ST.

VINCENT COLLEGE OF CABUYAO

City of Cabuyao, Laguna

COLLEGE OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT

I. General Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

What comes to mind when you hear, CUPCAKES? Most of us have an imagine of small muffin
with whip cream icing on top. For the more fancy thinkers, you could add some sprinklers on
that icing. Well that said, have you ever wondered about the origin of a cupcake? Ever thought
about where it all started from?

A cupcake (also British English: fairy cake; Hiberno-English: bun; Australian English: fairy
cake or patty cake) is a small cake designed to serve one person, which may be baked in a small
thin paper or aluminum cup. As with larger cakes, icing and other cake decorations such as fruit
and candy may be applied.

The earliest extant description of what is now often called a cupcake was in 1796, when a recipe
for "a light cake to bake in small cups" was written in American Cookery by Amelia
Simmons.[1][2] The earliest extant documentation of the term cupcake itself was in "Seventy-five
Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats" in 1828 in Eliza Leslie's Receipts cookbook.
In the early 19th century, there were two different uses for the term cup cake or cupcake. In
previous centuries, before muffin tins were widely available, the cakes were often baked in
individual pottery cups, ramekins, or molds and took their name from the cups they were baked
in. This is the use of the name that has remained, and the name of "cupcake" is now given to any
small, round cake that is about the size of a teacup. While English fairy cakes vary in size more
than American cupcake, they are traditionally smaller and are rarely topped with elaborate icing.

The other kind of "cup cake" referred to a cake whose ingredients were measured by volume,
using a standard-sized cup, instead of being weighed. Recipes whose ingredients were measured
using a standard-sized cup could also be baked in cups; however, they were more commonly
baked in tins as layers or loaves. In later years, when the use of volume measurements was
firmly established in home kitchens, these recipes became known as cakes or quarter cakes, so
called because they are made up of four ingredients: one cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three
cups of flour, and four eggs. They are plain yellow cakes, somewhat less rich and less expensive
than pound cake, due to using about half as much butter and eggs compared to pound cake.
The names of these two major classes of cakes were intended to signal the method to the baker;
"cup cake" uses a volume measurement, and "pound cake" uses a weight measurement.
(Wikipedia)

The iconic little cakes we have come to know and love as cupcakes have been around for a long
time. Created in the 19th century, these cakes were not always made the way we enjoy them
now. The name cupcake came not only from the idea that they were often baked in cups for
convenience, but also from the way the ingredients were measured. Cake ingredients used to be

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 ST. VINCENT COLLEGE OF CABUYAO
City of Cabuyao, Laguna

COLLEGE OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT

measured by weight but this new recipe measured by cups instead cutting down the time it took
to mix everything up. Also the reason for cooking them in separate small cakes, like the muffin
tins they are baked in today, was that the hearth oven used during the time would often overcook
and burn the outside of larger cakes. Today cupcake recipes often still follow the simplified
recipes of the past.

Cupcakes have come a long way from the traditional vanilla and chocolate flavors, sprouting out
in many unique directions. They’ve become a hip, gourmet treat to serve at parties and an icon
that can be seen pictured on many different products from textiles, to accessories, to toys.
Bakeries have even branched out into special Cupcakeries, where the only thing to be found, are
many different types of cupcakes in all colors, flavors, and styles. Cupcakes now have their own
books, television shows, and websites.

Then the current cupcake trend updated February 11, 2019 by Domenick Celentano, the war of
the cupcake store is starting a downward trajectory when a relatively small cupcakery receives a
substantial capital infusion. By all indications, "The Great Cupcake Rush" (mirrored in pop
culture on the Food Network with the reality hit show "Cupcake Wars) may be slowing down to
a more reasonable rate of growth. What that means to food entrepreneurs is that some cupcake
bakeries may become sad statistics and cease to exist.
The cupcake explosion is so new, industry definitions of the word "cupcakery" are few and far
between. They are specialty bakeries that focus on fabulous, extraordinarily and very different
versions of the traditional cupcake.
The cupcakes are many times larger than the traditional cupcake (or they can be tiny mini
versions) and of course are much more expensive, ranging from $3 to $5 or more per cupcake.
Mintel, a leading provider of consumer market research published Mintel finds weddings in a
recession have fewer bells, all the bliss, saying, "couples are trading in the elaborate wedding
cake for individual cupcakes." Cape Cod Lollicakes featured on "The Cupcake Wars," creates
wedding cake creations with their bite-sized cupcakes.
The actual phenomena of the cupcake trend was an interesting counter-trend to consumers
growing interested in healthier options and losing weight. In New York City, for example, you
can't walk two blocks without running into a juice bar or salad shop.
A few years ago, Crumbs Bake Shop led the cupcake trend. The cupcake bakery, whose
signature cupcakes clocked in at 6 ounces and almost 4" tall, declared bankruptcy in 2014,
shuttered its shops, and then quickly got acquired and re-opened. Today, they have extended
(and re-vamped) their well-known and beloved brand, and the cupcakes, to the new on-trend
indulgence, ice cream. A series of premium ice creams featuring cupcake flavors lets people
have their cupcake and eat their ice cream too.

Affordable Indulgence is the consumer's way of easing the pain of trading-down on purchases.
As a pick-me-up, they find indulgent and affordable items that remind them of happier times.
Symphony IRI created The Affordability Report specifically addressing the "change in consumer
spending (that) is happening faster, more frequently, and is less predictable than ever before…

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 ST. VINCENT COLLEGE OF CABUYAO
City of Cabuyao, Laguna

COLLEGE OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT

stagnant wages have bred exceptional price sensitivity, resulting in lower demand in many
categories."
Consequently, shoppers are trading up and down, in some cases buying less of certain products
to save money and trading-up on other items, like cupcakes. Cupcakes are an "affordable
indulgence" which consumers are willing to splurge on. No matter how tight your budget, you
can always get your hands on an extra $5.
Supermarkets Expanding In-Store Bakeries with Cupcakes
It didn't take long for retail chains to spot the trend and supermarkets leaped into the upscale
cupcake bakery market. The store can use unskilled labor to complete the baking of cupcakes,
and the delicious aroma of freshly baked pastries and desserts wafts throughout the store.
Supermarkets are where their longer-term business growth will occur. Secondarily, the
foodservice market is another segment they will appeal to.
Affordable Indulgence is likely here to stay, whether it's giant cupcakes, artisan doughnuts, or
cronuts. However, the cupcake wars will settle down to a more sustainable rate of growth which
is good for the category and healthy for the consumer.

MANILA, Philippines - In a survey released in 2013 by the Annual Survey of Philippine

Business and Industry (ASPBI), the number of manufacturing establishments for 2010 reached
more than 16,000. Interestingly enough, manufacturers of breads, pastries, cakes, pies and other
similar perishable bakery products accounted for 20.3 percent or more than 3,000 of the total
number of establishments.
This was a far cry from a time when small, independent neighborhood bakeries catered mostly to
residents of small towns and barangays to the massive industry that it is today where bakeries are
now conspicuously present in malls and other large commercial areas. The industry has grown
to what is now a large scale concern also evidenced, not only the proliferation of many branches
by the key players, but also by the entry of foreign brands.
The growth of the industry has not only been a source of employment; it has been responsible for
changing the way Filipinos eat and enjoy food that was, only a few decades ago, not the usual
fare.
The Cakes Market is segmented by Type (Packaged and Unpackaged/Artisanal), Product Type
(Cupcakes, Dessert Cakes, Cheese Cakes, Sponge Cakes, and Other Cakes), Distribution
Channel (Supermarkets/ Hypermarkets, Specialist Retailers, Convenience Stores, and Other
Distribution Channels), and Geography.

1.2 Mission and Vision

To offer creative, sweet and delicious attractive cupcakes that will surely give a twist to
your taste buds.

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 ST. VINCENT COLLEGE OF CABUYAO
City of Cabuyao, Laguna

COLLEGE OF HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT

VISION To be one of the leading establishment of cupcake decoration in the industry

that provides the customer desires cupcake décor and truly satisfied your cravings.