Our small business pitch today is Ready. Set. Cupcake!  Founders Leslie Kaplan and Carolyn Shulevitz fill the niche of consumers wanting a quality product… the desire to bake it myself… without needing the skills of a baker. Perfect opportunity identification and product positioning. No wonder they are getting on the shelf… the retail buyer sees this in their product pitch and in the product itself.

A nice side effect of running this small food business pitch is seeing great food entrepreneurs take their idea and turn it into a viable product that gets on the shelf. I also am learning about a whole range of ethnic and artisan foods.

You can read the Ready. Set. Cupcake Business Pitch and add your comments here about what you like and how you would give Leslie and Carolyn some tips on improving her pitch.

Here are my comments on the pitch

This is a business pitch that you can learn from so I had very few suggestions.

Your One Line Pitch

When I met Leslie and Carolyn at the Summer Fancy Food Show, I immediately saw the uniqueness of their product. So I took the liberty of writing their one liner “Ready Set Cupcake meets the consumer needs of desiring a quality product… the desire to bake it themselves… without needing the skills of a baker.” Many people are intimidated by baking… it is more precise vs. cooking… I admit I am in this camp.  So I recommend they play this up as part of their product positioning in the future.

Who is Your Target Market (your customers)

They said  “women make up majority of shoppers and specific segments are single mom, grandmother, teenager and even single dads.” The single dads are a “sleeper” and untapped segment as far as I am concerned. I can see this as the target and recommend looking at each as segments to determine the type of messaging that resonates with each segment as well as where those customers segments happen to be listening. For example Mommy bloggers have the ear of moms and probably no so much for single dads.

Leslie and Carolyn did a great job in their pitch and I want to thank both of them for their  work.  This was a great exercise showing other food entrepreneurs the elements of a great business pitch and retail buyer sales pitch.

What other comments can you give them?

MIAMI, Dec. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Adding to their innovative line of all-natural, frozen cake batters and buttercream frostings, Ready. Set. Cupcake! debuts a scrumptious, GFCO certified gluten-free, vegan and Kosher chocolate cake batter. Now people with Celiac disease, gluten sensitivities, dairy and egg allergies can bake their own gluten-free chocolate cake without the mixing and mess of traditional baking. Ready. Set. Cupcake! can be found at your Florida Whole Foods Market.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121220/FL32935 )

Ready. Set. Cupcake! Co-founder and Culinary Institute of America graduate, Carolyn Shulevitz says, “My son has grown up with food sensitivities and I was always creating gluten and dairy-free cake recipes for him, so he could enjoy dessert without having a reaction or feeling left out. With the rising recognition of Gluten intolerances, I wanted to bring this ability to the increasing number of consumers with food allergies. We saw the void in the market for an all-natural, gluten free dessert, so we created this quality shortcut that has the same great taste and texture as traditional homemade cake recipes.”

Ready. Set. Cupcake! GFCO certified gluten-free cake batter is packaged in an easy ready-to-use pastry bag. Simply pipe and bake to enjoy homemade gourmet gluten-free cupcakes, gluten-free whoopie pies or even a gluten-free cake. Add a twist and blend in your own favorite flavor right into the pastry bag. Ready. Set. Cupcake! Co-Founder and FIU School of Hospitality Management graduate, Leslie Kaplan simply states, “The convenience, quality and innovative nature of our products make it fun and simple for anyone to make fresh, home-baked cupcakes. We do the mixing and you do the baking, what could be easier than that?” Now everyone, including those with gluten sensitivities or dairy and egg allergies can bake gluten free gourmet desserts conveniently and creatively – right at home.

Ready. Set. Cupcake! by The Piping Gourmets is available in the freezer at all Whole Foods Market, Florida stores. Ready. Set. Cupcake! by The Piping Gourmets GFCO certified gluten-free chocolate cake batter will be available beginning Christmas week 2012.

Contact: Leslie Kaplan 305.776.5820 lkaplan@readysetcupcake.com

Batter Up, LLC d/b/a Ready. Set. Cupcake! by The Piping Gourmets

1717 North Bayshore Drive, Suite #2500 Miami, FL 33132

305.776.5820     www.readysetcupcake.com    info@readysetcupcake.com

SOURCE Ready. Set. Cupcake! by The Piping Gourmets

Web site: http://www.readysetcupcake.com

I’m no Martha Stewart, but sometimes you just gotta throw on the apron and get busy in the kitchen. The kids BEG me to cook or bake with them but oy vey, the mess! Enter the genius Miami-based ladies from The Piping Gourmets and their all natural, quick-to-defrost frozen cake batter and buttercream frosting, fully-loaded into pastry bags, ready to pipe into the cupcake pan/liners! I used to buy the usual “box ‘o cake mix” and “tub o’ frosting” to assuage my guilt but NOW I’m all about Ready. Set. Cupcake! since they don’t have any trans-fat, preservatives or hydrogenated oil. What’s super cool is the fact that you can cut open the pre-filled pastry bag for either the cupcake batter or frosting and insert YOUR OWN flavoring to customize the result. My kids had a BALL pounding the heck out of a Butterfinger bar and mixing it into the batter pastry bag. You definitely need to get the crumbs small OR cut the tip of the pastry bag more to make the opening bigger so the larger chunks don’t get caught. I’ve got the chocolate cupcake batter & frosting left to do. I’m thinking of putting some raspberry puree in the frosting. Delish! Available at Florida-region Whole Foods Markets in the frozen section. readysetcupcake.com