Barbara Outten, owner of Bake Bahamas, always knew that her recipe for success would involve the baked goods she sold on holidays while working as a banker in Grand Bahama. Her daughter, Tanya Outten, remembers spending college breaks helping her mother in the kitchen fill hundreds of fruit cake orders. In October 2002, Barbs Bakery opened and expanded product offerings to include elaborate wedding cakes, specialty birthday cakes, cookies and other baked treats.

Barbara and Tanya ran the business for several years until the economic downturn hit Freeport. The two decided to close the storefront and return to a home-based business model. This year, the mother-daughter duo relaunched the company under a new name and new branding. The name, Bake Bahamas, is indicative of where the little bakery that could is headed -- beyond the boundaries of Grand Bahama and extending to the entire Bahamas and the world.

"We wanted to expand outside of our existing market in Grand Bahama. Now, we are able to ship throughout the country and are specifically looking at growing our market share here in Nassau," said Tanya, creative director at Bake Bahamas. "I manage the Nassau operations and we're utilizing tools like Facebook and a new website to connect with customers throughout the country and the world." The team will begin selling wholesale items to major local retailers.

They also worked with a lab in South Florida to determine specific food label content for export items. Next year, Bake Bahamas will export Bahamian goods like rum cakes and fruitcakes around the world. "It's amazing to see how the business has evolved throughout the years from something that I started as an outlet and as a way to support my family to what we have here today," said Barbara at a recent relaunch party held in Grand Bahama.

She said she is looking forward to the new direction her company is taking. "We've received great reviews at recent events in Nassau and people are now associating the new name with the great tastes we built the business on," she said. Bake Bahamas will be showcased at the upcoming Jolly Fair at the New Providence Community Center on Sunday, December 16. For more information on Bake Bahamas, vist their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bake-Bahamas/434652746598058, call 225-3373 or email bakebahamas@gmail.com.

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