A London kids' and family entertainment company that produces, finances and sells animated shows such as Total Drama, Angry Birds and Pablo to broadcasters worldwide.
CAKE calls itself a leading independent entertainment company for kids' and family properties. It works in production, distribution, development, financing and brand building. Its distribution arm, CAKE Distribution Ltd, sells programmes made by partner producers around the world, and its production arm, CAKE Productions Ltd, develops and produces shows. The catalogue includes Total Drama, Lucas the Spider, Angry Birds, Pablo, Kiri and Lou, Dennis and Gnasher Unleashed, Talking Tom and Friends and Clangers. In 2024 it bought the brand and back catalogue of Jetpack Distribution, which took its catalogue to more than 3,200 half-hours.
CAKE was set up in 2002, according to Companies House dates cited by Wikipedia. Wikipedia lists Genevieve Dexter and Tom van Waveren as co-founders. Mr van Waveren was chief creative officer and managing director until 2021, when Edward Galton became chief executive and Cat Seddon became chief operating officer. The company has formed joint ventures along the way, including a Dublin animation partnership in 2017 and CakeStart Entertainment with Kickstart Entertainment in 2021, led by Kory Lunsford. We found no mission statement or list of values, so we do not describe one.
CAKE's London office is on Great Portland Street, W1W 7LT, according to its profile in the C21 Media directory. Its shows are made with studios in the UK and abroad, such as Triggerfish Animation, TeamTO and Anima Estudios, and are sold to broadcasters and streamers including CBeebies, Netflix and Disney. So while the company is UK-based, much of the animation work happens at partner studios.
The people named in its profile give a sense of the team: Edward Galton as chief executive, Julien Farcat in sales, Daniel Bays leading development, Ciara Breslin leading production and Dominic Gardiner managing distribution. Wikipedia describes the company as independent and says it won "Best International Distributor" from Animation Magazine and ranked second in Kidscreen's Hot50 distributors in 2018. These are third-party descriptions, and no culture or values statement was found.
The roles at a company like this are different from those in an animation studio. Development executives find and shape ideas, production executives oversee shows made at partner studios, and distribution and sales teams sell finished programmes to broadcasters. There are also marketing, brand and licensing people, plus finance and legal staff. If you enjoy children's television and like working with people and business as well as art, this side of animation is worth knowing about. Check CAKE's own website for how the company is organised today.
Website: www.cakeentertainment.com
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