Sprinkles Cupcakes

"The Gold Standard of Cupcakes"

Store Presentation: Sprinkles suffers from this in that they are trying to keep a chic look within while having to deal with the fact that they lease a building that has been going through transformations the past 2 years. For one year the left side of the building was being renovated to be used by a company that apparently didn't work out too well so they left and another group came in. That group is redoing the outside too so the whole place from the outside looks like a mess. On the right hand side of the store my favorit company, Apple is putting in their first stand alone store in Houston. Sprinkles has had to deal with alot to survive there, but I will say they have done quite well. There was even an article in the Chron about it here.

Web Presence: This is one of the biggest strengths of Sprinkles is how they use the web and social media to leverage business. First off they have an iPhone app, which has become a pretty well respected practice that will give you a list of what cupcakes are being served what day and where the nearest Sprinkles is from where you are located. There isn't a lot to this app, but it wasn't like we should expect a ton. What Sprinkles does do, and I think they were the pioneers in this is that they use social media like it was going out of style. Because of the naturally expensive cost of designer cupcakes, Sprinkles offers secret words for the day for each and every day. The first 50, 100, 200 people who walk into a store having checked their Twitter or Facebook accounts normally know a word that will get them and each member of their party a free cupcake. I've done this several times. Ironically, I remember one day where the first 50 to say a certain word would get a certain cupcake and it wasn't 3-4 hours later and they had already met their quota.

What set them apart: Besides amazing cupcakes, which I'll get to later. Sprinkles has the celebrity factor going for it. Their owner, Candice Nelson, is considered the Paula Dean/Rachel Ray/Martha Stewart of her industry. The woman went from high power attorney to giving it all up and baking cupcakes. She is a judge on the famous "Cupcake Wars" on the food network. Sprinkles to me has great cupcakes too, they know how to balance the level of moisture in the cupcake with the sweetness of the frosting at just the right level.

Variety: Sprinkles does a few cupcakes daily, such as their chocolate marshmallow, vanilla, dark chocolate, and red velvet, but where i think they excel is their rotating list of different cupcakes. You can get a "flavor card" to know what day what cupcakes come out, but honestly, would you want to know. I enjoy being forced to try other cupcakes that I haven't tried yet. Another cool factor with their schedule is that they bring in seasonal cupcakes such as right now they have Key Lime and Vanilla Hazenut Chocolate

Frosting:The frosting is not "sick to your stomach" sweet, but it is sweet. They use a little fondant top as decoration. I liken it to an old stick of gum that has been exposed to air for quite some time. It's still edible, but it's not tasty.

Cake: This too me is where they make their money, the batter makes the cupcake taste the flavor, not the frosting which is so key! The moisture level of the cupcakes is perfect, they don't fall apart but aren't so dry that you don't tast the flavor.

Strawberry/Red Velvet: My litmus test of these two types of cupcakes would have me rate them at about an 9 out of 10. The Red Velvet is particularly amazing. I won't lie.

Number of Cupcakes: We generally get four cupcakes when Corrie and I visit Sprinkles, two for each of us. At 3.50 each, we walk out having spent 14.00. It's worth cost though.


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