KANSAS CITY, MO — The balancing act of celebrating the little moments, but not overdoing it, is a fine line. Enjoying a slice of cake after a long day is seen as a reward; however, eating an entire cake is seen as gluttony.
Along those lines, bakeries have started incorporating smaller portion sizes and individually wrapped packaging into their menus and marketing strategies. By offering the option of a single slice, bakeries can impart a more positive connotation with purchasing a slice of cake, rather than guilty feelings that come with buying a whole cake for themselves.
Research from Dawn Foods found that 48% of consumers eat cake as a snack, and cake-slice sales are up 10% vs. a year ago. Cupcakes are still popular, with sales up 16%, and sales of mini cupcakes, which offer a bite of affordable indulgence, rose 18%.
Cutting the cake at a wedding is a time-honored tradition. Falling under the umbrella of dessert cakes, wedding cakes held the largest share in the cake category in 2023, with a total of $33.06 billion, according to Grand View Research.
While wedding cakes are often thought of as extravagant, decorating styles have been moving beyond the traditional style. When sharing timeless wedding cake trends for 2024-2025, Gabi Bakes Cakes, based out of Killorglin, Ireland, noted that demand for vintage wedding cakes with a modern twist has increased.
The bakery also revealed that the application of textures, hand-painted designs, gold trimming and floral accents is expected to increase in popularity for wedding cake designs. Variety is key with wedding cakes in 2024.
Since the pandemic, weddings have become more intimate celebrations. Couples who may not want to give up the extravagance of a wedding cake are turning to Styrofoam or “dummy” cakes to achieve the look of a multi-tier creation that commands attention and keeps the aesthetic of the wedding’s theme. In theory, the fake cake saves newlyweds money, but in the long run, that’s a myth.
“To be honest, it’s not even that much of a difference in cost,” said Sue Bailey, founder of Celebrating Life Cakes in St. Louis. “Because the labor is still there, bakers will tend to pretty much charge almost the same thing. It’s more for the aesthetic so there is a nice piece that doesn’t get touched.”
Cakes can commemorate joyful moments, memorialize special occasions and celebrate everyday events. By tracking trends on social media and listening to their customers, retail bakers can find a wealth of opportunity inside this growing category.
This story has been adapted from the March | Q1 2024 Craft to Crumb mini-mag. Read the full story in the digital issue here.
Check out Craft to Crumb’s CMB Study Hall Series episodes on cake baking.
