Advice wanted about starting a business making kid's cakes for cash.

October 22, 2006 6:53 PM

My wife is thinking about starting a cake making business for kid's cakes. She is planning on buying a bunch of molds (like a ducky mold) and then putting the animal on a sheet cake.

She has mad a couple of kid's cakes in the past and they have all turned out really cool. Her strategy for improving the quality/taste of her cakes is she is going to nail a handful of cakes/recipes and then have a cake party for some friends. That way they can help to pick out which of her recipes is better tasting and give her tips.

Here is some additional random info: we live in Minneapolis, we have a pretty small kitchen, she is probably going to go the organic ingredient/high-end route, she is a stay at home mom right now with a 1 year old.

So, any words of advice?
Do you know of any good recipes?

Also, these are some local people that are making a living delivering cookies that we admire: Tank Goodness

posted by rdurbin to work & money (15 comments total)

This thread might be useful--it's about catering in general, but some of the advice, like preparing food for large numbers of people, still applies.

There is a certain point where health inspections become important, but I'm not sure of the law there.
posted by schroedinger at 7:09 PM on October 22, 2006

I second schroedinger...you should check out the local ( probably County Health Dept.) regulations. they sometimes frown upon home kitchens, or at least want to inspect them. I know that in Austin, they did not allow it without an inspection. YMMV.
posted by lobstah at 7:23 PM on October 22, 2006

I think it would be a good idea to contact a university extension agent. I used to work for a professor in college who was in charge of food related extension for the entire state and my job was to help small start up food companies. The agent will know contacts for getting your kitchen ready for inspection (whether or not you even need an inspection will probably depend on state laws). They also have labs to test foods for things like safety and shelf life and can give advice on additional ingredients that might make your product better. They usually use a lot of government funding so it is quite a bit cheaper than paying a consultant from a food business company. Just call your local land grant institution (the University of Minnesota is one...) and ask about extension services. Good luck!
posted by catseatcheese at 3:45 AM on October 23, 2006

Where I live in South Africa, there is a shop which rents a huge variety of shaped pans. You might want to see if such a place exists there in Mnpls. You could get lucky! The shop may also be helpful in finding business.
posted by Goofyy at 6:06 AM on October 23, 2006

I was going to just email to you, but there's no contact info in your profile.

My parents do retail in cake decorating supplies, so they know quite a bit about the kitchen regs, markets, etc., and have gone through a lot of the books of designs and recipes and only keep the good ones (there's actually a lot of crap out there...). If you wanted to drop by and get some thoughts on local issues, the business name is sweet celebrations.* They don't rent pans, but pans are cheap enough that if you're going into business, you should probably just be buying them anyway. Plus, I think you'll find that a lot of the creativity is in the decoration itself, rather than the form the pan starts in. But that's up to whatever you all decide to focus on.

About the kitchens, yeah, Minnesota does require certified commercial kitchens, or some similar phrasing. Many of the local cake businesses start out by borrowing or leasing off-hours from schools, churches, and other places that already have the infrastructure in place. Getting a certified kitchen in your own home is neither particularly cheap nor easy - save it for a couple years from now!

You do need a copy of The Cake Bible.

*They're in Edina, Burnsville, Maplewood, and Minnetonka. For this kind of advice, I'd probably go to Edina first then Burnsville.
posted by whatzit at 7:53 AM on October 23, 2006

By which I mean, they are in Minneapolis and know about the LOCAL regulations, markets, etc., from talking a lot with their customers. They don't make or sell cakes as part of their business.
posted by whatzit at 7:54 AM on October 23, 2006

(Last time, I promise)

As catseatcheese said, the extension agents can be useful. I wouldn't try the U of M so much, but I know that the vocational schools in the area are doing a lot of training in cakes and cake decorating. Dunwoody and Normandale come to mind off-hand because we've done business with them and their students for years.
posted by whatzit at 7:56 AM on October 23, 2006

Is she serious about this or is it more of a hobby thing? If it's a hobby, i.e. making some cakes every now and then, she can probably get away with doing it out of your house. But you didn't hear that from me.

If it's going to be a permanent source of income, be prepared for dips and valleys. Fall through Christmas will be very busy, but it'll dry up until Valentines. Consider doing wedding cakes and/or wholesale to supplement the business. Get used to drinking heavily if you're dealing with brides.

What exactly do you mean by organic ingredient/high end route? Ornately decorated cakes with fondant and molded figures? I'll also caution that all organic ingredients can be very expensive and hard to source at times. Personally I'd think twice about that but that's me. Make sure you price stuff accordingly.
posted by Atom12 at 8:31 AM on October 23, 2006

I've had a little bit of second-hand exposure to a stay-at-home-mom, home-based retail business, and my first suggestion is that your wife give a lot of thought to the issue of hours and dollars. How much time will this take, and how much money will she make? You don't want to discourage her, but a hobby is not a business, and enthusiasm is not a business plan. A for-profit business is not likely to be satisfying unlike it makes a profit -- even if you'd do the same kind of work for free as a hobby.

I don't know the bakery business. Is it hard, hot work for not very high profit margins? A labor of love, such as a making a few cakes for friends, might not convert easily into a satisfying business venture. You may investigate and find that my concerns are completely baseless here, but I'd look at this sort of issue before investing too much in supplies.
posted by Dave 9 at 10:58 AM on October 23, 2006

I've made some party cakes for sale in the past, and would encourage her to choose just three or four cake recipes to offer. This is because using new recipes all the time, in different-shaped cake pans, etc. can result in a lot of baking errors (expensive in time and money). The cake itself is her building block, she needs it to come out reliably well.

She can generate variety by creating different fillings, etc. And in all honesty - kids care much more about what the cakes look like than about any subtlety of flavor !
posted by AuntLisa at 11:03 AM on October 23, 2006

Our local chamber of com. has free business classes, free help with loans, etc. Worth checking out.

As a mom who has bought many party cakes, flavor is pretty much last on my list of priorities. Looks, variety in styles, then moistness are what I look for- a Betty Crocker cake mix with awesome decorating would suit us just fine. I could also care less about it being organic, but I'm aware that others might appreciate that.

I do have a friend with a small home based cake making/decorating business - mostly word of mouth & sold to friends & family. Imo, her best success comes from the mini cakes (or big cookies) & decorating supplies/kits she makes for kids parties (slumber parties, Holidays, etc.) I have taken these to school parties & they've been big hits with boys & girls alike.
posted by LadyBonita at 12:17 PM on October 23, 2006

The vocational schools in the area don't have extension agents. The University of Minnesota is a land grant institution which means it has extension agents.

I'm sure that the vocational schools in the area can give you some help though.
posted by catseatcheese at 1:46 PM on October 23, 2006

Thanks everyone! My wife and I are are really appreciative of the info.

Right now she is looking into the Sweet Celebrations decorating classes. She is also asking around for a commercial kitchen that she can share/rent.
posted by rdurbin at 7:03 PM on October 23, 2006

If you're not married to the organic thing, here's ways to cut costs and improve margins:

* Buy in bulk from a bakery supply place (50lb bags of flour are the norm, so make sure you've got room)
* Sam's/Costco will have 75% of the stuff you need if you don't want 50 lb bags of flour sitting around. In our experience, Sam's nuts/flours/butters etc are fresher due to the high turnover. Much better quality than the commercial supply places, generally speaking.
* Go to auctions, salvage yards and restaurant supply places for used equipment. Don't buy anything new if you can help it.
* Don't be cheap when it comes to refrigeration
* Source your boxes and packaging
* Focus on quality (good taste and well-decorated) as opposed to a cute name, web site and coloring contests.
* Your main competition will be grocery stores. Those cakes are made from a mix, the frosting's in 5 gallon buckets and consists of shortening and sugar. Consequently it tastes like shit. But it's cheap and it'll have Batman on it. Think about how you'll differentiate yourself, how you can justify the additional cost and what makes yours better.
* It's okay to say no. Seriously. If someone's asking for too much, not giving you enough time or trying to get it for a nickel, tell them to hit the road and don't lose sleep. If you give in, they'll be back next week with the same song.

If you are married to the organic thing, consider making general baked goods (cookies, muffins, cakes, etc) and selling to coffee shops, tea shops and health food stores.

My wife started out doing stuff from home. We found a space and our bakery's been open three years. Feel free to email me with questions. If you're serious about doing this I'm more than happy to answer questions.
posted by Atom12 at 7:27 AM on October 24, 2006

Another option I didn't see mentioned is getting a job at a bakery decorating cakes. You'll see what it entails, amount of work involved, what equipment you do or don't need and you'll make some money while doing it.

If you want to open your own place I strongly recommend doing this at another establishment if you've never worked in food before.
posted by Atom12 at 7:34 AM on October 24, 2006