Johnny Cupcakes, an odd name for a bakery. A nickname from co-workers, Johnny Earl has been serving “fresh-baked” T-Shirts across multiple locations for several years now. An entrepreneur from a young age, he started 16 businesses before the age of 16. He has been featured in FORBES, NPR, BusinessWeek, INC Magazine, Wall Street Journal, WIRED, New York Times, The Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times; and seen on MTV, Bloomberg TV, MAKER, Attack Of The Show, The Food Network, and WWD!
The idea came when he was creating new designs for the rock band he played for. He came up with the first Johnny Cupcakes design, featuring a skull and crossbones with a cupcake replacing the head. After wearing it in the office, everyone seemed to want one! Johnny began selling t-shirts out of his truck, and focused on customer experience instead of marketing. A known prankster, he loved the idea of “tricking” people into thinking he was running a real bakery!
“Our bakery aesthetic is so convincing, that customers are usually convinced they are walking into a bakery expecting to get a cupcake. My inner-jokester still gets a kick out of fooling hungry shoppers. Cupcake or not, customers usually leave with a t-shirt or a great story. However, one April Fool’s Day we sold real cupcakes and hid all of our t-shirts!”
As he began to assume a cult-like following, he added new and exclusive designs. some would only be available for certain hours! The T-Shirts, which make fun of pop culture and replace known figures with cupcakes, are becoming increasingly popular on social media where they garner the attention of masses.
![OFFF16] In Conversation with Johnny Cupcakes • Inkygoodness](https://inkygoodness.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/johnny-cupcakes-01.jpg)
For Johnny, customer experience is everything, he hides vanilla scented air fresheners in store locations to mimic the smell of frosting. T-Shirts are placed in vintage refrigerator cases and packaged in pastry containers when purchased. He is known as “The top Innovator in Retail” because of his personal connection to customers. He has been known to show up randomly, and post his location for people to find him. Johnny Cupcakes has hosted movie nights, bowling, roller-skating and more simply for the connection and brand loyalty. Prankster or not, Johnny knows the importance of a strong customer base and uses the connection to his advantage by dialing in to what fans want to see next.
Want to learn more? Check out this YouTube Video
Visit Johnny Cupcakes website here
View their Socials
I thought this idea was very clever. I found it funny how he would trick his customers to thinking they actually sold cupcakes and other bakery goods. When I looked at the design of his shirts, I thought they looked cool and that I would personally wear them. I also thought it was great that Johnny was all about customer experience and I think that helped contribute to the strong following he has now.
This is such a cool idea! It definitely brings an innovative viewpoint to normal bakeries and even clothing shops. It’s great that he can have fun with his business–even being able to prank customers on April fools. Johnny clearly takes pride in the business–as he should–, and he ensures good customer experience and a healthy atmosphere. It’s so cool that he started so many businesses by such a young age, even if not all of them were successful. I also like his personal commitment and relationship building with the community.
I wish I could try their stuff and not just think about it. This is awesome because it started out as such a pure, simple goal. However, through allowing that process to lead him where it may, there is now a super cool venture that exists as a result of him following where his search took him. I think so many people start out with such a closed mind on where their discovery can take them, they miss cool chances for impact.
I absolutely love this idea. It’s so interesting that this is the idea he stuck with after 16 others. I would love to see what would happen if he partnered with an actual bakery for a temporary experience. Once customers get over their initial shock of it not actually being a bakery, he could open a door and usher them into a secret bakery. It would promote perhaps a cupcake business just starting out and provide an extra element of surprise that he seems to like.
This is a super unique idea and I’ve never seen anything like it. He completely flipped what the customer is expecting and it’s actually a really fun idea. The design of the shirts are really cool, but even cooler than that is the way he designed his store. I would definitely go there just to see the store itself.