Cupcakes for the masses (will be a pain in our asses)

With less than one month till the trade show, Whisk is scrambling to acquire donations for our giveaways and the creation of our products.

We've estimated that we'll need to bake approximately 300 miniature cupcakes for the trade show. This number was enough to stop our hearts, as we realized how many hours we'll soon be spending in the kitchen. Gluten-free mixes are pretty pricey, so Whisk's founders have come to the conclusion that it's time to get moving as far as collecting donations go.

We're currently weighing out our options in terms of cost and convenience. If we decide to make our cupcakes from scratch, we can purchase Gluten-Free Pantry flour. One cup of this flour replaces one cup of regular flour, so converting standard recipes would be easily simplified. One package of said flour costs an average price of $4.39. Pair this with the cost of the other ingredients required to produce our delectable cupcakes, and we've hit quite a cost per batch of cupcakes, especially considering each group is limited to spending only $300 on its entire booth.

Next we come to our second, much more pleasing option. Being that we are indeed four seniors approaching our final weeks of college, stressing about jobs, schoolwork, summer plans, etc., none of us are eager to spend hours upon hours making hundreds of cupcakes, which sadly, we won't even get to eat. Enter Whisk's savior, Betty Crocker. Known by lazy bakers everywhere for its prepackaged mixes, Betty Crocker has developed a new line of gluten-free baking mixes. Available in yellow and devil's food, we'll be able to create a variety of cupcakes, adding only a few minor ingredients. Additionally, the Betty Crocker mix serves 11, whereas there is only enough gluten-free flour in the Gluten-Free Pantry package to serve 10. While one extra serving isn't too significant, in terms of cupcakes, it'll save us around four mixes or $20. Each package is $4.79 (0.30 cents more than the flour), but we must consider that nearly all of the ingredients are included in these cake mixes, making Betty Crocker mixes the easiest way possible to produce Whisk's trade show treats. 


Watch the video below to receive confirmation from My Gluten Facts that Betty Crocker mix is indeed a smart, gluten-free choice:

Now that Whisk's decision is made, we must tackle the task of securing donations. We've sent requests to Wegmans and Betty Crocker, hoping for either some free baking mixes or a discount on our purchases. In exchange for said discount, we'll display the company's logo at our booth to show visitors that we used Betty Crocker products or a Wegmans donations to create our cupcakes. This will be a convenient way for Betty Crocker or Wegmans to generate buzz in Erie, receiving some effortless PR. The Wegmans Web site has a page titled Donation Request, which leaves our group fairly confident that Wegmans will contribute something to our trade show booth. To learn more about Wegmans community donations, visit the following link: Community Giving at Wegmans

Now, we'll just have to sit tight, waiting for a response from either company. Once we hear something, we'll continue preparation on the baking portion of our project. In the meantime, Whisk's employees will continue working on our company's literature, brochures and Web site. Keep checking back for updates on Whisk's development. Only 22 days until we "stir things up."