I started my cupcake business at the local farmers market and it eventually turned into a food truck! I no longer have the truck or the cupcake business because I received an offer from someone who wanted to buy my truck and I wanted to go to Culinary School. Now that I am done with school I am working full time as a decorator in a famous St Louis bakery. I also sell royal icing cookies on the side because it doesn't compete with my job as we don't sell royal icing cookies in our shop.(I signed a massive non compete contract and recipe privacy contract when I got hired) I am actually in the process of taking my cookie business to the Farmer's Market to give it another go. I was so successful the first time I know I can do it again! With my experience of starting at a market and building it to something bigger here is some of the best advice I wish I would have known before I sold my first cupcake...

Have a very clear idea of what you are going to sell and for how much (NEVER DISCOUNT AT THE END OF MARKET people will wait for the deal and it devalues your brand, I would donate any extras to go with the donated produce and it went to the church that offered a free meal on saturday nights). I went to the market before i became a vendor and saw no one was selling gourmet cupcakes so I knew I had found my niche. I never steered away from cupcakes either because once word got out, people knew me as the cupcake lady. Dont be like some vendors out there that try to be everything to everyone. It costs you more money in the long run and it makes your production time a million times longer than it needs to be. 

Have a cute display table! I used bright colored tablecloths, vintage cake stands, a professionally printed vinyl banner  with my logo and info (i think i got it from office max), Cute pricing display signs and props, and kept the area very neat and clean. Also make sure you really take the time to make sure your packaging looks professional. Use printed labels instead of handwritten, Get cute bakery boxes (Buy them in bulk at BRPboxshop.com do not buy from the cake supply place.. they get them from BRP and mark up the price lol) and be careful in the way you present your cuppies. I also always put naked cupcakes in the box then decorated them. It keeps you from accidentally dinging the cupcake with your fingers trying to get it in the box. Samples also are a win! I would make mini cupcakes that looked like my full size ones and put them on a cute cake stand with a lid. I would offer one sample to each person if they were interested and when they try, they def buy! When you have an attractive display, people stop to look at what you have 

Speaking of attractive... Wear something cute! I was know at the market for my paisley apron. Its so tempting to roll out of bed at the last possible minute throw up a messy bun and call it a day but when you are face to face with your customer, they are buying you! And everyone knows when you look good, you feel good. 

Especially when you were up baking all night and got like 2 hours of sleep. Seriously, DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE the amount of time it will take you to bake and decorate all of those cupcakes! When I was at the market I sold my cupcakes in packs of 4 (standard size) for $10 and I would bake and take 100 packs a week (20 boxes of each flavor in boxes by themselves and 20 boxes with one of each flavor). Most of the time I was selling out within the first 2 hours the market was open. But I never made more cupcakes than that because it literally took me the whole day friday to bake decorate and package those 400 cupcakes for the saturday market. If I knew I wasnt going to have the whole day friday to dedicate to baking, I would bake the cupcakes on thursday and decorate friday. A trick to keeping them just baked fresh is to immediately take them out of the tin and put them on sheet trays and while they are still piping hot wrap them tightly with plastic wrap. I would suggest investing in 15-20 sheet trays (you can find them on amazon for less than $5 each) and get the commercial size cling wrap from sams or costco. that small box at walmart is a joke. 

Speaking of sams and costco.... Shop there for as many ingredients as you can. It saves a boatload of money on things like flour and butter if you have the extra space. Better yet, check your area or the next largest city close to you for a Cash and Carry Restaurant Supplier. Here in St Louis we have Restaurant Depot. You can get a case of 30 lbs of butter for like $45. Its amazing! Those places state that they have memberships and you have to be a licensed business to shop there but anyone can get a business license. They are cheap and easy (MO even lets you register online) 

Make sure to have plenty of change, a locking cash box, and take credit cards. Trust me the 3% fee is way better than someone walking away from your table wishing you took cards because they just used their last $5 bill buying strawberries. Also make sure you have bags. It seems silly to offer them if your items are in boxes, but sometimes people forget to bring a bag and offering one is just a nice thing to do. Plus you can put a sticker on them or stamp them with your info and people will see them all around the market and think... where are they getting those bright pink bags and boxes??? (I was all about the pink packaging lol) 

One more thing... Be sure to pack a few things to make your day more comfortable. A canopy tent ia a must if you are not in a covered area of the market. I comfy folding chair, I even had an extra pillow on mine. sunglasses, chapstick, bottled water or beverage of choice, a snack and a light meal (I brought a cute 31 gifts cooler filled full of stuff) sometimes you cant step away to grab something so its best to be prepared. I also had a folding hand cart to transport everything to and from the car. And make sure you give yourself more than enough time to set up. Maybe do a few practice runs in your backyard to time yourself so you know when you should arrive at the market. I would always arrive too early so I could scope out the produce... most times farmers would trade me and I didnt have to buy much for the week when the market was at peak. 

Sorry this is such a long post but I am very passionate about sharing my experiences. I look back on my market days with very fond memories feel free to ask me any questions. I would be more than happy to help!

ChefSaraKay, 

How long did it take for you to start selling out of cupcakes? Also, how big is the FM you were at? I am just getting started and the town the FM is in is fairly small. What was your first FM experience like?