The past few years have seen a huge rise in the demand for homemade cupcakes and cookies. Not only have many different businesses sprung up to cater to the demand, many folks have started making cupcakes from home to either sell in their own bakeries or to their friends for a few dollars on the side. If you’re just getting started in the game, chances are you’re looking to make the best first impression possible when you deliver the cupcakes to your first customers or your friends to try out.
I’ve done my best to compile as many tips as I could for presenting your cupcakes in things like cupcake boxes and plates. If you have any tips of your own, please feel free to share them in the comments section below and I’ll try to edit the article to include any of the best tips!
Cupcake Boxes
First of all, you’re probably going to want to put your finished cupcakes into boxes so that they’re presentable to people when you hand them over. Boxes come in either single boxes that you’d use to sell individual cupcakes, or they come in half dozen and dozen sizes so that you can sell them in bulk without having to individually package each one.
Darice Cupcake Box:
The first type of box is a simple white box that holds a single cupcake. The box measures 3.5” all around, so you’ve got room for a pretty decent sized cake inside. These types of boxes are popular with bakery owners as they’re able to bake custom cupcakes without having to really worry about size limits when it comes time to put them in a box. There’s a clear window on the top of the box so that part of the decorations can be seen.
Wilton Valentine Cupcake Box:
A quirky option that you may be interested in is one that allows you to put your cupcakes into customized Valentine’s day boxes. The boxes come in pink and red options, making them perfect to give as a gift to your special someone on the big day.
Note: Instead of going in-depth with all of the different types of boxes you can purchase, I’d like to mention that the Wilton company that was referenced above should be your go to source for most of your cupcake box needs. They make a wide variety of different and quality styles that are perfect for everyone from beginner to expert. They’re mostly available on Amazon and can be ordered in bulk quantities if you’re in need of a few dozen boxes.
Cupcake Stands
Another great presentation option that can work for things like birthday parties or the front of your newly opened cake shop is a cupcake stand. Designed similar to a wedding cake in multiple layers, cupcake stands allow for different types and sizes to be placed on different levels of a plastic stand so that many different designs are showcased around one central point.
Wilton 4 Tier Stand:
As said earlier, Wilton should be your go to brand of choice when you’re shopping around for cupcake related products. Their 4 tier plastic stand is big enough to hold about 3 dozen medium sized cupcakes and is extremely easy to assemble. If you’re using it for a birthday party, it can be set up and dismantled again in just a matter of a few minutes, making it a great option for putting all of the cupcakes out before the party starts so you’re not scrambling at the last minute to get cake available to your guests.
Cupcake Store Stands
While the stand above may be good for small time birthday parties, it’s going to take some real muscle to handle all of your presentation needs if you’re opening up a cupcake store of your own.
Stands that are used in food preparation stores are a bit too expensive to sell on Amazon, so we can’t exactly give you a convenient reference link, but we can tell you what to look for. Depending on your state’s health and safety regulations, your cupcakes may not be allowed to be on display on a plastic stand on a table like the one listed above. Instead, many times your food has to be handled by employees that wear gloves and kept behind a glass case so that customers can not only view the cupcakes, but the sweets are kept away from the germs of people touching and prodding the items for themselves.
Costs
I don’t personally have any direct experience with opening a cupcake shop of my own, but from quite a bit of research I’ve been able to find out some of the basic costs associated with owning a shop and how to determine whether it’s right for you.
On average, between down payments on a property and start up costs to get things like ovens and decorations into your shop, you’re looking at about $50,000 in initial costs to get the ball rolling. After that, there’s about $8-10,000 a month in operating expenses for things like employees and utilities. Depending on how much you charge ($2.50 per cupcake), you’ll need to sell about 150 cupcakes a day to break even on your investment. That ain’t a joke!