Pricing & You

Lucy Nader | 23rd June 2019 14:02

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My first blog post and it has to be about the elephant in the cake room, yes yes I know there is no elephant but I believe pricing is a topic that people either avoid or down play, so let's go. 

 

I love to meet people especially fellow cakers at suppliers, I was faced with a mirror image of who I was 6 years ago when I was introduced to a lovely woman who was just as talkative as me she was very interested to know all about Caker Pro so of course I went into my Caker Pro pitch, as it happens when in discussion with another caker the conversation leads into showing each other our creations and then of course we down play said creations but that's a whole other blog, anyway I was super impressed with the details on each cake, she showed me a gorgeous 1 tier cake that was very clean and neat, it wasn’t overly done but it was perfect where by the spray detail was not splattered, the fondant figurines were nicely coloured, they were each placed on the cake with perfect symmetry I loved it, the next cake wow a 2 tier themed cake with amazing detail I won't say the theme but lets say there was a fair bit of work.  The caker goes on to tell me that she has only been doing it for 3 years and doesn’t have an instagram page, that's ok caking should not be based on time but moreso on quality and with that kind of quality you should paid fairly for it…. well that's where it went bit like a seesaw, she rocked my world by telling me she charged $180 for the themed cake yes I WAS SPEECHLESS, fellow cakers I’ll give you a minute…..for all novice, hobbyist and customers reading a 2 tier novelty styled cake with 2 to 4 hand made sugar characters, top tiered cake sculpted and designed and a bottom tier with intense detail would be should be MINIMUM $500, the caker hurt my heart, to hear her say she wasn’t worth anymore than the $180 broke me, when did it become ok to undervalue your worth and your time because of how long you have been caking, fair enough if the detail was messy and nasty i get it but this cake was perfect.

Cakers….creating cakes is not about throwing flour eggs and water together nor is it about slapping on some chocolate, rolling on fondant, adding a flower and there you have it cakey no nope ah ah no way, Caking is an art, its time, its patience, its skill, its creativity and most importantly its love, we cake because we love the feeling it gives us when we finish our creation and we love the feeling it gives our customers when they see their cake for the first time and that to me is worth so much. Why undermine that feeling that we give to ourselves and to others, what will it take for cakers to realise that the value of their time in creating that centrepiece is worth charging for. When will Cakers see that their creations should not be judged based on how long they have been operating but moreso on their technique and the cake detailing.


Caker please change your thoughts from "it's just a cake” and start telling yourself “I am a cake creator, I am worth what I charge for my creations”, lets revolutionize the cake world and bring it into the now, let's grow from the perception of cake baking/decorating is something my grandmother did and remember that cakes will never ever date nor go out of fashion, cakes will never be replaced by technology or a thing, a cake will always be the central point of all events so let's remember that as the world evolves cakes will always be the 1 item that will never change, so love, create and cake and be true to your self worth because you are worth every dollar and more.