Cake Agency marks tenth year after Shopify recognition
Wed, 9th Sep 2026 (Today)
Cake Agency has marked its tenth year in business, following its recognition as one of 14 Shopify Premier Partners in the UK.
The Birmingham eCommerce agency was founded by Chris Thomas after he began offering informal consultancy to contacts following the sale of Cloggs.com to JD Sports. What started as ad hoc advice developed into a business incorporated as Apex Ecommerce before later rebranding as Digital Cake and then Cake Agency.
Thomas said the venture was not part of a deliberate plan to build an agency. Instead, it grew out of dissatisfaction with the support available to online retailers during an earlier phase of eCommerce growth.
"I actually never intended to start an agency. To be completely honest, as a merchant, I really disliked them. The landscape back then was full of old marketing agencies that were just pretending to understand a brand-new digital space. I really started the business by accident, just doing consultancy and helping out connections. The turning point for us was when we got our first inbound enquiry. I remember answering the phone, putting it down, and going: 'This has legs, this can work!'" said Chris Thomas, Founder, Cake Agency.
Over the past decade, the business has grown to more than 30 employees based in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter. It has worked with more than 200 eCommerce brands and launched more than 100 eCommerce websites.
Birmingham base
While many digital agencies have concentrated activity in London, Cake Agency has kept its headquarters in Birmingham. It links part of its identity and working culture to the city, which it describes as a major technology and commercial centre outside the capital.
The agency is now led by Christopher and Cheryl Thomas, who run the business as a husband-and-wife team. The business says their retail background has shaped the company's approach to advising eCommerce clients.
Cake Agency enters its tenth year after two consecutive record financial years, covering the periods ending in May 2025 and May 2026. It also made 12 strategic hires and was shortlisted in four categories at the UK Ecommerce Awards 2026, including Ecommerce Agency of the Year.
The Shopify Premier Partner designation places the company in a small group in the UK market. The status is significant in the eCommerce services sector because it signals a close relationship with one of the dominant software platforms used by online retailers.
Brand changes
The business has changed its public identity more than once as it expanded. It started as Apex Ecommerce, moved to Digital Cake in 2018, and adopted the Cake Agency name in 2021 as its services widened across development, digital marketing and design.
The progression reflects a broader shift among specialist eCommerce consultancies, many of which began as narrowly focused implementation firms before moving into wider client work. As online retail matured, agencies increasingly sought to position themselves as longer-term partners to brands rather than one-off website builders.
Cake Agency is marking the anniversary with the launch of a campaign called Cake X, intended to coincide with the business's tenth year and frame its next phase of growth.
The company is also preparing for international expansion. No markets or timetable were specified, but the move would take the agency beyond the regional and domestic base on which it built its first decade.
The anniversary comes at a time when eCommerce service providers are operating in a more competitive environment, with brands balancing platform choice, digital marketing costs and website performance against tighter budgets. Agencies with direct retail experience have increasingly used that background as a differentiator when pitching for work.
For Cake Agency, the tenth anniversary marks how far the business has moved from its informal beginnings. It has grown from a consultancy project started by chance into a larger operation serving hundreds of brands from its long-standing base in Birmingham.
The agency has remained in the Jewellery Quarter throughout its growth, with more than 30 staff now working from the district as it pursues its next stage of expansion.