Cupcake chain crashes

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dawheat

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2000
3,132
93
91
IMO it's mostly b/c their cupcakes stunk. Flavor and texture wise, cupcakes from Sprinkes or Georgetown are much better and they're certainly not hurting for business.

So business with crappy product (huge, bready cupcakes with sickeningly sweet frosting) goes out of business? Color me surprised.

I do enjoy the occasional doughnut from Doughnut Plant in NYC and those were a couple bucks each last I remember.

Make a good product and you can sell it at a premium.
 

Ns1

No Lifer
Jun 17, 2001
55,418
1,599
126
nah man, cupcakes definitely hit critical mass and are going the way of the dodo bird. Sprinkles might stick around but they'll be nothing like their glory days.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,705
5,462
136
Make a good product and you can sell it at a premium.

That's really what it boils down to. Nobody I work with thinks twice about spending six or seven bucks on a fancy Starbucks drink. It's the norm.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,705
5,462
136
nah man, cupcakes definitely hit critical mass and are going the way of the dodo bird. Sprinkles might stick around but they'll be nothing like their glory days.

That's how it goes though. Froyo has been all the rage for the past year in my area, but only the good ones are sticking it out past the initial craze period.
 

Ns1

No Lifer
Jun 17, 2001
55,418
1,599
126
That's how it goes though. Froyo has been all the rage for the past year in my area, but only the good ones are sticking it out past the initial craze period.

Past year? Dude where the fuck do you live, 2005?
 

monkeydelmagico

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2011
3,961
145
106
Oh no! How will Cupcake Wars, the best TV show ever, continue it's unbroken streak of greatness if everybody stops eating cupcakes? Somebody needs to start a petition to save the cupcakes. We could have cupcake fund drives and cupcake church bakes to save the cupcakes. Cupcakes helped save Jesus, killer whales, and ta-ta's now I think it's time to return the favor
 

thestrangebrew1

Diamond Member
Dec 7, 2011
3,631
476
126

Holy crap! Is that a maple bar with bacon???? Looks awesome!

On topic, I don't think we have a Crumbs anywhere near me in CA, but if I did, I still would probably never step into a place like that. My wife makes cupcakes all the time.
 

Imported

Lifer
Sep 2, 2000
14,679
23
81
Holy crap! Is that a maple bar with bacon???? Looks awesome!

On topic, I don't think we have a Crumbs anywhere near me in CA, but if I did, I still would probably never step into a place like that. My wife makes cupcakes all the time.

That Voodoo Donuts reminds me of Psycho Donuts down in the South Bay.. they used to have a maple bacon donut that was delicious too.
 

lupi

Lifer
Apr 8, 2001
32,539
260
126
I remember hearing a couple years ago that these cupcake places started springing up all over the place in DC.
 

JamesV

Platinum Member
Jul 9, 2011
2,002
2
76
We have a few cupcake stores around here, and a friend of my aunts brings her some every now and then.

They are terrible; about 20% cupcake and 80% frosting. They cut a hole in the middle of the tiny cupcake, fill it with frosting, then put a huge crown of frosting on top.

I honestly don't see how people eat these. It's like eating a jar of frosting. Yuck.
 

Exterous

Super Moderator
Jun 20, 2006
20,481
3,601
126
all I want to do when I get drunk is eat sweets.

I've been known to have that problem too. My wife will frequently make little dishes of apple crisp with extra cinnamon, brown sugar and a side of ice cream when we drink at home
 

preslove

Lifer
Sep 10, 2003
16,754
63
91
Froyo has a lot more staying power because they require a lot less labor. Customers serve themselves, so you just need one employee to weigh and charge, and maybe another one to clean. Cupcakes require a lot of labor to make the cupcakes and more people for serving the customers.
 

Mark R

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
8,513
16
81
I wonder how many of the $35 5000 calorie "colossal" cupcakes they sold.

Now that's a fad. A cupcake loses most of its appeal if it's simply so big it has to be cut into 10 slices.
 

mmntech

Lifer
Sep 20, 2007
17,501
12
0

Yeah guys, do you want to get fired?

I think everyone (who has a brain) knew the whole cupcake thing was a fad. The market got saturated too quickly. The restaurant business is notoriously competitive. Even the big juggernauts like Dunkin Donuts and Tim Hortons have to be constantly on their toes adding new menu items to keep people coming.
 

Phanuel

Platinum Member
Apr 25, 2008
2,304
2
0
Yeah guys, do you want to get fired?

I think everyone (who has a brain) knew the whole cupcake thing was a fad. The market got saturated too quickly. The restaurant business is notoriously competitive. Even the big juggernauts like Dunkin Donuts and Tim Hortons have to be constantly on their toes adding new menu items to keep people coming.

*shrug* The fantastic local donut shop I used to go to is still going strong. I think they've been around for near 30 years now.
 

mmntech

Lifer
Sep 20, 2007
17,501
12
0
*shrug* The fantastic local donut shop I used to go to is still going strong. I think they've been around for near 30 years now.

A shop like that can survive if it's a local institution. Same deal with the cronut guy. Much harder to start up a chain in an over crowded market.
 

Miramonti

Lifer
Aug 26, 2000
28,651
100
91
That Voodoo Donuts reminds me of Psycho Donuts down in the South Bay.. they used to have a maple bacon donut that was delicious too.

I had a triple chocolate voodoo donut, which was a regular chocolate donut with cr@ppy fake-tasting chocolate icing, with cocoa puffs on top. Seriously? One true load of overrated dog waste.

Their apple fritter was decent but only because they didn't mess with tradition much and it tasted like an apple fritter.
 

Sheep

Golden Member
Jun 13, 2006
1,275
0
71
Oh man, cupcakes that huge just sound disgusting. No interest in that. I never really understood the obsession with getting giant portions of things, I would much rather have a smaller portion of better quality.

Unfortunately we're a tiny minority. The average person wants more of everything and at lower cost as evidenced by the massive serving sizes at places like Chili's or Applebees. I'm a fat slob and I can't finish a lot of what they serve based solely on the volume of food on the plate.

As for Crumbs, they were pushing huge cupcakes at a premium price which appealed to neither the people who don't want to spend money nor the foodies who want high quality.
 

Markbnj

Elite Member <br>Moderator Emeritus
Moderator
Sep 16, 2005
15,682
14
81
www.markbetz.net
Unfortunately we're a tiny minority. The average person wants more of everything and at lower cost as evidenced by the massive serving sizes at places like Chili's or Applebees.

But that makes perfect economic sense, doesn't it?
 
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