My name is Torian Stinnette, and I am seeking $300K to start a small family bakery in Blue Bell, PA. Baking is my passion – it provides a peaceful space for unlimited creativity, and gratification when customers are completely satisfied as that first bite lingers to the point of addiction. I have spent the last 23 years working in biopharma industry as a research scientist and now, I am ready to start my bakery business and begin to build generational wealth.
KB Cakes Unlimited, LLC [formerly known as KC Cakes Unlimited, LLC] is a bakery that specializes in traditional and uniquely flavored cakes, cupcakes and cookies.
Traditional: carrot cake with cream cheese icing, German chocolate cake, red velvet cake with cream cheese icing, Oreo cupcakes, wedding cupcakes, sugar cookies, snickerdoodle cookies, etc.
Unique flavors: sweet potato cake baked with cinnamon, nutmeg, and pecans and topped with marshmallow buttercream icing, key lime cupcake, butter pecan cookies, chocomello [dark chocolate cookie baked with marshmallow cream], rose lavender cupcakes, etc.
Our bakery items, both traditional and unique flavors, will be offered daily. No other bakery in Blue Bell, PA offers this type of availability to customers. What’s exciting is that these same flavors can be made for special occasions, such as baby showers, birthdays and weddings. All icings [buttercream, whipped cream, and cream cheese] are made from scratch. All fruit flavored cakes will be baked with fresh fruit, in addition to premium extracts.
In the United States, the bakery industry presently makes $3 billion in sales. Research shows that consumers in the industry primarily focus on the following factors when making purchasing decisions: indulgence, ingredients, and innovation. The unique flavor angle crosses all three factors! Who would have thought that a watermelon cupcake with a lightly sweet vanilla buttercream icing would be a hit.
As with many other bakeries, our business model is high volume sales. Thus, location and HHI will be key to making the business a success. Our choice of location is 401 Penllyn Blue Bell Pike in Blue Bell, PA. On the surface, the location would seem like a disadvantage when compared to a space located in a strip mall benefiting from the foot traffic of adjacent retailers. However, the area is a middle-class family-oriented community with an average income of ~ $128K, and maximum income reported to be upwards of $500K. Potential customers within the geographical area of this location is 180K. There is an elementary and a high school close by, thus there is high traffic volume on the road adjacent to the location. This creates an advantage in boosting sales from morning commuters due to a lack of nearby coffee shops, such as Starbucks or a Panera. And yes. We do plan to serve coffee, tea, and other drinks, as well as freshly made muffins and breads [such as banana nut], hot cereal, fresh fruit, yogurt parfaits, etc.
We would like to be known as the neighborhood bakery and go to spot for all Blue Bell. But, most importantly, we want our bakery to be well-known as a quality bakery for surrounding cities, such as King of Prussia, East Norriton, Plymouth Meeting, etc. In addition to serving customers directly in the store, we will also utilize delivery and pick-up options to increase sales. An analysis of our competitors’ prices has been conducted, as well as the costs of customer acquisition. Based on this data, we will adopt the following pricing strategies:
Two Level strategy
1. Premium pricing for high quality items with upscale packaging
2. Economically priced items that are cheaper to make and move quickly from the shelf to consumer.
KB Cakes will promote sales using advertising through websites, social media, word of mouth and traffic from nearby retailers [pizza shop and nail salon next door]. The level of competition is “low-moderate” due to the low number of bakeries within a 5-mile radius. The primary competitor is Roma Bakery in Blue Bell, located within a 3-mile radius. However, we believe that our bakery has the following competitive advantages:
1. All bakery items, unique and traditional, will be custom made and available daily.
2. Offer unique flavors not typically found in bakeries and grocery stores.
3. Upscale quality and packaging
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
o Owner with previous experience running a small bakery.
o Location is near other popular retailers offer considerable foot traffic to increase exposure.
o Only one bakery within 5–10-mile radius of location
Weaknesses
o Starting finances – require business loan.
o Bakery will NOT include more delicate items such as pastries and bagels.
o Lack of expertise in designing and decorating wedding cakes
Opportunities
o Add to the wedding cake market in the area to include unique cake flavors.
o Future opportunity to expand bakery into a Bakery Café – offering breakfast and brunch.
Threats
o One longstanding bakery within 5-mile radius
KB Cakes will require start-up funds to ensure success of opening the bakery. Without funding, this dream of entrepreneurship and generational wealth dies. This bakery will be my third child - I will see it through until the end of my days.
We are seeking $300K that will finance the following:
- initial funds to secure lease for building
- kitchen buildout to PA commercial kitchen standards
- major operational equipment and supplies
- initial funds for consumables
- all required licensing, permits, and store sign
- owner salary
- marketing campaigns
KC Cakes Unlimited, LLC was founded in 2019, registered with the state of Indiana, and all licenses and permits were obtained to bake in a shared commercial kitchen to sell our items at local Farmer’s markets. We made $500 in less than 2 hrs at the Farmer’s market on our 1st Saturday, with averaging $300 within 3-4 hours on any given Saturday. An opportunity became available for storefront space for a small monthly fee, if we only used it on Friday, Saturday and Sundays. We had a location at the mall from 2020 – spring 2022, but again, we were only open for 3-4 hr on a Saturday and Sunday. While we made close to $10K in sales, we never made an actual profit. Our best year was in 2021, when we broke even, not much of a loss, but no profit either. This was most likely due to two major factors: (1) bakery operated on the “extreme” of part-time – only for a few hours on a Saturday and Sunday, and (2) limited quantities of bakery items available to sell in a weekend due to lack of time [full-time research job and part-time teaching Mon-Friday]. Despite the business operating at a very small scale, it involved contract negotiations, weekly forecasting, food safety training, budgeting, and exploring various marketing strategies to continue to grow the business. KC Cakes Unlimited, LLC was officially closed in May 2022 due to our move to the east coast. Since then, I still bake for my family and special occasions.
Therefore, as the owner of KB Cakes Unlimited, LLC, I do have experience building and managing a bakery business, as well as growing a loyal customer base. I hope you will consider investing in my small family bakery business. It is an exciting time for us, but also anxious, as this business venture cannot happen without the generosity of an investor.