Back in 2018, a fledgling cake stand brand from Poole found their way into the spotlight when they exhibited at Cake International, the world’s largest cake and sugar craft event.

Fast forward to today, and Emily and Bradley Young – founders of Prop Options – vowed to return bigger and better for the show’s 30th birthday.

“We thought it would be amazing for brand awareness,” said Emily.

“It’s provided an incredible opportunity to have fun with our loyal customers and industry professionals, bringing the community together in a social extravaganza.”

The 10-strong team at Prop Options worked around the clock on a showstopper for the expo – a three-tiered ‘Lambeth-inspired’ birthday cake which comes in at two metres high and over two metres wide.

It’s a real feat of engineering, with the finished product incorporating both wood and 3D printed eco PLA filament – a fully recyclable polymer.

Each tier was forklifted separately into a large Luton van before being driven to its temporary home at the entrance to the NEC in Birmingham.

And while Prop Options is no stranger to 3D printing in their usual range of cake stands and tier separators, Emily added that this has certainly been their largest project to date by far.

“It’s been a challenging and exciting process bringing our vision to reality!”

“When we first told Cake International about our idea, we thought they might think we were mad.

“Explaining a vision for something that’s never been created before took some visualising and a big leap of faith, but we’re so pleased and grateful they trusted us with it.”

Prop Options shared the national stage with larger-than-life sugary reproductions of Taylor Swift and Queen Elizabeth I as Cake International’s 30th anniversary went down a treat with guests.

• propoptions.co.uk