She posted a simple video of a traditional cake.
No fancy studio. No marketing team. Just heritage, heart, and a home oven.
Two million views later, Soneng Bakery was no longer a seasonal hobby, it was a movement.
From Home Baker to TikTok Sensation
For over 15 years, Dayang baked quietly from her home kitchen.
Ramadan. Raya. Close friends. Neighbours. Repeat customers who knew one thing for sure her Kek Lapis Sarawak hit differently.
What started as a festive side hustle slowly became her signature. The kind of cake people waited all year for.
Then came TikTok.
One video showcasing her authentic Sarawak layered cake exploded past 2 million views. The comments flooded in. DMs wouldn’t stop. Orders stacked up overnight.
That was the moment everything changed.
She opened her now-famous “yellow bag” on TikTok Shop and monthly sales began climbing fast.
What used to be seasonal income became daily production.
Preserving the Real Taste of Kek Lapis Sarawak
Here’s the thing.
The market is saturated with modern twists, flashy colours, and trend driven versions of Kek Lapis Sarawak. But somewhere along the way, the original taste was fading.
Dayang refused to let that happen.
Soneng Bakery is built on “old school” recipes passed down from her mother and aunties rich, buttery, deeply nostalgic.
No shortcuts.
No watered down flavours.
No compromise.
Even the brand name carries meaning. “Soneng” is her mother’s name, a tribute to the woman who taught her the craft and inspired her journey.
This isn’t just baking.
It’s preservation of Sarawak heritage.
Scaling Beyond the Home Kitchen
Virality is exciting. Scaling is another story.
As TikTok orders multiplied, her home kitchen couldn’t keep up.
In 2024, Dayang secured government equipment grants that allowed her to invest in industrial ovens and heavy-duty machines. The growth was real. The demand was non-stop.
By early 2025, she opened a central kitchen in Meru, Klang, operating on daily production.
What’s powerful? She narrowed her focus.
Instead of baking everything from bread to standard cakes, she doubled down on what people truly wanted, her signature Kek Lapis Sarawak.
Smart move.
Today, Soneng Bakery runs with three permanent staff and a part-timer, with expansion plans during peak festive seasons.
From home oven to full scale production powered by demand, not hype.
Winning Online Without a Physical Store
Selling food online is risky.
Customers can’t taste through a screen.
So how do you build trust?
Transparency.
Dayang runs 100% of her social media. She posts raw tasting videos. Real customer reactions. Honest testimonials.
Her biggest flex?
A high repurchase rate.
People don’t just buy once. They come back.
Even a local Yang Berhormat once surprised her during a TikTok studio session, jumping into her live broadcast to taste the cake on camera.
Unscripted. Authentic. Powerful.
That’s social proof money can’t buy.
The Real Challenge: Growth Pressure
Behind the viral success lies a real entrepreneur juggling numbers.
With 90% of sales driven by TikTok, the pressure to sustain daily inventory is intense. Her biggest challenge now? Rolling capital securing enough funds to buy raw materials and meet skyrocketing demand.
Virality opens doors.
Cash flow keeps them open.
And she’s navigating both.
The Bigger Vision: Taking Sarawak to the World
Dayang isn’t building a TikTok brand.
She’s building a legacy brand.
Over the next five years, she plans to reduce platform dependency and grow Soneng Bakery into a resilient, independent name in the Malaysian dessert industry.
Her dream?
To bring the authentic taste of Kek Lapis Sarawak to international markets Singapore, Brunei, and beyond.
To let the world taste what generations of Sarawak families grew up loving.
A Recipe for Modern Malaysian Success
Soneng Bakery proves something powerful:
Tradition is not outdated.
Heritage is not boring.
And authenticity always wins.
With passion, digital savvy, and a deep respect for culture, Dayang turned a family recipe into a viral business success story.
From a quiet home kitchen to a thriving central production hub this is what happens when tradition meets TikTok.
And honestly?
Malaysia needs more stories like this.
