‘No free cake’: Vancouver bakery owner calls out NBA star’s family over collaboration request, asks how an NBA legend can’t afford a birthday cake for his kid

Vancouver bakery says no to NBA legend’s free cake collaboration idea.

A Vancouver bakery owner has refused to give away a custom birthday cake for free after receiving a request from an assistant representing former NBA star Metta Sandiford-Artest’s family, saying that social-media publicity does not cover the costs of running a small business.Fanny Lam, owner of Oh Sweet Day! Bake Shop, said she was approached by an individual identifying themselves as an assistant to Sandiford-Artest and his wife, Maya. The request was for a custom cake for their son’s birthday celebration in Richmond, British Columbia.

‘We felt particularly frustrated because of the imbalance’

The proposed arrangement was a familiar one in the age of influencer marketing: the bakery would provide the cake at no cost, while the family would promote the business through social media posts and Instagram stories.Lam, however, was not convinced that the exposure was worth the price of the cake.The custom order could have cost around C$200 to C$300, depending on its size and design. For a small bakery, Lam said, that represents real costs in ingredients, labour and preparation time.“We felt particularly frustrated because of the imbalance,” Lam told CTV News. “A small business like us being asked to custom make something out of pocket for somebody who is considerably more financially successful to take it for free.”

‘Publicity doesn’t pay the bills’

Lam said she receives such requests regularly and generally does not agree to them. While social-media promotion can potentially help a business attract customers, she believes it should not automatically be treated as equivalent to payment.The issue, she said, is particularly stark when the request comes from people who can afford to pay for the product themselves.Sandiford-Artest, formerly known as Metta World Peace and Ron Artest, spent 17 seasons in the NBA. He was part of the Los Angeles Lakers team that won the NBA championship in 2010.Lam shared the ‘collaboration’ email on social media. The proposal said that Metta and Maya will be celebrating their son Hiro’s 2nd birthday with a “Calling All Party Animals” farm-themed party in Richmond. “I am reaching out to a select few local vendors of their choosing that they’d love to feature as part of the day. The family has a strong social media following and will be sharing the celebration across their platforms, including posts/stories crediting and tagging vendors involved,” the email said.Lam said after she posted it on social media, the NBA star’s team reached out to her but not to apologize but asking to remove the post as the assistant emailed. Lam said she hid the party information after their request.“You cannot tell me that an NBA legend can’t afford a birthday cake for his kid, and asks a small bakery making approximately 0.0001% of his fortune for a free cake,” Lam said.