WEBVTT - Baked by Melissa Founder, CEO Melissa Ben-Ishay Talks Valentine's Day 

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.

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<v Speaker 2>John's four more days until Valentine's Day, and in honor

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<v Speaker 2>of the holiday, Baked by Melissa is highlighting the idea

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<v Speaker 2>that opposites attract. The brand has teamed up with Tabasco

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<v Speaker 2>and Cabot Creamery to curate an assortment of cupcakes that

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<v Speaker 2>highlight the unique flavor pairings. Joining us now to discuss

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<v Speaker 2>is Melissa Benischi, the CEO and founder of Baked by Melissa.

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<v Speaker 2>Great to see you here, Thanks for joining us, Thanks

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<v Speaker 2>for having me so tell us how Tabasco and cupcakes

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<v Speaker 2>go together?

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<v Speaker 1>Well. I love bringing flavor pairings together that are maybe

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<v Speaker 1>unexpected duos, especially for Valentine's Day, and what better than

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<v Speaker 1>spicy and sweet? Just like a lot of people like

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<v Speaker 1>I'm the sweet one, my husband is the spicy one.

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<v Speaker 1>So for Valentine's Day, we thought it would be fun

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<v Speaker 1>to collaborate with Sabasco and Cabot to bring some unexpected

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<v Speaker 1>duos and bring flavors together that you would never expect

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<v Speaker 1>work so well.

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<v Speaker 2>These are our limited offerings though it's not something you're

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<v Speaker 2>going to introduce to the permanent collection.

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<v Speaker 1>Correct. They are available only right now. For Valentine's Day.

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<v Speaker 1>You could go to Baked buy Melissa dot com, get them,

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<v Speaker 1>ship them anywhere in the country, order for pickupper delivery

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<v Speaker 1>in the New York area, and make your Valentine's very happy.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm glad you mentioned the different platforms that you can

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<v Speaker 2>get the cupcakes at. Can you tell us a little

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<v Speaker 2>bit about how you're thinking about distribution, whether it's Baked

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<v Speaker 2>by Melissa dot Com versus the brick and mortar store

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<v Speaker 2>in places like New York City versus other third party sellers. Sure?

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<v Speaker 1>So we see Baked by Melissa dot Com as our

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<v Speaker 1>flagship store. You could go there to get your own

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<v Speaker 1>cupcakes chipped to you or pick them up or like.

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<v Speaker 1>That is our core business and we are still shipping

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<v Speaker 1>for Valentine's Day, So if you're listening right now, take

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<v Speaker 1>care of everyone you love. And then we also sell

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<v Speaker 1>our cupcakes on Frush Direct and in some other places,

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<v Speaker 1>but mostly our stores and on our website.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, And you know you're kind of counting on people

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<v Speaker 2>stopping by and being just so wowed by the flavors

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<v Speaker 2>available that they were going to pick up not just

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<v Speaker 2>one box, but maybe two boxes or three boxes as well.

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<v Speaker 2>You know that impulsive purchase. One thing that we should

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<v Speaker 2>mention is that you are a TikTok star. You show

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<v Speaker 2>up every day, You've got new content coming out every day.

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<v Speaker 2>And the thing that's interesting, of course, is that it's

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<v Speaker 2>not just about dessert or cupcakes. It's much bigger than that.

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<v Speaker 1>It is. I actually I am an accidental TikTok star.

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<v Speaker 1>I went on to TikTok as a way to learn

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<v Speaker 1>how to use the app so I could give my

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<v Speaker 1>team actionable feedback in twenty twenty during COVID, and in

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<v Speaker 1>order to learn it, I started recording myself making dinner

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<v Speaker 1>or dessert for my family because I do that every

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<v Speaker 1>day too. And the videos just started taking off and

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<v Speaker 1>I recognize every opportunity and create some myself. So I

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<v Speaker 1>knew it was something that I couldn't pass up, and

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<v Speaker 1>I kept posting recipes. So I post a new recipe

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<v Speaker 1>every single day on TikTok and on Instagram. And then

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<v Speaker 1>there's also behind the scenes footage of me a baked

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<v Speaker 1>by Melissa in the bakery making the cupcake footage. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>it's such an awesome tool to share who I am.

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<v Speaker 1>Who Baked by Melissa is as a brand, what we

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<v Speaker 1>stand for and what we do every day.

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<v Speaker 2>So does that mean that you're going to bring some

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<v Speaker 2>of what you've done on social media on TikTok to

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<v Speaker 2>the Baked by Melissa Brand? I mean, could you expand

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<v Speaker 2>beyond cupcakes and bring me in some of the goods

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<v Speaker 2>that you make at home for your audience.

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<v Speaker 1>Anything is possible. So I do have a New York

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<v Speaker 1>Times bestselling cokebook called Come Hungry, and it has so

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<v Speaker 1>many of the recipes that I make on social media,

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<v Speaker 1>and there may be more to come in the future.

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<v Speaker 1>And I also share I have a sub sec and

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<v Speaker 1>I share my recipes with that community as well.

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<v Speaker 2>So available on different platforms. I got to ask you

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<v Speaker 2>about the cost of ingredients because we know that a

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<v Speaker 2>dozen eggs is now really expensive. Cocoa prices have been

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<v Speaker 2>going up and up over the last couple of years.

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<v Speaker 2>You think about Valentine's Day and how expensive chocolate has become.

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<v Speaker 2>How are you coping with that? How are you who

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<v Speaker 2>buying the ingredients in advance to the extent that you can?

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<v Speaker 2>Are you hedging any of these costs?

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<v Speaker 1>We do everything that we can, and we're constantly paying

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<v Speaker 1>very close attention to our margins. We have adjusted pricing

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<v Speaker 1>over the years. We've been in business for over sixteen years,

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<v Speaker 1>and the quality of our product is my top priority.

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<v Speaker 1>We make them small so you could try them all,

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<v Speaker 1>you could ship them anywhere in the United States States,

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<v Speaker 1>and they arrive perfectly fresh and safe. And so for

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<v Speaker 1>now we are just we have a very close eye

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<v Speaker 1>on our cost of goods.

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<v Speaker 2>After Valentine's Day, when is the next big holiday? What's

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<v Speaker 2>the next big event for Baked by Melissa after Valentine?

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<v Speaker 1>Well, I personally am very excited for International Women's Month

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<v Speaker 1>or sorry, Women's History Month, and then after that we

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<v Speaker 1>have Mother's Day, which is a really big holiday for

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<v Speaker 1>us at Baked by Melissa.

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<v Speaker 2>And how early do you start planning the venue or.

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<v Speaker 1>We're planning I we're planned out Christmas. We're planned out

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<v Speaker 1>through the summer right now. But we have so many

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<v Speaker 1>moments throughout the year. We celebrate birthdays. It's one of

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<v Speaker 1>it is our single biggest holiday throughout the year. We

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<v Speaker 1>do a ton of birthdays all year round. We have Easter,

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<v Speaker 1>we have seen Patty's Day, cupcakes, you name it. And

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<v Speaker 1>it's just so fun to be that bright light in

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<v Speaker 1>people's lives. During good times and bad and stressful times,

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<v Speaker 1>and you know, in a time when you kind of

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<v Speaker 1>can't believe reality a lot of the time.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, but you know we can all find comfort in

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<v Speaker 2>a cupcake that brings you back to your childhood exactly. Melissa,

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<v Speaker 2>thank you so much for joining us today.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks appreciating.

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<v Speaker 2>Melissa Benischi is a CEO and founder of BIGD. By

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<v Speaker 2>Melissa