4 minute read
Kingstown Road, South Kingstown
WHAT’S A WEDDING CAKE baker’s worst nightmare? In the words of one – Julianne (Juli) Chapin – a “caketastrophy”! Juli and her husband Scott own and operate CakeSafe, LLC in Peace Dale, Rhode Island. In the mid1980s Julie, a Johnson & Wales Culinary Institute-trained baker, had a successful wedding cake business but worried about the difficulty moving a large wedding cake from her bakery to a wedding venue. One hot, summer day she asked Scott to drive a cake to the East Greenwich Country Club, and he, too, felt the stress – blasting the AC, driving at 5-mph, and praying a lot! Scott, an engineer, said to himself: there must be a better way. He set out to find it and, when he couldn’t, he built it.
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Scott came up with the idea and design for a tip-proof cake box, now patented as CakeSafe® and marketed with the apt tagline “Thinking Inside the Box.” Let’s just say it revolutionized the cake delivery process. CakeSafe not only protects the cake while in transit, but it also saves bakers time and money because, rather than decorating the cake at the wedding venue, they deliver the cake already decorated. Scott and Juli are still using CakeSafes to move all the cakes Juli makes for shows across the country; according to their website, that’s over 1,500 wedding cakes that have traveled 42,759 miles (12,803 driving and 29,956 flying!). Juli has not had a single cake damaged due to transport since using CakeSafes, though she herself did have one “cake-tastrophy”: she removed a three-tiered wedding cake from the CakeSafe and tripped on the venue’s front steps, promptly dumping the whole cake at the entrance. She now waits until she is near the cake table to remove the cake!
The Chapins’ business has expanded, selling other tools and equipment Scott designed for the baking, chocolate, and sugar art industries, with customers including home bakers, hobby bakers, chocolatiers, professional cake designers, and celebrity cake artists. There are currently four main product lines: The CakeSafe Box for cake transportation; Acrylic Disks for icing cakes; The Sugar Shack for working with pulled sugar; and Spray Booths for virtually eliminating overspray for chocolatiers, cake decorators, and bread bakeries. When customers and media members alike have been asked to describe each product line that is aimed at saving time, money, and frustration, the answer is universal – “life changing.” The Chapins have come out with CupCakeSafe, which Good Housekeeping named “Best Cupcake Carrier for Professional Bakers.”
The business grew an average of 30% each year since its founding, moved from the Chapins’ home basement to
JULIANNE AND SCOTT CHAPIN
Co-Owners, CakeSafe, LLC
commercial space, expanded beyond retail to now wholesale around the globe, and currently has nine employees. While driving this growth, though, Scott and Juli have remained committed to their values and community: in addition to enacting a number of sustainability initiatives (including eliminating Styrofoam from packaging), they have contributed money, time, and resources to a variety of local causes -- ranging from paying their employees to build a home in RI for Habitat for Humanity, to donating food to the Women’s Resource Center, to serving on local nonprofit boards, to (in 2020) donating a portion of business proceeds to COVID-19 relief funds as well as making free or discounted protective acrylic barriers for local businesses.
But then came the COVID-19 pandemic, and CakeSafe was not immune to its effects. Juli and Scott’s customers depend on events like weddings and large gatherings that couldn’t be held in 2020; their sales decreased considerably as their customers’ own businesses were suffering. Juli and Scott reached out to the US Small Business Administration (SBA) for help and resources. The SBA connected them with the RI Small Business Development Center (RISBDC), an SBA Resource Partner. Working with the RISBDC, Juli and Scott took advantage of the no-charge, expert counseling and resources available through the RISBDC’s vast network, helping the couple grow their business with assistance in a variety of areas.
“Juli and Scott’s commitment to finding new solutions to problems that have plagued businesses in the culinary industry for years is remarkable,” said SBA RI District Director Mark S. Hayward. “They are a shining example of the strength and ingenuity of the small business manufacturing sector not only in Rhode Island, but in New England and across the entire country. CakeSafe is a truly deserving recipient of the 2022 Rhode Island and New England Small Business Manufacturer of the Year awards,” Hayward lauded.
