Gigi's Cupcakes

Baking By MariaK38 Updated 2 Apr 2011 , 9:42pm by ChRiStY_71

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MariaK38 Posted 11 Jan 2011 , 11:19pm
post #1 of 13

A Gigi's opened here in Ohio just before Thanksgiving, and I wanted to check them out just to see what they were like. I bought a dozen ($33, yikes!) and gave one to each of the kids in carpool as well as their siblings. Took some home and tasted a few. The cake was just okay... I like my cupcakes a little lighter, but I understand why theirs had to be the way they were... they put a MOUNTAIN of icing on their cupcakes, with the exception of the boston cream pie. The icing was smooth, just overly sweet, especially on the lemon. My 14 yo son, who is the king of sweets, couldn't finish his because it was so sweet. The chocolate icing was good, not too sweet.
I must confess, I was a little worried because I have a cupcake business. Not now... I'm confident that I offer something simple yet yummy, which is great for most people.
Thanks for listening!

Maria

12 replies
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playingwithsugar Posted 12 Jan 2011 , 6:42am
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As economic as people are these days, if your cupcakes are less than $33 a dozen, and the icing is more edible, then don\\'t worry about it. There are plenty of cupcake fans to go around, and even if they try Gigi\\'s, they\\'ll come back for the taste and price.

Theresa icon_smile.gif

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KASCARLETT Posted 12 Jan 2011 , 10:22pm
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A GiGi's opened up here last year. There was so much "fuss" and excitement about it, so I had to go and check them out. I got 4 cupcakes, each a different flavor; there are 4 in my family, so I cut each icing/cupcake into 4ths so we could taste them all. I was not very impressed at -all! The cupcake itself was the size of a "normal" cupcake, but the mountain of icing was almost impossible to eat. They tasted so artificial to me. Icing definately too sweet.
My teenagers wouldn't even eat them. I ended up eating them all over several days because nobody else would and for that cost, I was not about to throw them away, although I definately could have.
I have not and will not be back. I do not like paying $3 for tons of icing with just a little cupcake underneath! lol

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playingwithsugar Posted 12 Jan 2011 , 10:39pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KASCARLETT

A GiGi's opened up here last year. There was so much "fuss" and excitement about it, so I had to go and check them out.




I had a similar experience elsewhere. When I go to NYC, I try to get to some of the bakeries that have been featured on Food Network or Cooking Channel. I won't say which one, but there's a bakery in Chelsea Market that was all but worshipped by FN, had been on most of their travelling shows, played up to no end. The cupcakes I got had to be 2 days old, which I could tell by the crust on the buttercream, and the edges of the cupcake. They were dry, and even the cup of coffee I had to go with them didn't compensate for the moistness that was missing. I guess FN knew what day was baking day there.

Theresa icon_smile.gif

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Kiddiekakes Posted 12 Jan 2011 , 11:49pm
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I am convinced that these large cupcake operations taking over do not have good tasting cupcakes.We have one here in out city and of course my SIL brought some over to try when we had a dinner and they were the same.Dry...not good and piles of gritty BC icing ontop..Yuck!!!so it just goes to show that mine are better and I can/should demand a higher price.. thumbs_up.gif I may just raise my prices in the spring! icon_wink.gificon_wink.gif

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scp1127 Posted 13 Jan 2011 , 12:37am
post #6 of 13

That show Cupcake Girls (or something like that), addressed that problem. They got too big and quality control went out the window. The cakes end up being overcooked or the batter isn't right. They hire kids and expect them to care. But these places thrive in bigger cities, especially with tourist trade. But look at it as a good thing. Those people get customers excited about cupcakes, and then a smaller company comes in and sells quality to the people who live there and did not like the dry, sweet cupcakes.

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tiaracakes Posted 15 Jan 2011 , 6:47am
post #7 of 13

I went on their website and looked for how much it is to own on of their franchises. Is it me or $175,000 to $200,000 to open a Gigi's is a little too much.

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scp1127 Posted 15 Jan 2011 , 7:38am
post #8 of 13

A franchise price is based on earning potential proven from past performance of the company.

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Pebbles1727 Posted 2 Mar 2011 , 3:36am
post #9 of 13

We don't have Gigi's here...yet, but friend's daughter just got hired at the one in Tascaloosa, AL. She says cupcakes are amazing, she is bringing me some this week....i hope they are not as bad you all say they are icon_sad.gif

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Paperfishies Posted 2 Mar 2011 , 5:49am
post #10 of 13

I got some cupcakes from Gigi's to do a little "research". Yuk, what a disappointment. The cake is very dense and the icing is way over the top. I LOVE icing and usually eat the icing first but after half of a cupcake and what seemed like 3 pounds of icing, I felt sick, literally. My 7 year old who will eat anything with sugar in it, took two bits and asked if she could throw hers away.

I wasn't impressed and from the looks of it neither is anyone else in my city, Gigi's is NEVER busy here. One great thing about my city, people are very, very big on LOCAL businesses and not so much on chain businesses.

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corpsequeen Posted 2 Mar 2011 , 7:18am
post #11 of 13
Quote:
Originally Posted by scp1127

That show Cupcake Girls (or something like that), addressed that problem. They got too big and quality control went out the window. The cakes end up being overcooked or the batter isn't right. They hire kids and expect them to care. But these places thrive in bigger cities, especially with tourist trade. But look at it as a good thing. Those people get customers excited about cupcakes, and then a smaller company comes in and sells quality to the people who live there and did not like the dry, sweet cupcakes.


This reminds me of dc cupcakes on tlc. They recently started advertising that they are selling their cupcakes on the tlc website so I of course had to check it out! $40 for a dozen and another $20 for delivery!!!! Who in their right mind would pay $60 for a dozen cupcakes that have been frozen for god knows how long just because they are on tv?? Not me that's for sure! Some people get so full of themselves..

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tesh_diggins Posted 2 Apr 2011 , 8:47pm
post #12 of 13

We had a Gigi's open here a couple of months ago, soo I decided to try it out. I was not impressed at all. I agree that the mountain of icing that they use is entirely too sweet, and my cupcake was extremely dry. I could have saved the $10 that I spent on 3 cupcakes.

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ChRiStY_71 Posted 2 Apr 2011 , 9:42pm
post #13 of 13

Yikes...that's a lot for a franchise! Sounds to me like they are way over-rated! Imagine the equipment you could purchase with that kind of investment...talk about a state of the art kitchen!

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