Ok so I just did an event at a small belly dance event for Autism this past Sunday. There were about 100 people and I sold 100 cupcakes It was a great out reach event for me to get my name out there!

This Sunday is an event at the Akron Summit Mall called Winter Wonderland: A shopping experiance. It is 95 for a spot, includes a table and advertising online and stuff. The mall traffic seems great. I would sell cupcakes, decorated cookies, and have some Christmas dummie cakes for orders. I need to gt my name out there, this seems to be a great way to do so!

But!!!!!
How many cupcakes should I make? 250? More? I am the only one with baked goods.

Should I do this with a 5 day notice, I do lack a life and have the time.

I have 21 flavors, how many of these should I do?

Packaging them as singles, sell them at 2.50???

Any advice would be great right now! I am so excited and going OMG really what am I getting into?!?! right now!

How much of a profit are you making at $2.50 each once you take into account ingredients, packaging, labor (both baking and staffing the booth), and overhead?

Are there any health dept permits needed for operating this type of booth?

I spoke to the health department about my event last weekend and I just need to stick to the cottage food laws.

2.50 is what the cupcake shops in this area charge for cupcakes.

BTW does anyone have a WASC ingredient list and a th no fail sugar cookie ingredients already that I could use? Just need to save time. I kinda don't have them yet.

So I calculated my profit and I will be fine, with packaging most of my cakes are costing me about $.65 to make. Though I just found out that on Saturday there is someone else selling baked goods. Really frustrates me because she is selling them at 1.75 each! I did some research on her facebook page and website, she is baking under the cottage food laws and using cream cheese in almost all of her frostings. I just spent hours making my ingredint labels and I doubt she even did that.

It depends on your target market. If you market your product as organic, scratch, premium ingredients with beautiful decorations, you can still make a profit. I personally will not buy a 1.75 cupcake because i 'll be wondering what's wrong with it!

Thank tiara! I was definantly nervous when I saw her pages. Then I saw her cupcakes and realized the quality of mine. I'm focusing on unique flavors and soon allergy friendly cupcakes. I'm doing a bunch of research on the latter so I do it right. I'm also displaying cakes on my table to show that I am a serious baker.

But no one has answered how many to make???
The mall is in a nicer area with some higher end stores, will be located near the main enterence and food court.

You might want to ask the mall management about past events like these and how many people visited. You can also ask them for a rough estimate of how many people they expect this year. Without really knowing your area and the mall traffic, it would be hard to give you a specific number. Are there big brand stores with great sales at this time? How is the event publicized? Just somethings to think about.


For example, the mall in our area is so dead... the shops are fine but not many people visit.... I'd love to set something up like what you are doing but the mall doesn't offer such things I think.

I agree with Jason. I ll say make 10 cupcakes with different designs that show that you are a serious business. Make these the center of attention on your table to attract the high end customers to you.
Then make 200 cupcakes to sell, this would give you about $500. Then print about 500 flyers and/or business cards so that you can pass them out. This way you will hopefully sell out and get your business name out there.
But you should ask the organizers for the number of people expected that way you don't stand around after 2hrs because you sold out, or find out you have too many leftover because you baked too many cupcakes.
On the other hand dont underestimate your competitor based on price alone.

So this is what I have decided
I am going to attempt 400 cupcakes, what ever I have left I will drop off at the hospitals that my friends and family work at as an outreach thing to get my product out there I was planning on doing this this weekend before I signed onto the event. As for the other lady I am not going to worry about her, she is going to be there on Saturday, not Sunday. I may not make the profit I want too right away (or I could ) but I am trying to get my name out there which will make me profit down the road.
Oh and I forgot Jason, my table actually covers insurance up to 3M. It is marked that I am selling baked goods and it covers this too. I already have my own liability insurance on top of that which I already invested into paying for the year. Safe then sorry.

One more question though .... How should I have my table presentation?? Any ideas? Besides my product. I can't have anything that flashes, makes loud noise, and has to be flame retardant. I already will have a table cloth and the lady gave me 2 tables!!! I bought Santa aprons for myself and my aunt who is helping me since it is a winter wonderland holiday shopping event. Any creative ideas???

cute. i think u should use holiday decorations on your table. maybe some garland around the table? just be festive!! you can buy small strings of battery powered christmas lights from most dollar stores. just be festive. it's holiday season. people are happy to spend money. lol i know i am