College Park could be about to become part of the cake craze created by shows like Cake Boss and Ace of Cakes, as a student entrepreneur looks to capitalize on the campus cupcake market.
Freshman marketing and supply chain management major Melia Stuppy is starting up College Park Cupcakes, a business which looks to sell cupcakes to university students, parents and alumni.
“I know there are people on campus who don’t have a way to get treats but would if they could. So I think can definitely try to reach those people,” she said.
Stuppy also has a cake business called Mmmeliacakes, which she operated out of her house in high school. She now looks to transfer that success to the University of Maryland.
College Park Cupcakes is a division of Mmmeliacakes and is run through cpcupcakes.com. Students, parents and alumni can place orders with cash or credit cards through the website and have cupcakes delivered directly to students’ homes.
“I’m having the business model be a very simple form that people fill out online and submit,” Stuppy said.
Stuppy says she will sell her cupcakes by the dozen online for $15, plus a $2 delivery fee and a mandatory $1 donation to the College Park Volunteer Fire Department, where she plans to set up her operation after she receives a permit to use their commercial kitchen.
Some students, however, say the $18 price is too much.
“I feel like if people don’t know what the cupcakes are going to be like, they aren’t going to pay $18 up front,” said sophomore letters and science major Rachel Shannon.
Stuppy says she is using Terp Marketplace and free promotions to get students to try her product.
“It’s a really good way to get the word out because, people can not only hear about the business, but they can try the cupcake themselves, which I think it’s the best way to get the word out,” she said. “If they taste it and they like it, they are going to want to try it again.”
Stuppy says she plans on participating in the business school’s Pitch Dingman competition at the end of April to obtain funding. The program allows student entrepreneurs to pitch their business ideas and vie for prize money.
“They have a competition every month where five businesses compete for a total of $2,500, and basically, you have to really have developed your business plan and know what you are going to use the money for,” she said. “Hopefully that will go well in terms of getting funding.”
Stuppy says she is currently taking student applications for cupcake artists, on-call cupcake artists, and delivery drivers for shifts from Friday to Sunday.