Cupcakes, Coffee, Product Development and Pricing
I remember my mom making cupcakes. Opening up the Pillsbury cake mix, blending all the ingredients, filling up the little paper cupcake shells. Popping them into the oven. They are probably one of the easiest desserts to create. You could think of them as a commodity item.
Check that…they used to be.
If you’ve been following the developments in the cupcake world, you can see that it’s like the Starbucks experience all over again. Now there are shows (Cupcake Wars) and shops (Sprinkles) dedicated to the once-humble cupcake.
You can’t find a regular cupcake like mom used to make unless you make it yourself. Even the local grocery store has to bling out their cupcakes just to compete.
It really is an amazing transformation that can happen with any product or service. Instead of taking costs out of your product, try adding back quality and increasing price in conjunction with value.
That’s why cupcakes are $5 each when they once were $.50.