bake - May 2017 - cake2

MAKING MONEY ON WEDDING CAKES

"The thing that astounds me is how
many people don't know their costs.
All money isn't proﬁt.''
- Minette Rushing

Dallas, agrees that knowing your target
customer base is the key to success in
the wedding cake business. She creates
cake designs that range from out-ofthis-world scuplted cakes to the tiniest
mini wedding cakes (made with special
3-tier molds that are just a few inches
tall) you'll ever see.
Practical innovation is a trademark
of Weber, who watches key trends in
the industry and embraces new ways to
respond by rethinking her execution of
each cake to fit the task at hand.
"Tiny little baby cakes are becoming
popular," Weber says as one example.
"You can buy a chocolate cup shell and
turn them upside down, they become
little tiny cakes. You can fill it up
with whatever you want: lemon curd,
marshmallow, whatever."
To make a mini tiered wedding cake,
Weber suggests taking a cake pop stick
and inserting it through two or three
mini chocolate shells. Then decorate
as you wish to make an eye-catching
treat. Or Weber recommends you can
work with chocolate companies like
Callebaut to create your own three-tier
chocolate mold for ease of use.
"People ask why mini cakes are so
expensive," Weber jokes. "I tell them,
'so are diamonds.'"
2

2017

THE WEDDING ISSUE

As for trends influencing the future
of the business, cake trios, quartets
and quintet tables continue to be a
profitable avenue for showcasing your
bakery's wide-ranging creative abilities.
Large cake tables can become visually
stunning at the wedding reception,
which provides another place to tie in
wedding colors and the theme.
Further, having more than one cake
makes it simpler to offer multiple
cake flavors. "Guests love to have a
mini-bite of lots of different desserts,"
says Melody Brandon of Sweet and
Saucy Shop in Newport, California.
"I recommend between two to four
mini-desserts per person. Try not to
choose more than eight options of
desserts because too many choices can
overwhelm your guests."
Another profitable avenue for your
bakery at weddings involves gift bags
for the wedding guests.
Wedding welcome bags are in, and
your bakery should get involved. A
wedding welcome bag is filled with
goodies for guests to remember the
event by and often revolves around the
wedding theme.
According to new research from
The Knot, the average cost of a 2016
wedding reached an all-time high at
$35,329, while the number of guests
dropped. That correlation means spend
per guest is on the rise, as couples are
spending more with a focus on guests.
So how does the wedding cake fit
into this important trend?
Custom guest entertainment has
more than tripled since 2009, with
photo booths (78 percent), games (18
percent), musical performances (12
percent) and fireworks (8 percent) at
the top of the list. The cutting of the
cake is another key component.

FOCUS ON PROFITABILITY
While some wedding cake bakeries
may do up to 15 wedding cakes per
weekend during the height of the
season, Minette Rushing suggests a
well thought-out strategy if you want
your business to be profitable.
"I don't do more than two cakes
per weekend, and I have a $1,000
minimum order. I've been doing this
about 20 years. At the start of the
year, I figure out how many cakes I
want to do, and what do I want to do
in gross sales for the year. Now I can
plot my course."
Working in a place like Savannah,
Georgia, has its benefits because
the Savannah-Charleston, South
Carolina area is extremely popular for
destination weddings.
Rushing urges the importance of
positioning yourself in the marketplace,
knowing where your business fits in,
and establishing strong relationships
with local wedding planners.
"Our luxury brides are going to
use what their wedding planners
recommend," Rushing says. "Weddings,
I think, are all about relationships,
especially with your vendors. It's really
important if you want to succeed."
Five key factors impact the
profitability of your cake business:
product selection, pricing strategy,
product innovation, competitive
landscape and your time, according
to David Dirks of Satin Fine Foods.
"Profitability is the litmus test for
everything you do in your business,"
Dirks says. "A lot of cake decorators
work for very little money, even in their
own business."
In the cake decorating world,
Dirks points out that many of today's
customers are looking for a unique
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