East Van bakery owner says social media exposure doesn't pay the bills

A Vancouver bakery owner is pushing back after a celebrity couple asked for a free birthday cake, calling the request “outrageous” and questioning whether social media exposure is a fair trade for small businesses.

Fanny Lam, owner of Oh Sweet Day! Bake Shop, received an email last week from a representative of former NBA all-star Metta Sandiford-Artest and his wife, model and actress Maya Sandiford-Artest, asking about a “collab opportunity” for their child’s birthday party at a Richmond farm this weekend.

Lam knew what “collab” meant. “We’ve received requests like this every day,” she said. “For us, this isn’t about one cake.”

Oh Sweet Day!, which opened as a small storefront on East First Avenue near Commercial Drive seven years ago and expanded to a second location in Port Moody last year, receives requests for free products and collaborations almost every day.

Lam says yes to charities and community organizations, but almost always turns down requests from “influencers” and corporations.

This request, however, struck her as inappropriate because of the imbalance.

“It raises a question of why small businesses like us who often have the least resources to spare are being asked to constantly provide free products for people or organizations that can afford to pay for them.”

Lam shared screenshots of the email request on Instagram to spark a conversation about influencer culture, as well as highlight an experience she said small businesses constantly face.

The email said the couple’s representative was “reaching out to a select few local vendors of their choosing that they’d love to feature as part of the day.” It pointed out that the family has a “strong social media following” and “will be sharing the celebration across their platforms, including posts/stories crediting and tagging participating vendors.”

For Lam, it was not a fair exchange. The custom cake requested by the family would have cost roughly $200 to $300, based on the number of servings and design.

“Our business relies on word of mouth and support from our paying customers,” she said. “Exposure isn’t our main focus. Exposure doesn’t pay the bills.”

Lam’s post prompted an outpouring of support, with commenters describing the request as “wild,” “deeply inappropriate” and “atrocious.”

Sandiford-Artest, previously known as Metta World Peace and Ron Artest, earned an estimated $85 million US over his NBA career. Since retiring, he has parlayed that success into the business world, launching a management and consulting firm, and has become a mental health advocate.

He also has a personal connection to B.C. His wife grew up on Vancouver Island and attended UBC. Both have substantial social media followings.

The couple did not respond to a request for comment.

Eric Li, a professor at UBC Okanagan and an expert in digital marketing, said that from a marketing perspective, collaborations can make sense, particularly as marketing budgets increasingly shift toward digital and social media.

But businesses have to weigh the pros and cons to determine whether the potential exposure is worth the cost of labour and ingredients. They also have to consider alignment and fit, he said, including whether the celebrity’s audience is relevant to their own customer base.

“Awareness, conversation and appreciation in the social media space won’t directly translate to actual sales,” he said.

Li said cases where a wealthy celebrity asks a small business for a freebie highlight some ethical concerns.

“Is it fair for a celebrity to ask a small business to donate while a regular citizen going to the store has to pay full price for that cake?” he said. “And is it ethical for a celebrity to use their brand or popularity to extract or exploit small businesses to provide these free gifts and offerings?”

Lam said she was contacted Monday by Maya Sandiford-Artest, who asked her to remove the post, saying the initial request was made by an assistant. She kept the post online but removed the details about the child’s birthday party.

Lam said she hopes the discussion will make people think twice before asking small businesses for free products.

“Small businesses still have bills, ingredients, wages and rent to pay,” she wrote in the post. “Exposure, unfortunately, is still not accepted by our suppliers.”