Does anyone know how I could make customers feel comfortable paying $28-$30 per dozen? Do you think using a flavored WASC cake topped with a specialty flavored icing is worthy of $28-30? (My cupcakes are all gourmet flavored)
I'd like to take a general consensus of what, in your & your customers' opinions, makes cupcakes worth $25-30 per dozen?
Thank you 
Marketing. Bakeries in my area charge $18/doz. "Gourmet" or "Custom" shops charge $30/doz for basic flavors and up to $6.50 PER cupcake for filled or special flavors. People will pay more if they're getting something special, or buying from a gourmet shop.....even if the cupcakes really aren't THAT different from what they could get at the corner bakery. 
Oh...and also the size. I don't imagine you'll get $30/doz for regular sized cupcakes. I bake the larger size and people don't bat an eye when I tell them the price. I usually get, "Oh, is that all?"
Oh again...and taste. People will pay more for a delicious dessert.
They're "trendy" people always pay more for things in demand.
For me,
A regular, non-filled cupcake iced with a swirl of icing for me is $1.50/
An oversized " " " " $2.00/
A regular, filled cupcake with a simple fondant decoration on top of the buttercream is $2.00/
An oversized " " " is $2.50/
A regular filled cupcake with a fondant deco and a custom cut wrapper is $2.50+/
An oversized " " " is $3.00+/
If I get into "gourmet" flavors for cake and/or filling and/or icing, I adjust accordingly. Cupcakes are so easy and so non labor intensive (IMHO), that this works for me in my area.
Rae
Jenn and BlakesCakes - If you wouldn't mind me asking, how much profit do you make with your cupcakes? $28-30 was just a ballpark price for me, but from doing more research I know I'll have to come down a bit in price. I just wanted to make sure I'm making a decent profit for my time. Thank you
I think it matter also where you are located. In Los Angeles I sell cupcakes filled and covered with fondant for weddings all the time. I sell those for $3.75 a piece and have gone as high as $4.50 as with the printed damask cupcakes. I do think it matters that they are in demand. Sprinkles sells for $3.00 a cupcake here, for your standard icing and I believe they are unfilled...don't quote me on that one.
I'm a Cottage Provider and I bake out of my home. I can bake 2 dozen cupcakes at one time in my oven.
I figure that the minimum "profit" on the cheapest cupcakes is in the neighborhood of $1/cupcake.
Rae
Oh, I'm sure that they have high overhead, but they also get volume discounts on ingredients and can bake dozens of cupcakes in one oven at one time, so essentially a discount on utilities,too. They also don't need skilled labor for baking, or decorating.
I'd bet that at $3.25/cupcake, they're making at least $2.50/ profit, or more. It's no wonder that those types of bakeries do so well.
Rae
All the above PLUS an attractive presentation. Not just pictures on a toothpick but interesting decos that tie in with an amazing, couture cake and filling. Look around some of the cupcake sites. I wouldn't exactly copy their ideas, but you may get creative ideas of your own.
What size is the next size up from a standard cupcake? And what about those huge Costco muffins..What are they comsidered and if one was to choose to sell these ...what would you ask? never mind where do you get the wrappers to bake them??
Any insight?
What size is the next size up from a standard cupcake? And what about those huge Costco muffins..What are they comsidered and if one was to choose to sell these ...what would you ask? never mind where do you get the wrappers to bake them??
Any insight?
I will have to look. I googled cupcake wrappers, lines, and pans. I fould a sites that sell in large bulk discounts. The damask scroll wrappers I used for graduation were $20 for 100. I could have order more for a larger discount but I did not have a need for the next quantity. The paper supply house in town also sells the lines in mini, standard and jumbo sizes for next to nothing. (less than a penny each for standard). Check your area, if you go online, remember shipping and handling. They will get your everytime. Order large enough and see if they will waive the shipping.
What size is the next size up from a standard cupcake? And what about those huge Costco muffins..What are they comsidered and if one was to choose to sell these ...what would you ask? never mind where do you get the wrappers to bake them??
Any insight?
Thank you to everyone! I agree with everyone. Especially minnicuppie's comment about appearance.
Kiddiekakes- the bigger muffin size would most likely be considered a jumbo cupcake. Prices for those can range from $4+ per cupcake. A lot of website sell those. Maybe look around and find an average cost?
Sprinkles charges $3.25/cupcake and that's in store. They have outrageous delivery charges. Plus they have a plain brown liner. I will say that their cupcakes are very good - she was a pastry chef so her ingredients are quality.
Check out the Vestli cupcake liners. They are like works of art. Beautiful and in a variety of sizes.
my base pricing for reg size cupcakes is 1.75 and then I have add on's for fillings and specialty decor. Side note- I am in the mraket for new baking pans for my cupcakes- any suggestions of brands that you all are satisfied with and have remained in good condition when taken care of?
For comparison:
My daughter just brought me a menu--but NO cupcakes-- from Crumbs Bake Shop in NYC. (They specialize in cupcakes, although they also sell cookies, cakes, brownies, pies, donuts, danish and more.) Their cupcakes are $2.50 - $2.95 for their "classic size" (which is not explained further), depending on flavor; and $2.95 - $3.75 for their "signature size". A 12-pack sells for $18.00. They have dozens of cupcake flavors. Their cakes range from $21 for a 4" birthday cake to $38 for an 8".
I start out with a 3 dozen minimum for $55. This way, I don't have to make just 1 dozen. Not super expensive, but it makes it worth taking the order.
I charge 2.00 and I sell at a farmers market. Sometimes another baker shows up and she also charges 2.00. I charge that price because the boxes alone cost about 36 cents. The cheapest cupcakes in my area are 1.50 and they just put them in a bag. I use boxes with inserts to make sure the product doesn't fall over and get ruined. The most expensive in my area are 2.75 for oversized cupcakes.
We get $3.25 per cupcake or $33 a dozen. Some are filled. Some are not. We use custom colored papers.We sell about a thousand a week.
I think you're headed in the wrong direction if you're going to try to get $30 a dozen for box mix cupcakes. We spend a lot of time on recipe development. Our news paper called our cupcakes the best in our area, and we've had Good Morning America and Bon Apetit, and Southern Livivng all cover our cupcakes, so a certain amount of getting the price is getting the press. You're not going to get anybody to think your cupcakes are anything remarkable by taking the same box of cake mix that they are and slapping a little sour cream in them.
The reason companies use mixes is to be able to produce a large amount of consistent product in a small amount of time. If you're going to do cake mix cupcakes, you're going to need to be at about $18 to $22 dollars a dozen and make a heck of a lot more of them.
We get $3.25 per cupcake or $33 a dozen. Some are filled. Some are not. We use custom colored papers.We sell about a thousand a week.
I think you're headed in the wrong direction if you're going to try to get $30 a dozen for box mix cupcakes. We spend a lot of time on recipe development. Our news paper called our cupcakes the best in our area, and we've had Good Morning America and Bon Apetit, and Southern Livivng all cover our cupcakes, so a certain amount of getting the price is getting the press. You're not going to get anybody to think your cupcakes are anything remarkable by taking the same box of cake mix that they are and slapping a little sour cream in them.
The reason companies use mixes is to be able to produce a large amount of consistent product in a small amount of time. If you're going to do cake mix cupcakes, you're going to need to be at about $18 to $22 dollars a dozen and make a heck of a lot more of them.
My cupcakes will not be made from cake mixes. Everything that I make will be made from scratch using quality ingredients. I definitely know the people in my area will know a box mix from a scratch cake.
The other thing to take into consideration is the quantity of cake used to make a cupcake. We get about 30 cupcakes in a batch of cake batter. That same batch is used to make 2 eight inch round cakes or a one layer 9"x13" cake. We started with the base price of an 8" round cake using the Wilton formula for cake prices, multiplied it by our price per serving, and divided it ot by 30 to get a cupcake price. I don't see why you would charg less because it's "just a cupcake" than you would for a slice of cake. You're using the same cake ingredients, the same buttercream ingredients, and possibly even more paper goods costs if you use those fancy liners.
Paul
If you think about it, cupcakes are individually decorated...when you get a decorated cake, you get a slice. When you get a cupcake you get a hand-decorated personal "cake" really!
My cupcakes start at around $2 or $2.50 for a basic cupcake with a swirl. I ask $5/each if they have alot of fancy decorations....and even more than that for the ones that have handmade gumpaste figurines on each one.
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