Cake Stall For 50,000 People! Help!

Decorating By marbiedavies Updated 13 Mar 2013 , 10:53am by MimiFix

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marbiedavies Posted 12 Mar 2013 , 10:59pm
post #1 of 11

Hi all,

 

I've got the opportunity to sell cupcakes at an event that hosts about 50,000 people.

 

Im thinking of making 10,000 cupcakes and some undecorated cakes to sell.

 

However the task of getting them to the venue as well as storage is slightly confusing.

 

Has anyone done this before? If so how do you transport them safely as well as store them at the stall in a somewhat neat way as there will be a table and tablecloth and a marquee and the whole space is 2m by 2m.

 

Thanks!

10 replies
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jason_kraft Posted 13 Mar 2013 , 12:03am
post #2 of 11

AYou probably don't want to make 10,000 cupcakes, unless you are giving them away you will have a LOT left over. The number to make depends on a lot of factors (cupcake price, weather, time, type of event, target market for the event, number of food stalls, number of dessert stalls, etc.) but something closer to 1,000 might be a safer bet.

Have you planned out the logistics necessary for making that many cupcakes, including how much the ingredients will cost, how many days it will take you, and where you can store them?

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mizlila Posted 13 Mar 2013 , 12:39am
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A10,000 cupcakes? Oh my goodness. I have no advice to give, just want to wish you good luck! I do agree with Jason that 10K might be too many -- with that # you are expecting that 1 in 5 persons will stop to buy. Maybe you can try to get in touch with other food vendors that have worked the same event in the past and see what their experience was.

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cazza1 Posted 13 Mar 2013 , 1:07am
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How many other food vendors will be there and what are they selling.  That will have a big impact on how much you sell.

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scrumdiddlycakes Posted 13 Mar 2013 , 1:23am
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10K is way too many! What sort of event is it? Will there be other stalls selling sweets?

20% of the guests won't buy something, if you are very lucky, 5% might, assuming on your stall placement, the uniqueness of your product and type of event.

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Norasmom Posted 13 Mar 2013 , 1:30am
post #6 of 11

 I don't have any advice, but please let us know how you did on this endeavor!  That's the most cupcakes I've ever hear of!    Jason gives pretty good advice, though, so you may not need as many as you are planning.

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jason_kraft Posted 13 Mar 2013 , 2:06am
post #7 of 11

ATo put things into perspective, if you were able to consistently bake, decorate, and package 250 cupcakes during a single 8 hour shift, at one shift per day it would take 40 days to make 10,000 cupcakes. Even at a low-ball rate of $10/hour you are talking about $3200 in labor alone.

If you put 24 cupcakes in a half-sheet box, you will need 416+ boxes. Each half-sheet box is 19"x14"x4", which is 1064 cubic inches or .62 cubic feet. This means you will need to store about 258 cubic feet of boxes. To transport them you would need to rent a truck, a 10' U-Haul truck holds 402 cubic feet so it would be about two-thirds full. Or you could use three Toyota Highlanders with the seats folded flat.

The bigger problem would be the stall. 2m x 2m = ~42 square feet. In order to store 10,000 cupcakes in half-sheet boxes in your stall, assuming half the stall would be used for storage, you would need to stack them over 12 feet high.

This would have made a great homework assignment for my MBA operations management class.

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mcaulir Posted 13 Mar 2013 , 4:20am
post #8 of 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by jason_kraft 

To put things into perspective, if you were able to consistently bake, decorate, and package 250 cupcakes during a single 8 hour shift, at one shift per day it would take 40 days to make 10,000 cupcakes. Even at a low-ball rate of $10/hour you are talking about $3200 in labor alone.

If you put 24 cupcakes in a half-sheet box, you will need 416+ boxes. Each half-sheet box is 19"x14"x4", which is 1064 cubic inches or .62 cubic feet. This means you will need to store about 258 cubic feet of boxes. To transport them you would need to rent a truck, a 10' U-Haul truck holds 402 cubic feet so it would be about two-thirds full. Or you could use three Toyota Highlanders with the seats folded flat.

The bigger problem would be the stall. 2m x 2m = ~42 square feet. In order to store 10,000 cupcakes in half-sheet boxes in your stall, assuming half the stall would be used for storage, you would need to stack them over 12 feet high.

This would have made a great homework assignment for my MBA operations management class.

This is fantastic! Jason, you have too much spare time on your hands! icon_biggrin.gif

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Annabakescakes Posted 13 Mar 2013 , 6:54am
post #9 of 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcaulir 

This is fantastic! Jason, you have too much spare time on your hands! icon_biggrin.gif

I have to say I have done the same type of math for someone else, who was wanting to bring a bunch of samples to a bridal show....

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Dayti Posted 13 Mar 2013 , 10:48am
post #10 of 11

I did an event last year where 10,000 people attended, and I sold 1500 cupcakes. The event was a cakey decoratey type fair held over 2 days. There was one other person selling cupcakes who was right next to me. Another stand was selling pies and ice cream and the fourth stand was savoury stuff. I counted on 1000 cupcakes for the whole weekend and sold them all on the Saturday. Saturday night we made another 500 and sold those by 3pm on the Sunday. The girl next to me sold 1000 cupcakes over the weekend, so a total of 2500 were sold to those 10000 people.

 

This year I will be making 2000, as the event will be 3 days this time. Same amount of people are expected to attend and the same food vendors will be there.

I transported them on a wheeled bakers trolley with 20 racks - each rack holds 50 of my cupcakes. I prep the BC ahead of time, transported in icing bags, and decorated at the fair. Just because it is easier to transport undecorated cupcakes in these quantities.

 

I have some on display under cute glass cake domes so people can choose, and pack the cupcake boxes picking the decorated cupcakes from behind me. I have since done other big events and transported the naked cupcakes in plastic boxes, getting 100 in each box in 2 layers with parchment between the layers.

 

Good luck!!!
 

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MimiFix Posted 13 Mar 2013 , 10:53am
post #11 of 11

Great info, Jason. When I see a thread such as this one (if I read it and think "Whoa...") started by a very new member, I always wonder if it's a real question. However, I enjoy reading the thoughtful responses from our longtime members.

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