For bakers scaling up, small steps yield big rewards

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For bakers scaling up, small steps yield big rewards

4 Oct 2021

Joanie Spencer

Since 2008, Joanie Spencer has covered the retail and wholesale sides of the baking industry.
Serving associations such as the American Society of Baking (ASB) and BEMA, Joanie is also in demand as an industry presenter on bakery operations and trends. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from Rockhurst University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.

When she’s not running or playing soccer, Joanie spends her time with her husband and 11-year-old son.

LAS VEGAS — Tracey Noonan knows about scaling up. Having grown a home-based baking company to a multi-million-dollar operation that was recently acquired by Hickory Farms, Noonan, the former CEO and co-founder of Cohasset, MA-based Wicked Good Cupcakes, has distinct opinions on the importance scaling up of teamwork.

Speaking to PMMI’s Women’s Leadership Network during Pack Expo, held Sept. 27-29, Noonan shared insight into the little ways to overcome seemingly impossible to reap big rewards.

Noonan and her daughter, Dani, started a cupcake business in their kitchen, and within a year opened the doors to a retail shop with a $30,000 loan from Noonan’s husband, Scott.

Expansion began as Wicked Good Cupcakes shipped its products nationwide in mason jars, and two years later, Tracey and Dani landed a spot on Shark Tank, where they received an investment from “Mr. Wonderful,” Kevin O’Leary.

“What comes with an opportunity, a gift like this?” Noonan recalled. “You have to back it up and make it happen. You have to be ready to work.”

In the first year after appearing on Shark Tank, Wicked Good Cupcakes grew 600%.

In 2017, the operation moved into a 21,000 sq-ft facility for production, warehouse and packaging storage. With that move came an expanded workforce.

“We were able to start hiring more people,” Noonan said. “I’m really proud of the work environment we were able to create for our workers. We weren’t standing over anybody’s shoulder; there was total autonomy.”

“I’m really proud of the work environment we were able to create for our workers. We weren’t standing over anybody’s shoulder; there was total autonomy,” said Tracey Noonan, founder and former CEO, Wicked Good Cupcakes.

Empowering the workforce was only the first step, though. Baking, even when automated, is a labor-intensive job, and Noonan realized quickly that the work needed to be appreciated.

“We also said ‘thank you’ all the time,” Noonan said. “It was important that we thanked the people doing these jobs and helping us grow the business.”

Recognition creates ownership, but it’s not enough to simply say thank you. Noonan believed that workers needed to see firsthand the results of their hard work. Wicked Good Cupcakes has a vast and fiercely loyal following, and Noonan would string up the emails and thank-yous on a clothesline to share those accolades with the employees.

“It makes a difference,” she said. “This product is more than just a jar with cake in it. This was something that was important to someone. And it wasn’t just because it was going to someone big and famous; even just one jar is important to someone. We had a way to let them know that the work they did made a difference.”

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