Nikoleta’s sweet creations: the sweet side of life

Nikoleta Dala is the founder of Nikoleta’s Sweet Creations, a patisserie shop in Glykorizo, Arta, in Greece. She used to make pastry at home, as hobby, but with demand soaring, Nikoleta decided to make the move and set up her own shop.

Listen to Nikoleta

Nikoleta Dala, founder of Nikoleta's sweet creations, introduces her story in this short teaser.

Opening up her shop

“I couldn’t continue to work from home. I wanted a professional space, and to be able to connect with people,” she says.

With an EU-guaranteed loan from the Cooperative Bank of Epirus, backed by the EIF, Nikoleta was able to renovate and fully equip her shop. “It used to be a restaurant, so we needed to completely change it, to buy fridges, ovens, mixers, things like that. Had I relied entirely on savings, the whole thing would have taken a lot longer.”

A solid bet

The expertise comes from a patisserie course she did in the city of Giannena. “They were against it. But I needed to get the certification if I wanted to open a shop. It was expensive, but it had to be done,” she says.

The shop opened just in time for the Christmas period, in November 2020. “The Christmas period is important, especially with traditional things like melomakarona and kourabiye,” she explains. “It was a good season.”

“Both my husband and my father were reluctant in the beginning. They were afraid of the risk. But if you don’t risk anything, you don’t gain anything, right? Now they’ve both come round and are rubbing their eyes in disbelief.”

They told me not to, but you know, I’m pretty stubborn. ”

- Nikoleta Dala, the founder

Hard work pays

Today, Nikoleta estimates that she attracts about 1/3 of Arta’s market, working 7 days a week, from 10am to 7pm, “but I often stay later, until 9pm if necessary. I run the shop alone. I really want to create everything myself and make the sale with a personal touch too. I don’t want to just sell someone else’s creations,” she explains. Nikoleta puts a lot of herself into her work, using only fresh products. “I really enjoy cakes with special designs, like for children’s parties. Things like tractors, cars, using multiple-layers…but the best-sellers are the chocolate cake and the strawberry tart.”

With 3500 followers on her Facebook page, 90% of her orders are online. “Social media is very important,” she notes. Looking back at her path, Nikoleta has a clear opinion about entrepreneurship: “I think you need to let the idea mature before you take any risks. You need to be sure about what you’re doing. It took me 8 years to build up the business and clientele.”