popsycakes

Ever since her grandmother taught her how to bake, Jessica has loved measuring and tasting different ingredients – and mixing them up to see how her culinary creations would turn out. But it wasn’t until a few years ago, when Jessica took the NFTE course at her school’s business academy, that baking and business came together in a brand new recipe for success. Jessica had always loved making sweets and treats for children.  So, for her  business plan, she decided to create a new cupcake concept called PopsyCakes – a cupcake on a pretzel stick.

It sounded like a novel confection.  But in the beginning, it wasn’t all that easy getting Popsy Cakes off the ground and on the stick.  Jessica did a lot of research online.  She also visited bakeries, explaining her idea and asking for advice about how to create something delicious that customers could hold on to.

The teenager finally settled on using pirouette sticks made of cookie dough – so when
customers were finished eating her cupcakes, they could move on to the edible sticks. She has since opted for pretzel sticks, which are even more durable yet still delicious. For the icing on the cupcake, Jessica added hard frosting that wouldn’t melt and cause sticky situations.

The budding baker won first place in the OppenheimerFunds/NFTE National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge in 2008, and was featured in Ten9Eight: Shoot for the Moon, a documentary film about the competition.

With the help of Miami entrepreneur Craig Edelman, Popsy Cakes is opening a counter in Miami International Airport, right between brand giants Starbucks and Haagen-Daaz. In addition to growing her successful business, Jessica is a full-time student at the Honors College of Miami Dade College, where she’s majoring in biomedical engineering.

You can view Jessica's business plan presentation here.