TheDailyCity.com's Mark Baratelli, The Yum Yum Cupcake Trucks's Alex Marin and Joey Conicella
It's been one year since we wrote about you. What's happened in that year?
When we set out to do this, it was all about changing our lives. At the time, we were working in our mid-level office jobs going through the motions, not having any real time together, wondering where our life together was going. Alex's mother was diagnosed with Stage 3 Breast Cancer and we made the decision to move to Florida to be closer to her. She inspired us to change our lives and to make sure we were enjoying every second. We yearned to spend more time together and to fill our days doing something hat we loved to do. In a year, I am proud to say, we have achieved that goal. For us, it was never about making money or having the best cupcakes or anything like that. It was about a better life together, and I am happy to say, we have that now (and Alex's mom has a clean bill of health!!).
What went exactly like you thought it would?
Wow, I have to be honest here. Nothing has gone how we thought it would. I always knew Alex was a good baker. But I never dreamed that Alex's cupcakes would be embraced the way that they have been. I never fathomed that people would have such a positive reaction to our bow ties and our silly cupcake names. If you told me a year ago that our biggest problem would be selling out of cupcakes to soon, I would have laughed at you and told you to get the hell out.
Honestly? I would have to say this crazy-awesome connection to our customers. I never knew that was a bi-product of owning a business. Its a very cool relationship you start to get into with your customers. Most business owners can attest to this I'm sure. You see them often enough to know they got a haircut, then you bake for their wedding, then you cry with them.. I had no idea. I now know why the Jewish Deli back home would name their sandwiches after regulars - its a very neat thing. And we're proud of it.
Your company definitely have fans. What's that like and do you feel pressure to keep them happy?
The cupcakes have fans - some cupcakes are more famous then others. We retire certain flavors when their egos get out of control. It keeps the cupcakes from getting big heads. Have you ever seen a cupcake with a big head? Its a lot of buttercream.
For real though, the pressure is intense. Once again, not what I expected. I thought it would be Alex and I baking in the morning and then hoping on the truck and selling a few dozen cupcakes at night on the street corner somewhere. Lordy, was I wrong. As a business, keeping up with the bake load is our biggest challenge. You can't have a few good nights then go invest in all this equipment and labor. You have to control the growth, while making sure you're not turning people away. We no longer view selling out as a good thing. Especially when you have people driving an hour out of the way, or even worse, someone from Canada who saw us on TV and rented a car while on vacation just to come get a cupcake.
What's the best selling flavor?
The Peanut Butter Choco-Rama. But anyone reading this probably knows that. We could be the "Peanut Butter Choco-Rama" Truck and I think everyone would be happy.
Are you selling anywhere besides the truck?
Actually we are. We have a really cool thing going at the Orlando International Airport. Our cupcakes are for sale at certain gates at Cibo Market. I hope one day someone takes a picture of a Yum Yum Cupcake in front of the Kremlin or somewhere ridiculous. We're also working with Peterbrooke Chocolate in Winter Park, which is like the Holy Grail of chocolate. We make Cakepoppers together and collaborate on cupcakes like our Salted Caramel. Folks can also pick up special orders and stuff like that at our kitchen in SODO.
Any plans to celebrate your 1 year anniversary?
Alex and I always wanted to celebrate our one year in businesses (hoping we made it that far) and it just so happens that we're nearing 5,000 followers on Facebook (we're 180 away from that happening). To mark both events, we're toying around with the idea of handing out 500 free cupcakes...Ok, I guess I can be honest. We're not toying with the idea. We're doing it!! So stay tuned.
Any other news you want to share?
Yes! Alex and I underestimated how often the truck would be requested to be at weddings, festivals, fundraisers...even Walt Disney World. In order to do stuff like that, it means we take the truck off the street which means our customers can't get their cupcakes. Its been hard to make some of those decisions..to say the least.
So we finally bit the bullet and bought a second truck. We found one that looks almost identical to the first, its slightly larger (to hold more cupcakes, yippee!) and slightly newer (less breakdowns, double yippee!) We're going to try to start having it built out in March with a possible launch in late April/early May (which in the food truck world means, June). Alex and I are super excited, a little nervous, but most of all, we are very grateful and can't believe this has all happened in year. Thanks Mark!
The new truck
