Full cake kits that people can use to decorate a plain cake in a theme are a popular item that sell pretty well online.
These are popular because a lot of parents want specialty cakes for their kids, but they don’t want to pay for a complete custom cake.
If they can bake the cake themselves, then put pre-made decorations on it, that’s a good compromise for a lot of customers.
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Determining Pricing
The pricing on these will vary based on the complexity of the pieces and what’s included.
That also gives you the leeway to offer a few different price points that people can choose from.
If they only want something simple you can offer a set with 6 pieces as opposed to something that has 18 pieces.
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Comparison shopping.
I did a search for “fondant birthday cake decorations” on Etsy to see what types of sets are available now.
Birthdays are the most common occasion that people will be buying this type of set for, but baby showers and events like graduations are also popular.
I used to sell kits that were for wedding cakes, so there’s some overlap with selling gumpaste flowers online.
If you sell a specific collection of flowers that come with a diagram of how they fit on the wedding cake, people who are DIY’ing their cakes will be interested in those.
Things to Keep In Mind For Cake Kits
- This is the kind of thing you can offer in one assortment, or offer with a variation in color or personalization. People will tend to want custom touches, especially for birthdays.
- If there are different types of components, like flat and 3D items, fondant or isomalt, etc., you might have to wrap the separate pieces in different ways. That could increase the time it takes to pack things up, so you’ll have to take that into account.
- Copyrighted and trademarked cartoon characters and product logos are illegal to reproduce without a license! If you don’t have the rights to a design, you can’t sell it. This is difficult because a lot of people want a specific theme for their kid’s party, but you’ll need to offer non-infringing options!
- Because these are considered to be food, you’ll have to make sure you follow your local laws about selling food online.
- Be careful shipping internationally if there’s a chance that customs will open or hold the box for any length of time. This can result in damage and you’ll have no recourse!
Best Way To Pack These
This type of item usually has a combination of packaging needed. I use the Glad Press and Seal wrap to keep things in one place, bubble wrap between items, tissue paper, plastic ziplocks and lidded solo cups to contain smaller items that won’t break.
I also use silica gel packs in my packaging if there’s a chance that the weather will be humid.
I would also use rippled mattress padding foam to cushion things.
Putting a box inside another box with protective packing peanuts or bubble wrap, and make sure that you’re comfortable that nothing is moving inside the box!
NEVER write “fragile” on the outside of the box. It might sound strange, but those boxes tend to end up being the targets of angry postal workers along the way, and they can end up being damaged.
I rarely had trouble with anything after I stopped writing “Fragile” on the box.
Before you start: Look into what types of kits are available online now, what combination of things people sell, and what styles are lacking. There could be something that you could be making to fill a niche that isn’t being served right now.
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