Society has reached a tipping point on socio-economic issues and long overdue change is happening at home and around the world.
Even as the social order changes, money still makes the world go around. Some entrepreneurs earn their livelihoods at retail bakeries. Thank goodness I automatically receive daily cupcake newsclips. Otherwise, I may not have seen a pattern emerge. Local newspapers have reported on teenage cupcake bakers who are opening retail shops now during the pandemic.
This is 10-year-old De’Jonae Curtis. She’s about to open her Dee’s Babycakes retail shop in Vicksburg, Miss.
The chamber of commerce is excited to welcome its youngest member.
Layla Wallace, 15, opened Layla’s Cool Pops in Kalamazoo, Mich., last month.
Here’s a second video of opening day and a news story noting “Teen-owned business donates proceeds to organizations helping those experiencing homelessness.”
Peyton Thomas, 16, runs her home-based Peytie Cake Bakery in Pittsburgh, Penn.
A business owner at a young age, 16-year-old Bryauana Richardson bakes cupcakes and more for her Brys Cafe customers in South Carolina.
Michael Platt, 14, runs home-based Michaels Desserts in Bowie, Md.
Platt’s mission is charitable, as reported in “14-year-old baker gives one cupcake to the homeless for each one he sells.”
In New York City, 15-year-old Lucy Kassel “cooks up ideas for her own cupcake business,” while Karina Conta, 12, sweetens upstate New York.
In the heartland, an Iowa teen “‘bakes’ the world a better place.”
Megan Schussler is a graduating high school senior who runs home-based Megan’s Confection Perfection in Missouri. She’s featured in Teenager runs bakery on top of attending high school.
In the heart of Texas, business is non-stop for the 12-year-old girl behind Paige’s Cupcakery.
“‘I am an 11-year-old who has made thousands of dollars from baking cakes,’” Logan Cooper tells Newsweek. The Texan bakes under the name Bubba Crocker.
The Lone Star State is also where a “[k]id baker overloads Carthage with sweets.”
Sixteen-year-old Nazhi Forrest appreciates the therapeutic power of baking.
Fifteen-year-old newsmaker Leilani Cottle comes from a family of food businesswomen. Her Lovestorm Cupcakes is a spin-off of her mother’s cake company.
What could have been common stress baking turned into a business for the 14-year-old owner of ButterWorks Bakery USA. Her story is told in Westminster teen starts in-home bakery during coronavirus pandemic, finding ‘a world of wonders.’
Aashika Gadkari of Iowa is serving first responders and the public.
An enterprising girl is baking for law enforcement and sweet tooths in South Bend, Indiana.
Lindsey Oguntuase, 15, is running a home baking business in Ohio.
Those near Omaha, Nebraska, can patronize the home business of 17-year-old Grace Scott.
This 17-year-old Maryland girl is studying to be a professional baker.
Makyla Linder, 12, is baking cupcakes for Philadelphians. A second media report invites consumers to “Meet the kid-preneur who turned lockdown boredom into a sweet sensation!”
A Boston fourth grader is making personal cupcake deliveries.
“Monticello teen off to sweet start as pastry chef,” reads the local newspaper headline about 16-year-old Ellie Tanner’s home-based Illinois business.
Elsewhere in Illinois, “Franklin teen bakes up a small business.” Meet the 15-year-old owner of Madi’s Cookies and Cupcakes.
In Oregon, 11-year-old Bella Nielsen sells only cupcakes under her Baked by Bella brand.
Elementary schooler Stevella Brown is baking cupcakes and more in Virginia.
In South Dakota, “high schooler continues cupcake business with help from 4-H program.”
Kansas City can patronize Creative Cupcakes by Lauren Prestia, 14.
Having begun baking as a tween, 22-year-old Luke Heizer is opening a retail store in 2021.
Twelve-year-old Stephanie Gonzales is proud of the first cupcake order for her Tifi’s Sweet Treats company.
Here are two Ohio teenagers in business.
When an Indiana teacher was developing a lesson in persuasive writing, she wanted to use a tangible example. She assigned students to invent a cupcake flavor and the local newspaper reported on the winning third-grader.
https://twitter.com/pharostribune/status/1491885707920564224
Representing Connecticut.
A newsmaking Canadian teen opened Quarantine Cupcakes.
In India, a “10-year-old chef-entrepreneur wants to be No. 1 in the desserts business.” Also in India, “these young bakers are taking the baking world by storm.”
News from Africa:
Scotland opts in.
Rochelle Persad, 11, sweetens Trinidad and Tobago.
Two more T&T youth bakers are in the news.
Down under in Australia.
Having begun baking cupcakes at 11, an Australian woman is now running a successful bakery at age 19.
Omari McQueen, 12, is reportedly the world’s youngest restaurateur. In this post announcing his forthcoming book, he says “the cupcakes did it for me.” Whatever “it” is, it’s successful.
A year after writing this post, the youth movement continues. Baked by Beri is a new cupcakery by a 17-year-old Hawaiian.
Meet another teen baker who can’t stop won’t stop.
Here’s a new cupcakery in South Africa.
Cupcakes prove to be the gift that keeps on giving. The follow-up to the preceding story is this: “Christmas comes early for cupcake tween thanks to KitchenAid.”
This is Little Chef Izzy. She’s 3.
Ellis the Caking Girl is 4.
Reading through a huge backlog of unread news alerts, I found the 2019 story, “12-year-old baker/entrepreneur says that kids can be their own boss.” Now in 2022, the teenage owner of Mia’s Treats Delight is on a mission to “combat homelessness, build a legacy, and to inspire young girls and boys to not only dream big… but to dream BIGGER!!“
A 2019 story reports on a West Virginia teenager “doing well with cupcake business.” A Canadian boy is baking the world better in Newfoundland and Labrador, according to this archival story.
Another 2019 story introduces this teenage Michigan bakery owner.
“12-year-old chef bakes cupcakes for the homeless on his birthday,” the Indiana media reported in 2019. A second TV station also posted the story of tween baker Elijah Foster.
This is to add another archival headline: “At 7, they started selling cupcakes. Now, they teach kids how to be entrepreneurs.” Here’s a 2021 post by the young business owner.
Also from the archive, this story on kidpreneurs includes an award-winning tween baker who describes her beginning in the 2018 post below.
Also from the archive, I found this 2016 story describing how “red-velvet cupcakes helped this girl bounce back from bullying.” Some of these teen bakers are now young adults running bakeries.
For example, meet Lauren Skinner, who launched a cupcakery for a high school entrepreneurship class and turned it into a business. The 2021 graduate is now a college pastry arts student and future cupcakery owner.
“Teen CEOs and ‘baking geniuses’ hope to inspire other young entrepreneurs,” reads the 2019 headline about the Houston-area 2 Bros in the Kitchen. When they’re not authoring books, the bakers are volunteering and fundraising for charity, plus appearing on local TV.
Baked Goods by Dominic is a teenager’s way to sweeten Michigan and raise awareness about autism.
West-central Illinois is the territory of this enterprising boy.
This teen is a Chicago-area YouTube star for the library.
From across the pond in England.
From England to New England, a Connecticut teenager is holding charitable bake sales.
Graduating high school senior Nicole Neal is a North Carolina honors student and bakery owner. She’s “Mixing it up: Award-winning student runs own bakery business.”
This New York City teen traces her profession to childhood.
Consumers in eastern Ohio can patronize Josie’s Cupcakes, which Josie Durben has operated since age 10.
Here is another teen at work treating the Lone Star state.
Cupcaking in Virginia.
A teenage do-gooder is baking cupcakes to support Phoenix food banks, as seen in this 2022 report and the 2020 story headlined, “‘It’s been really inspiring’: 14-year-old cupcake baker funds 20,000 meals for Phoenix food bank.”
New Jersey teenager Oliver Wu debuted his Tuxedo Cupcakes at the farmers market in the summer of 2022.
Another young Illinois baker in the news.
Reporting from Kansas.
The 11-year-old boy behind Hammy’s Cupcakes was awarded Junior Small Business Champion Entrepreneur at the Australian Small Business Champion Awards.
This girl is sweetening Rhode Island.
Another youngster from Trinidad & Tobago is “Gabrielle, 11, a baker who paints.”
Meet another young Northern Ireland baker.
“Foxboro girl wins prize for cupcake business idea” tells the story of an entrepreneurial Massachusetts teenager with a vision for Sugar and Spice.
A TV station invites Houstonians to “Meet Kidpreneur Maddie Ashby,” the 11-year-old baker pictured below.
News from Montreal, Canada.
Detroit begins 2023 by inviting residents to “meet the local young baker competing on popular TV show.”
Another contestant is Foster Smith, a 12-year-old girl from Norfolk, Virginia.
When a child baker turns 18, she might make a career of her youthful profession. Such is the case of the Alabama redhead who launched Gingerhead Bakery.
These Northern California siblings donate some of their bakery profits to charity.
An Australian girl is making news.
March 2023 news from North Dakota: “Fargo girl, 11, stirs up loyal customer base with Sweets Your Way baking business.”
Two more midwestern youth in the news:
More cases of youth becoming adult bakers. Ani’a Walker turned childhood baking into a business that “breaks barriers 1 cupcake at a time.” A Hong Kong man opened his thriving Baking Maniac when he was 12. The college student who founded Sim’s Desserts also began baking at 12. Plus:
Cupcakes are front and center in this southwestern England town where “13-year-old is the youngest person to run a stall at Taunton market.”
“Teenager looks forward to career in baking” is the story of a Missouri girl with ambition to expand her home business.
Similarly, “13-year-old Central Illinois girl bakes up cupcakes and a bright future.”
In Canada, “Newfoundland teen starts cupcake business, donates profits.”
The teenage founder of Corina’s Cupcakes told her California high school newspaper, “I started baking when I was five and just kind of never stopped since then. And then over the pandemic, I learned how to make cupcakes from scratch instead of using the boxes.”
There’s bright news from the Sunshine State as “15-year-old Florida girl opens cupcake-filled food truck.”
“State Fair cupcake winner hopes to open own bakery” reports on a Kentucky teen with a decade of baking experience under her belt.
Having already established herself as a photographer, “15-year-old Aroostook girl starts her 2nd business” named Tori’s Cakes & Bakes.
Let’s Bake the World a Better Place is a Pennsylvania nonprofit founded by a high school senior profiled here.
More sweet news from across the pond, featuring a young British baker.
New Jersey is in business.
Sweet E’s Sweet Shoppe is a new Texas cupcakery whose 11-year-old owner is donating profits to charity. Young entrepreneur Eden Raum is the subject of a local news story.
Andrea Adleman | Cupcakologist 