Not since the inception of Cracker Jack has a tasty treat been offered with “a surprise in the middle,” but local entrepreneurs Laura DeVries and Wade Stewart, both 41, may have pulled it off with their new company, Cupcakes A-Go-Go. Offering flavors like Sunshine Citrus, Cocoa Caliente, Funky Monkey, and White Russian, it takes a moment to realize these are cupcakes, and not cocktails.
DeVries developed the concept for the company years ago, first as an idea to provide a quick solution for “soccer moms” being continuously asked to bring “treats” to their children’s activities. But freelancing as a graphic artist kept her too busy to pursue the idea. Over the years, she continued developing cupcake recipes, testing them out on friends, and taking them to various events around town.
The company name was the brainchild of an artist-friend. DeVries adopted it, but did not do a title search. “That’s one thing I learned,” she said, admitting there are a few others around the country with the same — or similar — name. “I just can’t believe anyone else would have the same idea,” she said. “I was pretty naive.” She knows she will need to deal with the issue before long.
Cupcakes A-Go-Go officially launched in October 2009. By January, DeVries’ business partner, Wade Stewart, who had recently been laid off from his job, came on board. The timing was perfect, because the company had just received an order for over 1,300 cupcakes from American Girl. Stewart now bakes between 15-20 dozen each day while DeVries attends to her graphic arts responsibilities (which she hopes to scale back soon). He also handles deliveries and ordering.
The company leases space at Golden Days Bakery in Sun Prairie in a mutual agreement affording Golden Days a cut of sales. The treats are also distributed at several locations around town. With 20 varieties in its repertoire and a wholesale mark-up of between 20% and 25%, the regular-sized cupcakes sell for between $1.75 and $3 each, according to DeVries.
Back in the kitchen, an individual recipe makes about two dozen cupcakes, and is then multiplied based on each day’s orders. DeVries said they’ve spent about $5,000 purchasing “lots and lots” of pans, decorating tips, pastry bags, paper liners (in quantities of 10,000), food colorings, sugars, and decorations. A printer that uses edible ink and frosting “sheets” has been added, allowing for custom designed delectibles. They’ve also purchased a cooler and a delivery vehicle.
When time allows, the co-owners work with WWBIC on a business plan as well as financing, and they’ve also utilized services at SCORE and the UW Small Business Development Center. A year from now, DeVries and Stewart hope to have their own retail establishment, which they know could require an investment of between $40,000 and $50,000 for commercial ovens, a freezer, and a mixer. “We’d like to not have to go to the bank,” she said.
And things are looking up. “Initially, we thought an order of 1,300 cupcakes was outlandish,” said DeVries. “Then it became 6,000. We’ve embraced it and done it.” Stewart, once paid sporadically, has received a regular paycheck for the last few months. “We’ve had such huge growth recently,” she said. “We’ve gone from personally sustaining the business to it paying for itself.”
With quasi-competitors Daisy Cafe and Cupcakery on Atwood Avenue, which, according to DeVries, is a cafe first, then a cupcakery, could this all be a fad? She balks at the thought. “I think people probably thought Starbucks was a fad when they started opening coffee shops. We won’t get crazy [with our recipes], we won’t have asparagus cupcakes for example, or use bacon or pickles. I think that would be a fad. But a cupcake is a feel-good food. As long as it tastes good, I think it will stick.”
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