Looks Sell First

Interview with Vicki Wells

Consultant and former Executive Pastry Chef

Magnolia Bakery

www.magnoliabakery.com

With Jeff Yoskowitz and Kathryn Gordon

Event theme table, a growing business for Magnolia Bakery 

Kathryn:  Hi Vicki!  Can you tell us a bit about what Magnolia Bakery is up to, 17 years after it opened?

Vicki:  Originally there was just the (Greenwich) Village location (the Sex in the City one...).  Now we have 5 retail (brick and mortar) stores in Manhattan, one in Chicago and another in LA, and 4 franchised stores in the Middle East – with additional locations opening this year. 

Jeff:  Vicki, we’re talking with you in the Magnolia Bakery centralized NY production kitchen for online orders and product development.  You seem to be preparing a lot more than cupcakes in this location.  Can you tell us about the product line?

 Chef Vicki's baby hand-held cherry pie for Valentine's Day

Vicki:  It has evolved over the years.  Originally there were layer cakes, but cupcakes became popular, and essentially Magnolia was the first cupcake store – and cupcakes still account for 53% of sales.  Now we offer wholesale, and more large cakes, cheesecakes, bar cookies, cookies and seasonal large and baby pies.  We have been doing dessert tables for weddings and parties.  Still, vanilla-vanilla and vanilla-chocolate cupcakes are the best sellers. 

Kathryn:  How would you describe the product line?

Vicki:  Everything is homey-style and freshly produced.  Our motto is American affordable luxury.  Everything is appealing but simple – like "made by mom."

Looks sell first!  So I work on product development – but one of the fun parts of my job is to develop seasonal décor for our cupcake specials. 

Last Christmas elf hat meringue decor for a seasonal cupcake 

Jeff:  You started working for Magnolia about half a year ago.  What’s the rest of your job scope?

Vicki:  Magnolia Bakery evolved from one simple store, and was sold in 2006 to an ownership group who has been rapidly expanding its locations.  What worked in one location (measurement in volume) does not work for franchises and additional corporate owned stores.  I have now converted all the cupcake recipes to measurement by weight, and standardized the yield (60 cupcakes per batch).  The equipment in each location is still small, and not geared for production.  Busy locations like Rockefeller Center work continuously baking fresh batches – no location has large industrial size equipment.  I am now working on converting all the cupcake icings.  Everything takes time, to make changes and implement controls.

Kathryn:  And you said that one of those locations actually had converted your recipes (by grams) back to volume measurements, when you visited it…

Vicki:  Unfortunately, yes!  One issue has been that there has been a very decentralized structure in each store – no hierarchy.  That means no central person to talk to, for me, when I have to make changes in the procedures or formulas.  I am working now to have a head baker assigned to each bakery.

Jeff:  What other issues have you encountered, as the original formulas have been replicated in each new location?

Vicki:  It’s interesting, I visited Chicago because they were having issues with a cupcake.  I learned by going to Target and buying Arm & Hammer baking soda (which is available nationally) that the commercial baking soda in Chicago was different, and that was causing them issues with the recipe.

Kathryn:  I’d always heard that chemical leaveners around the world were regional!  Very interesting proof of that theory.

  Commissary production kitchen in Manhattan

Vicki: Also, now that we have (franchise) locations in the Middle East – we cannot use traditional vanilla extract because it is alcohol based.  So we have reformulated the recipes.  Actually, all of the baking ingredients for those locations have to be shipped from NY, because the ingredients there are just different, or just not available (like in Dubai).

Kathryn:  You have an enormous number of Styrofoam shipping components here.

Vicki:  Everything that has to be shipped is test shipped.  We send shipments to family and friends to ensure it all arrives with the quality intact.  Everything is insulated in double boxes.  In fact, we’ve determined that for cupcakes to be shipped – they have to be frozen over a 3 day period to be solid enough and ship intact.  Temperature alone isn’t enough.

 3-day frozen cupcakes ready for internet order shipping, with signature frosted swirl

Jeff:  What’s your next project here at Magnolia Bakery?

Vicki:  I am continuing to work on having a head baker in each store because I need someone who I can contact with a clear line of communication, and who understands new standards when we introduce them, and who will be responsible for training all their staff to produce new and existing products consistently.  We have a great staff training program – but consistency is key as we get ready to open additional national locations.

Food Festivals and Weddings = Profits

 Interview with JulianPlyter

Co Owner/Chef of Melt Bakery

www.meltbakery.com

Interview by Kathryn Gordon

Kathryn:  Hi Julian!  I’d wanted to come and visit you at Melt Bakery ever since you were a guest panelist at one of our How to Start a Successful Bakery-Related Business at ICE (Institute of Culinary Education); and I absolutely love ice cream…

Julian:  And cookies. I really enjoy baking the cookies! 

Kathryn:  It’s very “neighborhood” here.  Already 3 guys have come in for ice cream sandwiches, and one has already come back for another one of the “sandwiches of the day.”

Julian:  We opened in this retail (brick and mortar) location in 2012 after 2 years of being in markets. The majority of our customers here do live or work in the neighborhood.  At our second permanent location, on the High Line, sales are more tourists driven. 

Kathryn:  Are all of your sales retail?

Julian:  We’re also in about 20 wholesale outlets, for example we’re in 5 Brother Jimmy’s BBQ locations. 

Kathryn:  How do you transport your ice cream sandwiches from here to the other locations?

Julian:  We use a delivery-around-town service that some friends started called “Dessert Run.”  The will cover wholesale and retail sales:   (www.dessertrun.com)

Kathryn:  And how did you get your wholesale clients?

Julian:  We’ve been working with a salesperson.  He finds it easier to sell ice cream than what he did before, which was energy sales.  Who doesn’t want to sample ice cream?

Kathryn:  Can you talk about how you got started in the ice cream sandwich business?

Julian:  I was working as restaurant and hotel pastry chefs, and was ready to “do my own thing.”  I had catered a party several years back and met my business partner Kareem Hamady; he still works in finance but was looking for a food project.  Initially he helped with the business financing but we've essentially been self sufficient after an initial $300 food investment.

At first we rented from 2 different commercial kitchens for our production, and outsourced to run the ice cream.  We knew where we wanted to locate and found this (former leather jacket) store (1,400 square feet on 2 floors).  We built it all out ourselves over 4 months, except hiring someone to do the tiling, plumbing and electric. 

Kathryn:  And you were able to do that because…

Julian:  I come from a line of handymen!  When I was 7, I helped my father build a log cabin – I worked on the shingles.  Now I can fix my own electric if I have to.

Kathryn:  How did you find this location? 

Julian:  Kareem and I just walked around.  It was very near where we first started selling at the Hester Street market.  Note:  Melt Bakery's first location is at 132 Orchard Street.

Kathryn:  And now you rent your kitchen out to other food entrepreneurs?

Julian:  We have both NY State Department of Agriculture and NYC Department of Health oversight, so we have been able to rent to other people who need ice cream machines.  Not many kitchens can offer that option – and the utility cost is high. 

Melt Bakery’s 37.5Q Carpigiani 660 Volt machine, bought at auction

Kathryn:  What are the state level inspections like for you?

Julian:  Everything is from samples.  If they take a sample away, and it grows in a petri dish – they would come back.  The NYC Department of Health is much more focused on “what they see” immediately in the kitchen, versus data.  One risk is that it's my responsibility for any other businesses who produce in my kitchen (for other ice cream companies who rent from us as an incubator kitchen).

Kathryn:  Are you thinking of expanding locations?

Photo:  machine to track data for state inspections

Julian:  I am always thinking about expanding!  Right now our target is Tokyo!  We have a lot of press in Japan – some people have gotten off their air plane and come straight here for ice cream sandwiches and a photo op.  

Kathryn:  How cyclical have you found the ice cream business?

Julian:  I really consider us to be in the “ice cream sandwich business,” not ice cream.  Ice cream is a very different proposition – people have to wait in lines, make their choices, the ice cream has to be scooped and then put on a cone or in a cup.  Our sales are quick.  That’s why the format works from carts in food festivals, etc.  Everything is pre packaged. You just have to decide what flavor and size sandwich you want. 

Kathryn:  How many satellite locations/carts do you have?

Julian:  It varies.  With the High Line location (open April to October), some weekends in May we will have 6 outlets running (such as Madison Square Eats). Sometimes we do weddings. It’s a good growth niche with a high profit.  They are also easy to plan for and not weather dependent.  If I have leftover inventory, it's frozen and protected to sell another day.  E-Commerce is also expanding. We can also ship within a 2-day delivery zone.

Kathryn:  You’ve been on TV and you’ve gotten some very good press. 

Julian:  It’s actually been entirely from word-of-mouth.

Kathryn:  To what do you attribute your success to date?

Julian:  Correct growth.  What I mean by that is:  no loans, no borrowing, no equity shares.  From the time I quit my paying job, this business has been self financing.  In fact, the most surprising aspect is “how much money we didn’t need” to be able to do it ourselves.

Kathryn:  What advice would you give another food entrepreneur?

Julian:  Look into wholesale.  And food festivals.  You are only constrained by time in terms of what you sell.  If you have the capacity to have stock (and restock) and “move the line” you will make profits – even with apparently high entry fees.

Kathryn:  Thank you Julian.  I'm going to come visit you on the High Line next!

Work Your Friend of Friends Circle

Interview with Michelle Tampakis

Chef/Owner Whipped Pastry Boutique

www.whippedpastryboutique.com

By Jeff Yoskowitz, Jessie Riley and Kathryn Gordon

(Editor’s note- Michelle has been a long time Instructor colleague at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE). In 2010, she was named one of the Top Ten Pastry Chefs by Dessert Professional Magazine. She was diagnosed with celiac disease 6 years ago.  Her medical diagnosis turned into a passion to be able to eat delicious foods again.  Whipped Pastry Boutique is a gluten free bakery.)

Kathryn:  Hi Michelle!  We’re so excited to be visiting you here in Red Hook, Brooklyn, because it feels like we never see you at ICE anymore after you’ve opened your bakery.

Michelle: I’m still teaching but mostly weekends. I love teaching and it would be very hard for me to give it up.

We opened the bakery January 20^th.  We had been planning to open Whipped Pastry Boutique before the holidays, but everything got delayed in Brooklyn because of Hurricane Sandy.

(Michelle pointed out where the high point of the water from the hurricane rose to, and explained all the damage it caused in the pre opening period last fall)

Jessie:  As we were coming in, we saw a sizable wholesale delivery going out from your bakery. How is everything progressing; 2 months after opening?

Michelle:  Our biggest client is Juice Generation.  They bring me fresh squeezed juice for “input ingredients” for their custom line of muffins We recently started Kale muffins for them and now they are a best seller. Their delivery truck comes and gets their orders for Manhattan every afternoon. 

Custom gluten-free kale and other muffins featuring Juice Gernation's products

Jeff:  How did you get Juice Generation as a customer?

Michelle:  It was through a friend of a friend.  My favorite, FOF’s!  This one was through someone we all know (for many years) who represents a chocolate company.  He knew the owners. 

Jessie:  How do you structure your production?  It seems like everyone is working now on measuring eggs…

Michelle: Basically we start here around 8 in the morning with production. In the afternoon, we “mise en place” for the next day and then end with packaging by late afternoon. We can move to 2 staggered shifts a day if necessary when we're busy. 

I’ve been trying to schedule product tastings with potential clients in the morning so I try to be back in the early afternoon to help the staff.  I have a lead production manager, several assistant bakers and a dishwasher/prep person right now.

At the end of the production shift, everyone cleans.  There are floor drains so we can hose down everything and we clean everything, including inside the ovens.  Then when I get home, I do paperwork.   Sometimes I’m frantic; I’ll never get the paperwork done.  But overall I love it here.

Note:  Gluten free baking tends to incorporate lots of ingredients to mimic the complex functions of wheat flour – no one ingredient will act exactly like flour.  

Jeff:  What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced?

Michelle:  Producing gluten free products, I have a very large and diverse set of ingredients. Meeting the minimum orders for each of my many suppliers is the most surprising challenge I’ve come across especially since some suppliers only deliver to certain areas on a particular day of the week. It’s very challenging for a new business that doesn’t want to keep too many supplies on inventory.  I’ve learned to be very creative as I place my orders during the week and look at everything a vendor sells, to meet their minimums.

Meanwhile, I’ve been very surprised.  Some vendors don’t even call you back!   Big vendors, ones I have worked with for years (like through ICE) and have actually gotten to know the local reps, now that I have my own small business, phone calls are ignored.  

Kathryn:  I know everything you bake here is gluten free. Is it also dairy free, egg free or cater to other dietary restrictions?

Michelle:  Dairy free baking I’ve been doing for a while.  I’m starting to get my first orders for egg free cakes, especially birthday cakes for kids. 

Jeff:  What’s next here for you at Whipped Pastry Boutique?  Would you want to have your own Retail (Brick and Mortar) General Patisserie location as well as wholesale production?

Michelle:  I have leads to wholesale my dry mixes and we’re starting the process to become HACCP certified.  We may need to purchase an x-ray machine as a result.  I’m also looking for a distributor for our frozen cookie dough.

Jessie:  Thank you Michelle. It’s really great to see that you have more room to expand your kitchen space into this facility as you grow. We’ll follow up with you to get updates on your new business. Congratulations.

Interview with Miriam Rieder of Taste by Spellbound – Dessert Studio

Interview with Miriam Rieder

Taste by Spellbound – Dessert Studio

Avon, CT

www.spellboundgirl.com

By Kathryn Gordon and Jessie Riley 

Kathryn:   Hi Miriam!  I met you in one of my macaron classes, but how did you get started in your business?

Miriam:  My first business venture was at 10 years of age, decorating cakes after taking a summer class at the local Parks & Recreational department in my area.  My mother enrolled me when she got divorced.  And now we bake together!

Photo:  HartfordMag.com

Jessie:  Did you always want to bake?

Miriam:  I grew up with a love of food but it didn't become a passion until a few years back. 

Kathryn:   How did you find the location for your bakery?  And how many square feet is the bakery? 

Miriam:  I found the location through a family friend.  The bakery is 1,100 square feet. I had saved up quite a bit over the past two years and was able to fund most of it.  We had to take out a small loan as well for our business financing.  I've been very blessed.

Jessie:   You’re very young; when you started the business a year ago, you were 20!  What else is it that differentiates you from other businesses? 

 

Miriam:  The quality of my food and atmosphere of the bakery. 

Kathryn:  You seem to have a pretty clear vision for a general patisserie, from your personal look (retro hairdo), vintage apron collection, business card and photos on Facebook.   The bakery evokes Alice in Wonderland.   How did you develop your vision?

Miriam:   I've loved fairy tales for quite awhile and with my baking business being named Taste by Spellbound, I was able to piggyback off my first business venture (fashion headbands), Spellbound.

Jessie: How many employees do you have?   

Miriam:  There are 2 part time employees who bake with me.  I don't even keep a running log of how much I work.  I just know it's A LOT.  I’m baking, running a business and teaching classes. 

 Jessie: How do you see the role of social media for your business?

Miriam:   It's huge.  Facebook is a major media outlet for the business. I post photos and update my fans daily with what we have in the bakery and fun pictures of all the projects we're working on.  But I also have close to 1,000 followers on Twitter as well.  [Follow Miriam @MiriamHope on Twitter].  And although Twitter is an amazing outlet I think Facebook is still “where it's at.”  You can connect and interact with customers and friends so easily.

Jessie:  Who takes your photographs?

Miriam:  I take all the photos for Facebook and Twitter; I love taking pictures of food.  

Kathryn:  What is the link to the Z100 radio station, and how often do you make an appearance?

Miriam:  I sent Elvis Duran on the Morning Show some of my truffles!  Now I've made 5-6 appearances on Elvis Duran over the past 2 years.

Jessie:  Do you see a spike in internet orders after you're on the radio?

Miriam:  Sometimes yes, sometimes no. But regardless, it refreshes people’s memory about me and the business.

Kathryn:   What advice would you give other entrepreneurs regarding self promotion?

Miriam:   Don't be afraid to put yourself out there and sell yourself. Just keep at it and the fan base will grow.

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Macaron Parlour Inteview: Former Students and Their Chefs

Meet the Entrepreneur
An in depth interview (with future follow up) to explore the lessons learned by others like you in the baking business

Opening a retail pastry shop

Interview with the Dynamic Duo, Christina Ha and Simon Tung by Kathryn and Jeff

Current Name of Business:  Macaron Parlour

http://www.macaronparlour.com

111 St. Marks Place (between First and Avenue A) estimated summer 2012 (target July)

This is the first installment in our talks with Christina and Simon and we will continue to give updates on their progress.

The Story…

Christina originally came to ICE (Institute for Culinary Education) after working fashion PR, when she had realized over time that wasn’t the career she wanted.  Instead of sleeping at night, she started baking.  She happened to live right up the block from ICE and first took a macaron class with Chef Kathryn Gordon, and then the 12 week pastry series with Chef Jeff Yoskowitz.  After that, she went to Paris to Pierre Herme’s macaron school for a few days – which reinforced her decision to be serious about a career change.  She applied and won a James Beard scholarship and started at ICE.  In this timeframe, when she was deciding what to do with her career, she met Simon through mutual friends.  Simon was an attorney recruiter, and has worked in club promotions as well.   He always enjoyed baking, and has since taken the 12 week pastry series at ICE and other recreational classes. 

The Beginning

Christina began the program at ICE in January 2010, and she and Simon decided to form a business in March 2010.  They saw an ad for the Hester Street Fair in NY Magazine, which was looking for vendors.  They had about 6 weeks before starting to sell their macarons in April, to work on a website, establish a tax ID, and file the paperwork to form an LLC business.   A friend helped with the photography for the website.

Christina decided to try selling macarons and a few other items at the Hester Street Fair – but the macarons were always the most popular item.  They started with about 12 flavors, making 300 macarons per day. This took them 2 days to make renting commercial kitchen space, after the working illegally the first day of production out of an apartment (like most people who start!).  It didn’t hurt that Jeffrey Steingarten came the first weekend!  Soon they were making about 1,000 macarons a day using a commercial kitchen they saw listed through the ICE alumni posting.  Unfortunately, the person with that space lost their lease after a month – but utilizing a network of friends they had established at Hester Street, Christina and Simon were able to negotiate with a nearby bakery to use it on off hours. 

It was a struggle, because Christina still had a day job and was in school at ICE on the weekends.  By then she had given up her apartment and moved into Simon’s, which had lower rent.  They would bake Wednesday and Thursday nights until 4 am, and Simon would sell on the weekends.  Their macaron sales were profitable right away, even though they were ordering ingredients quasi wholesale thru l’epicerie.com.  Some food was sourced thru BJ’s, before they obtained a Jetro (wholesale) account.

Christina quit her day job and got hired out of externship from ICE.   Etsy (an e-commerce based website) generated initial online sales that supplemented the two days a week they could sell at the Hester Street market. Simon was packaging the macarons and carrying everything to the post office himself.

The Effect of Getting Press

Suddenly, Macaron Parlour started to get some press, including a spot in Daily Candy in August to cover the macarons with “American flavors” vs. French.   In December, they were mentioned on the Today Show and Style Magazine, and sales came quickly.

At this point, Christina got recruited to help open a coffee/pastry shop in Brooklyn, and they initially thought that they could move their macaron production out to the new shop.  Simon started to help make pastries at the shop with Christina but there wasn’t a budget to hire more employees nor was there enough space to bake macarons necessary for their business.   The oven broke where they had been doing production, so they found another baking location through friends from the Hester Street market network.  After 4 months they were able to find another kitchen in Sunset Park and they have been there ever since.  In April, Christina came back to ICE to enroll in the management program. She applied and won enough scholarships to cover her tuition from organizations such as Les Dame d’Escoffier, WCR and AIWF.

Their Next Steps

Christina and Simon decided to do the Union Square Market, which is expensive to participate in -- but they applied anyway, knowing how difficult it was to get in and at the same time participated in Madison Square Eats, a food fair run by the same management company. Due to their participation, when someone backed out of the Union Square market at the last minute, Christina and Simon got the call. To pay for the booth, they took the money out of their wedding fund and Union Square ended up yielding a profit.  

Christina and Simon realized the most common question customers would ask was:  “Where’s your store?”  Meanwhile, Christina was completing her business plan project in her management class at ICE, and all that was missing was the location. Christina mapped out all the “other” macaron shops in NYC and realized there was a clear gap in the East Village. 

Using Craig’s List, Christina found their future location.  The place had good ventilation and enough square feet (1150) for their production that they would not have to share with anyone else – and would allow room for expansion.

Getting Ready for Construction

Christina says the real world is very different than school, where the practice exercises are theoretical. First, with a viable location open to them -- they realized that they needed a real estate lawyer, to help with the lease process.  Steve Zagor, Christina’s management instructor, helped with that. They wound up with a ten-year lease with three months free, one of which was thrown in as a wedding gift!

Simon and Christina discovered there’s a stop-work-order from a ten year old excavation at the building, which is supposed to be inspected and cleared tomorrow (as of this writing). Christina knew an architect from when she helped open the Brooklyn café, and asked her to work for them because she liked her style.  Right now, they’re in the permit process with the city and hope to be able to begin construction soon. The duo are obtaining bids now and are using an expeditor through the architect. They are also receiving help from the New Business Acceleration Team (NYC NBAT) (for food businesses and grocery stores).   Unlike other city departments, NBAT actually answers the phone! 

Christina is currently focusing on the menu and understands from the Brooklyn experience that the neighborhood vibe dictates what will sell.  The shop’s hours will also be determined by their East Village location, meaning opening later and closing later than originally planned.   The couple is gearing up to start again at Hester Street and the upcoming Madison Square Eats before they try to open their retail location this summer. By finally opening their retail shop, Christina and Simon believe Macaron Parlour will receive the legitimacy a retail operation can bring to a company. 

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