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BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
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BabyCakes
Where Restaurant
Owners Go for Dessert
I
f you own a restaurant, tavern or coffee shop, you already know
how hard it is to stand out from the competition when more than
300,000 restaurants are locked into agreements with US Foods, a
$24 billion-a-year provider to the country’s restaurant industry.
Jennifer Hankinson’s BabyCakes came to the rescue, not only
helping local restaurants put something sweeter on the menu, but
increasing their profit margins at the same time. An entrepreneur
several times over, Hankinson stepped away from running multiple
companies around the Pittsburgh region to turn her homemade
family recipes into a business that would allow her to spend more
time with her family while supporting them as well.
“We do desserts for restaurants, and we make them special
and different for everybody we work with. Restaurant owners
can have something for their customers that’s fresh, homemade
and unique delivered right to them for the same price they’d be
paying a national wholesaler,” Hankinson said. “There are six
restaurants that I know of in Pittsburgh right now using
the same chocolate cake from US Foods.”
Hankinson notes that if you’ve ever had
a Double Fudge Oreo Cake while dining
out in Pittsburgh, it’s likely hers. And while
many restaurant owners have met with her
and contracted with her service, she feels that
the hectic nature of the restaurant business can
make it hard for others to find her.
Restaurant owners and chefs know that dessert is
a small percentage of their menu, so they don’t often
have time to dedicate to researching that facet of their business.
Leaving a lasting impression is just as important as a first impression,
and desserts give customers something special to remember.
“We can give them that dessert that stands out,” Hankinson said.
“We can do seasonal delicacies, like a Brown Sugar Peach Cake, or
nationality-based, like our Italian Cream and Cannoli cakes. Whatever
they need, we can tailor it for them so that it’s something customers
will rave about.”
Hankinson started BabyCakes at farmers’ markets, and then
quickly moved on to weddings and parties, and is now selling
desserts to local restaurants, bringing them more revenue and
turning them into dessert destinations. The demand has grown
exponentially and Hankinson now spends as much time meeting
with new restaurant owners for tastings as she does baking.
Working with a restaurant’s existing price points to have equal
profitability, BabyCakes can help restaurants become locations
where people want to add dessert to their order at every meal. In
addition, Hankinson’s local roots and decades of being a successful
entrepreneur in the area provide many opportunities for giving
back to the community.
“We love working with charities, nonprofit organizations,
schools and raising money for fundraisers throughout Pittsburgh,”
she said. “And we make sure to donate cakes for children in the
women’s shelter.”
If you’re a restaurant owner looking to add something sweeter
to your menu, go to babycakedessert.com or call Jennifer
Hankinson for a meeting and samples at 412.303.0852. Or, you
can also email her directly at [email protected].
BabyCakes takes orders Monday-Wednesday, with fresh deliveries
made to regional restaurants every Friday.
MONROEVILLE
❘
SPRING 2020
11