Whether you think they are a girly fad, or the best thing since the fairy cake, there can be no denying that cupcakes are big business. With more than 28 million sold in the last year, in the FMCG sector alone, (so says Kantar Worldpanel) - that’s more sales than the bakery classic, pain au chocolat. Far from being a short-lived trend, sales of cupcakes have increased steadily year-on-year, and the product is fast becoming a staple in any bakery, coffee shop or supermarket in-store bakery.   

This year’s National Cupcake Week has proved to be our biggest and best yet, with widespread media coverage, and was once again a trending topic on Twitter. While you may think we’re just trying to blow our own trumpet, the important point is that it gained coverage because it was an event of interest to the masses. By bringing it the media’s attention and the forefront of consumers’ minds, they are much more likely to go out and buy a cupcake from your shop. Many bakers have told us they had fantastic sales throughout NCW, which is what it’s all about. That, and raising money for our partner charity CLIC Sargent. One lady emailed me to tell me how her four-year old daughter had seen a story in her school magazine about how National Cupcake Week was helping raise money for children and young people with cancer, and she said she wanted to help. She started baking cupcakes, and with the help (we imagine) of her mother, set up her own Just Giving fundraising page, and at the last look she’d raised £75. So, even if you can’t stand the lavishly iced and decorated cupcakes that consumers go so wild over, remember, National Cupcake Week also serves to raise vital funds for a great cause.