Delivery

Life is Hard for a Small Business: Our Quest for Affordable Next Day Delivery

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For five wonderful years, our award-winning home bakery has thrived in the bustling markets and vibrant festivals of Bristol. There’s nothing we love more than meeting you face-to-face, seeing the joy when you try our 100% gluten-free treats, and becoming a delicious part of your weekend adventures.

But something kept happening. Time and again, you’d ask us: “Can I get these sent to my friend in Edinburgh?” or “I wish I could order this for my family up north after the festival.” We listened. We realised the dream: to share our fresh-baked gluten-free goodness nationwide, ensuring it arrives not just safely, but fresh, as if it just left our oven.

We quickly learned, however, that perfecting our recipes was only half the battle. The other half? Finding a reliable, affordable next-day delivery service that cares about our delicate, chilled bakes as much as we do. This is the untold story behind our “Delivery” page.

The Delivery Dilemma: A Brief, Factual Journey

We’ve tried them all. Here’s a short, honest log of our quest (we’ll leave the commentary for later):

  • Royal Mail 24h Tracked: We started here. A chilled, ice-packed Tiramisu bound for Stroud took 4 days. It was ruined. We submitted a claim with photographic evidence of the ruined product. The claim was not fulfilled and we were told they “aim” for 24h.
  • DHL Next Day: A Vegan Basque Cheesecake, shipped on Thursday, arrived the following Monday afternoon. Our customer was pregnant, and we unanimously agreed a 4-day journey was not what “next-day” meant. So, we did what small businesses do – we personally drove from Bristol to Newport to deliver a fresh one. We later discovered DHL’s service was routed through another carrier, Evri.
  • UPS Next Day: Initially quoted £9.90, we bravely priced delivery at £9 for our customers, covering the small difference ourselves. As soon as our official business account was activated weeks later, the price jumped to £13.86 per parcel.
  • DX: We spoke with their team. To open an account, they require a minimum weekly invoice of £100.
  • APC Overnight: We had several discussions with them. Their final quoted price, inclusive of the UK Fuel Surcharge, was over £10 per parcel.
  • DPD Local: Their offer was £7.00 + VAT (£8.40) with a minimum weekly invoice of £40 + VAT. In early December 2025, we set our website delivery fee at £6.40 as an introductory offer, investing £2 into each order. Our first weekly invoice included additional Fuel, Energy, and Carriage Charges, bringing the actual cost per delivery to approximately £10.

The Heart of the Matter: Our Promise to You

So, here we are. As it stands, we are losing £2.60 on every single order we ship. We box everything meticulously with sustainable, insulated materials to guarantee freshness, and then we subsidise the postage. Why?

Because we know £10 for delivery feels too high. We believe our gluten-free treats should be a joy, not a luxury with a daunting shipping fee. We’re a small, passionate team, not a faceless corporation. The drive to Newport proved that – your happiness and trust are our absolute priority.

Our Hope for the Future

This isn’t a complaint; it’s an explanation and an invitation. Every order you place is a vote of confidence. It tells courier companies that we are a business worth supporting with fair rates. Our dream is that as we grow, we can negotiate that “reasonable price” and finally make nationwide, affordable, next-day delivery a sustainable reality.

Until then, we’ll keep baking with love, packing with care, and absorbing that extra cost—because getting our award-winning treats to your door, fresh and perfect, is the challenge we’re determined to solve.

Thank you for being on this journey with us. Every slice shared, every order placed, brings us one step closer.

Love,
Creamberry Artisan