Michigan cupcake bakery Just Baked expands

From Detroit Free Press:

Turkin estimates that by the end of 2012, Just Baked could have 25 to 27 stores in metro Detroit selling its sweet treats, which come in 65 flavors such as Grumpy Cake, Red Velvet and Fat Elvis. The company also recently began selling frozen two-pack versions of its cupcakes to grocery stores in Michigan and other Midwest states.

The expansion comes on the heels of new investment capital for Just Baked. Earlier this year, Turkin and her husband, Todd, sold 45% of their company to a group of top executives at Ferndale-based Garden Fresh Gourmet, including President Jack Aronson.

Sales at Just Baked have reached the $3 million to $4 million range, not bad for a company that started without a business plan. The company's average sale is half a dozen cupcakes. But Just Baked has seen increased demand for its cakes, including an order this week for a Motown-decorated cake for Jesse Jackson's 70th birthday party at the MGM Grand Detroit.

Visit justbakedshop.com for more information.

And from their Facebook page, a Halloween appropriate cupcake costume and "Our chocolate cupcake dipped in our beer ganache and topped with our 'bar mix' (pretzels, peanuts, corn nuts) and a chocolate covered potato chip."

Red Velvet Cupcakes And Jesse Jackson's Birthday

I would never imagine that blogging about cupcakes would lead me to meet Reverend Jesse Jackson.  Typing that sentence seems incredible but it is true.  Just Baked, a cupcake business based in suburban Detroit invited Cupcakes Take The Cake to a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating their new 16,000 square-foot production facility.  Coincidentally, owner Pam Turkin was also asked to make a special cake and bring red velvet cupcakes for the 70th birthday party for Jesse Jackson. Having both the ribbon cutting and the party on the same day made for a busy day for Pam, but she remained cool and collected.  I was not.  There's nothing more frustrating for a blogger to not being able to live tweet and take pictures, but my phone battery was dead all evening.  Instead, I listened as people spoke about Jesse Jackson including Congressman John Conyers and Detroit mayor David Bing. Sometimes it better to experience an event without documenting it as it happens.

 In addition to celebration of Jesse Jackson it was also a reunion of people who work on Jesse Jackson's presidential campaign in 1984 and 1988.   When I shook hands with Reverend Jesse, I mentioned that my aunt Theresa Perry was a delegate for him in 1988. It was more than twenty years ago, but I remember her staying with my family in Atlanta during the Democratic National Convention.

Back to the cupcakes...

Just Baked is doing something different in addition to having bakeries and also having franchises. Instead of shipping cupcakes by the dozen, they have a wholesale retail distribution by selling two-packs to grocery stores in Michigan and across the Midwest. Two-packs are more shelf-stable and easier to ship. Look for them in stores like Costco.

Cupcakes at Ribbon Cutting CelebrationCupcake Graffiti at Production Facility