There is no point in opening a cupcake business if you don’t have some really solid creative ideas for gourmet and specialty offerings. Cupcakes are not a “niche” or specialty item until they have somehow superseded the ordinary offering and become a confectionary treasure. This is one of the few businesses where your recipes can make or break you or where recipes might be the absolute foundation for your entire enterprise
In order to thrive in the cupcake business you need to have product that is unique, creative and above all tasty. This is becoming a harder and harder call as more and more cupcake shops open up in North America and Europe and every imaginable combination of cupcake recipes is being concocted.
You might want to think about offering a unique cupcake shape. Square cupcakes or egg shaped ones might be a novel idea. If you can obtain pans or invent baking vessels that somehow make a different shaped cup cake you have probably got it made. However in this case it is not just the shape that is “taking the cake” (pardon the pun.) It is also the great combination of flavors and textures such as Pistachio Pomegranate (moist pistachio cake with pomegranate cream frosting) or a vanilla cupcake with passion fruit flavored buttercream frosting.
Exotic icings might seem obvious but imagine icing a cupcake with ice cream instead of icing or dripping some kind of sauce on it instead. Thinking up unique designs for cupcakes is sometimes called cupcake couture.” Some businesses have even figured out ways of branding their cupcakes to make them a signature item.
Another way to sell your cupcakes is to make it into an entire experience. Encourage customers to pair cupcakes with a glass of wine or beer at a bar. Sell them a whiskey bourbon cupcake with a glass of Guinness. Of course there are thousands of cupcake shops that pair their cupcakes with the selling of espressos and teas in order to compliment the cupcake sampling experience. Sell an Earl Grey tea with a nice kumquat cupcake with vanilla frosting.
It is important to consider that coming up with ideas for cupcake products is not an afterthought or an inspiration to be left up to a hired baker at the last minute. Paying precise attention to the tastiness and look of your cupcakes is absolutely crucial if you are going to stand out in the cupcake business crowd
