I just posted, but I would like to reply to sweetlayers.

I think the topic is very relevant to the cake business. It gives us an idea about trends and where we are headed in the future. We find that scratch and box bakers have happy customers. The poll may cause a few bakers to experiment or change a few recipes. There are bakers on this thread who bake from box mixes now, but are gearing up to join the scratch baking team. That means we scratch bakers will probably see more competition in the future.

So I would like to politely disagree. We are all very proud of our product and that's what it takes to sell these cakes. I am a scratch baker, but if I baked doctored mixes, I could sell them just as well. You can't sell something you don't believe in. These serious bakers who stand behind their product and get fired up about their recipes are the ones who get their customers excited about their product too.

I'm a scratch baker myself Hobby for now but hoping to one day learn enough to start my own business. I know a lot of bakeries use mixes here in the US but I'm curious to know how those in other countries feel about it. Is it just as commonplace? If not: Do you not use them cause they're more expensive, frowned upon, not what your customers want?

tamashi, I think you want to know if the debate is just as strong in other countries. Maybe someone from outside the US can answer.