Branding tips from a successful coffee shop & bakery in Krakow.

Marzec 13th, 2011

Dear BEM Readers,

This week I would like you to meet a successful businessman from Krakow - Marcin Dutkiewicz. Marcin has created and runs the Cupcake Corner Bakery in the center of Krakow. I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing him, while munching on anout of this world cupcake (peanut butter) and a nice cup of latte. First of all what is a cupcake? Well it does not take an Einstein to figure out that it's a cake in a paper cup.

Marcin opened his shop in June 2010, bringing the already hugely popular idea of cupcakes from the US, while working in the financial industry in Philadelphia.

Let's see what he had to say about entrepreneurship, branding and the use of new social technologies in his business.

Chris:  Marcin, how did you come up with the idea of running a cupcake bakery & coffee shop here in Poland?

Marcin: At first, I had no such plans. The idea emerged, when I was working in a financial corporation in Philadelphia. Having had the experience in the food industry,opening up a bakery that serves only cupcakes and quality coffee in Poland seemed like a good idea, at least that is what my friends told me 

C: What were the beginnings like?

M: Tough. We had a team of a few of my friends from the US, South Africa and Poland, all crazy about cupcakes and making the bakery a reality. It was hard work and a lot of intuition that we will succeed that pushed us forward to where we are today.

C: How did the Polish customers (very weary of their taste sense) react to your cupcakes?

M: At first there was a lot of confusion as to what cupcakes are. They were sweeter than any other cakes in Poland, so we had to tweak the recipe to make sure it fits the local taste. Through countless hours of perfectioning both our business and food systems we were able to devise the perfect solution.

C: I have seen that you use Internet (Facebook, Website) to promote your business. Has it helped you in getting customers?

M: Definitely. Especially when we were starting out the local media coverage was important in establishing our brand identity. Now, we are getting requests for new tastes of cupcakes and recommendations from happy customers. At Cupcake Corner Bakery we believe that word of mouth of satisfied customers is the best advertising. We are happy that our products and services are considered high quality. That is what we strive for and will not compromise on.

C: What are your plans for the future?

M: It would be great to have Cupcakes all over Poland (laugh). We are already getting inquiries from vendors in various cities across the country asking as when are wecoming to them? It makes me extremely happy that our passion for baking delicious cupcakes, made from the highest quality ingredients and a world class customer service (still limping in Poland) is getting an approval from our customers.

The Cupcaker Corner Bakery's slogan goes like this: „We bake happy-ness”

Next time you are in Krakow, make sure to step by for your piece of the happy cupcake heaven.

Krzysztof „Chris” Dargiewicz

USEFUL VOCABULARY:

1.  to munch on - zagryzać; podjadać

2.  out of this world- nie z tego świata

3.  to figure out - wpaść na jakiś pomysł; wymyśleć

4.  entrepreneurship -przedsiębiorczość

5.  to come up with -  wymyślić; wynaleźć

6.  to emerge - wyłonić się

7.  to open up - otworzyć lokal

8.  tough - ciężki, trudny

9.  to push someone forward- zmotywować; nakłonić

10.  to be weary of something - mieć coś na uwadze; zwracać na coś uwagę

11.  taste sense - zmysł smaku

12. to react - zareagować

13. to tweak - ulepszyć

14.  to make sure - upewnić się

15.  to fit - pasować

16. countless - niezliczone

17.  to devise a solution - znaleźć rozwiązanie

18.  to start out - rozpoczynać działalność

19.  media coverage - rozgłos w mediach

20.  to establish - założyć, ustawić

21.  brand identity - tożsamość marki

22.  word of mouth - rekomendacje

23.  to strive for - dążyć do

24.  to compromise on - pójść na kompromis

25. vendor - sprzedawca

26. to come to someone - pojawić się u kogoś

27. to limp - kuleć

28. to step by - odwiedzić

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