To think this lady is seriously underpricing these gorgeous bouquets of cupcakes?

[caringcarer]

They look so real I genuinely thought it was a bouquet of real flowers. She told me it took her 3 years to learn to do them to this standard. How much do you think she charges per bouquet and you can choose the colour theme too?

Wow! I've not seen these before, either. £30-ish seems absurdly cheap for such a confection. A beautiful cake for 7 people would cost at least that, surely?

Where I live there don't seem to be anyone else who does these, so on that basis I would have thought she could have charged at least £50.

These are incredible! I would say £30 Is too cheap, I saw recently someone was charging £30 for 6 cupcakes in a box. They looked lovely but I thought it was a bit pricey.

Would you pay £50 for 7 cupcakes though? I probably wouldn't if I'm honest and I know how much time and effort go into these and how much ingredients cost. For £30 that's just over £4 per cupcake which I'd say is probably about right.

I guess it's personal preference, I'd rather buy cheaper cakes and spend money on other things.

Where I live there don't seem to be anyone else who does these, so on that basis I would have thought she could have charged at least £50.

Loads of places/people do them, I’d be surprised if there aren’t more people nearby that make them. My friend is one of 3 cake makers I know locally and they all make them. My friend charges £30 as I said earlier in the thread. They’re very easy and quick to do for her. £50 would be way too high, the people who are saying £70+ must be trolling. 😅

If you want to learn to do this OP, do a Wilton icing workshop or class. A big part of it is just having the right tools then learning and practicing. It won't take you long.

6 fairy at asda 1.35 add on icing stuff and time 30 quid is about right .

@caringcarer does she do online courses?

£10 per cupcake. They are outstanding.

She is an artist and very talented. Wow. I’d say 75 pounds.

I honestly don't know but I could ask her. She is on holiday ATM. Ill ask her when she gets back. I am having my lessons beginning of September.

In this thread:

1. People who think cake making is an art and price it appropriately to reflect that opinion. (“That’s an amazing skill.”)
2. People who think cake making isn’t an art and price it appropriately to reflect that opinion. (“It’s just seven cupcakes.”)
3. People talking shit about cupcakes.
4. People talking shit about cake in general.

How does Mumsnet have so many cake haters??? Where the hell did this site go wrong? I’ve always ignored those threads that complain MN isn’t what it used to be, but listening to person after person whinge about a foodstuff that is the second proof, after beer, that God loves us and wants us to be happy, is just… sigh. Really breaks one’s spirit. It’s CAKE. I mean yes, sure, it’s the devil’s pudding, but in the GOOD way. Fucking hell.

Beautiful as they look I would pay £0 because I hate cupcakes as do my kids toooo much icing lol

Are the icing flowers separate to the cake?

I feel like I'm playing 'Is It Cake' 🤣

I was going to say that sweet things don't normally appeal to me, but I've chugged 3 Cornetto's before bed 😭 why?!

£30 is too cheap. I don't bake for money, but I would charge less for 12 all the same than I would for assorted as doing multiple identical cakes is faster.

the problem is that people don't want to pay what it costs -- they won't even pay materials plus fair labour rate, much less a profit. When I bake at home, I'm using much better quality ingredients than the supermarket. This is why a real patisserie that uses good ingredients charges 3x as much for a pastry as Tesco. But people will compare things to the cheaper one, even when it's not a fair comparison.

And hand knitting -- forget it. A crocheted mouse is actually not too bad. Amigurumi use inexpensive cotton or acrylic yarn and work up quickly. If you're working large pieces in high end yarns, no chance. I have a friend who knits gorgeous lace shawls. Really spectacular work in very fine yarn. She's occasionally asked if she'll sell a piece. She refuses because she's worked out that her labour cost is in the hundreds per item, and she would rather give them away than be paid less than what she's worth. I don't blame her. I'm knitting myself a jumper right now and the yarn cost alone is over £100 before you include my time. Now, it is nicer yarn than many high street shops nowadays (100% merino wool) but I'm sure I could find a machine knit jumper for less than what I would have to sell mine for.

I wasn’t speaking cupcake-exclusively: for example my mother knits beautifully and people ask her to make things sometimes and then offer a “fair price” of barely anything factoring in her time etc. If you want anything handmade by someone with skills you don’t have I think you should be willing and able to pay them fairly, factoring in their time, effort, supplies etc. It’s actually a big problem for all types of small businesses that involve arts/crafts. Supporting small local efforts like these is really important to me though and can appreciate that not everyone prioritizes spending their money in the same way.

The thing is the look lovely.

But you have to balance the look and what the item is. It’s 7 cupcakes.

My best friend makes cakes, they are amazing, but the cupcake towers, bouquets etc take very little time per cupcake. 7 cupcakes, even intricately decorated, don’t take her the same amount of time of big cakes.

The fact that it’s taken 3 years to get to the point means she is probably really quick at doing them. When selling a product you need to get the balance right, you need to look at the costs and the time but also look at what people are going to realistically pay.

If it takes you ages to do something, so charging correctly for your time means the product is going to be expensive and it’s not something people would pay a lot of money out for, then it’s probably not a good business idea. If this woman isn’t fast, and she charges £80 but people rarely buy them, what’s the point in the 3 years learning.

If it takes you ages to do something, so charging correctly for your time means the product is going to be expensive and it’s not something people would pay a lot of money out for, then it’s probably not a good business idea

This. The higher the price, the lower the number of people willing and able to buy the item which limits your potential income.

But if you price too cheap you'll sell more and possibly make more money but obviously have to work longer and for a lower hourly rate.

But some things are difficult to make an income from as the amount you need to charge to earn a decent rate is relatively high.

SugarandCrumbs make the nozzles and also do the classes. They also have fabulous flavoured icing you can buy.

We’ve had a go at making these, it’s a definite skill, and all of those piping bags you have to use .
Strawberry milkshake icing is just delicious, I should add.

£50+

£40 in Home Counties and maybe £5 delivery.
They are lovely.

If she doesn't do online classes then Kerry Hemms does at Angel's Kitchen. Her classes are great and she often has them on sale, not sure if she has a russian piping class but she also has a facebook group and discount code for one of the cake supply shops on there.

I’d say £75 upwards. I don’t see them as cake so be eaten, more decorative.

£30 is way to little. That’s three hours work on minimum wage, excluding ingredients, insurance, business running costs etc.

I was a cake maker for years. These are a faff to make - while they’re quick, it’s a lot of different tips, different colours of bc to mix, ombres etc, the packaging. And I myself can see that £50 for 7 cupcakes is insane. So the margins don’t work out. So I didn’t sell them. 🤷🏻‍♀️