked that they were sorry to hear that the celebrity had "fallen on such hard times that they can't afford to pay small businesses for their products".
This poor celebrity apparently can't afford to pay people for their products and services. Spare a thought! What...
Posted by Three Little Birds Bakery on Thursday, July 27, 2023
We approached the celebrity's PR representatives for a comment but have received no response.
We also approached NVRLND. In a statement its founder Victoria Eames told Rombalds Radio: “NVRLND contacted 3 Little Birds Bakery to offer them the opportunity to collaborate with one of our clients to cater for a party.
"As part of the collaboration, our client would cover all of 3 Little Birds Bakery’s expenses and costs in exchange for social media content and local and national exposure for their business. To confirm, NVRLND are also retained on the same expenses only basis.
"We selected 3 Little Birds Bakery to collaborate with a view to support a local business and help them grow. Our aim is to connect small local businesses with the opportunity of growth and the possibility of a full diary which is what we have experienced when working on past collaborations. We would never expect any business to be out of pocket and nor would our client.
"Our email communication to 3 Little Birds has unfortunately been completely misconstrued. We have contacted 3 Little Birds to resolve this situation and unfortunately have not had a response.
"Due to contractual obligations, we are unable to comment on the identity of our client.”
In a further Facebook post on Monday morning, Three Little Birds Bakery said: "I've now been threatened with legal action by NVRLND as a response to this post which they say is encouraging defamation of their business. So in order to make sure our posts are being completely transparent and we aren't spreading false information, let me just be completely clear. NVRLND aren't getting paid properly either, they are also working entirely on a 'promotional expenses only basis'. Hope that clears it up."
I've now been threatened with legal action by NVRLND as a response to this post which they say is encouraging defamation...
Posted by Three Little Birds Bakery on Monday, July 31, 2023
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