For your feel good, and taste good, story of the week, the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Syracuse, NY.
Baker and business owner Kadesha Carter had a brick and mortar bakery business in Syracuse for 5 years. She loves to bake, but she also loves to travel, so she set out to find a way to have both baking and travel as a way of life. Carter told Syracuse.com, “I love to travel, but I love to bake. But I felt trapped running an actual bakery,” she said. “I needed to figure out a way to satisfy my creative side, make money and still be able to travel. And I think I finally figured it out.”
Thinking Outside the Brick and Mortar Box
Ultimately, Carter came up with the solution of having a bakery ATM – a vending machine that would dispense her homemade baked goods, including cupcakes, mini layer cakes, cookies, and brownie bites.
Carter paid about $2,000 for a refrigerated vending machine and outfitted it with her business logo – Cupcakes R Me. Customers can pay for items using cash, credit card, or Apple Pay. The machine will keep baked products at a cooled temperature, enough to maintain freshness for a few days.
The bakery ATM machine is located in the lobby of an office building in Syracuse.
Carter stated, “I’m basically selling the products that did well in my shop, but they’re modified and repackaged to work in a vending machine. You’re not going to find a basic vanilla cupcake in my inventory.”
Now, that’s a sweet idea.
