Have Cupcakes Lost Their Cool?

[Laura]

this article on Yahoo's Shine! section thinks the trend for (commercially-produced) cupcakes (and 6 other "food fads') may be nearing its end.
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/...#photoViewer=1

Cupcakes and 6 other food trends that have lost their cool.
editor

by Sarah Fuss, Shine Staff, on Mon Jul 26, 2010 2:25pm PDT711
..Could the end of the cupcake trend be around the corner? Jacob Goldstein at NPR posed that question in response to a Wall Street Journal story that linked the popularity of cupcakes to growth in the New York City job market. Goldstein asserted that we are in a cupcake bubble: "'Did they really think cupcakes were different than cake?' the world will ask after the cupcake market implodes. 'Why did they wait in those ridiculous lines just to buy cake?'"

I was all smiles to find cupcakes at my own birthday this year, but the pretty treats did seem more functional--no cutting, less mess--than cool. How much more mileage do you think bakeries will get from these individually-sized treats?

Think it over while you flip through these recent food fads that are either gone or on their way out. If your favorite dish made the list, be strong. It doesn't mean you can't eat it anymore. It just means you might have to make it yourself.

Cupcakes
Will they continue to multiply or are they due for decline? On one hand, Magnolia Bakery, which started it all, opened a new location in Los Angeles just this month; on the other, I've noticed that users on Yahoo! Shine aren't as enamored of our cute cupcake stories as they used to be. What do you think?

[ChiCupcake]

Who determines what's in or what's out? Who determines the cool factor on anything from what we wear to what we drive? ME! I determine if I've had enough cupcakes & which store has the best or the coolest cupcakes.

NO! Cupcakes will never lose their cool because they're small, easy to transport, easy to hide and can be eaten before you go into the restaurant or church!! As long as there are mini cupcakes, they won't lose their cool factor.

We've been inundated with cupcakes from one end to the other and to some degree we have peaked. Temporarily, we might be in a valley, but we will come out of the valley and head back to the hills when someone does something outlandish or outstanding. But these little guys are here to stay. I think with all the cupcake stores out there, some will die a natural death, while others will thrive & survive. The cupcake stories are like your family, you're around them soooooooooooo much, you naturally tune them out. At some point, your ears will perk up when you hear something interesting being said.

Cupcakes mantra: we're here, we're fun, get used to it . . . LOL!

[Laura]

"What's cool" is usually decided by someone in marketing who sends out press releases (and in many cases free samples and other payola) to outlets of the media. I worked on a student newspaper when I was in college and you'd be surprised at the swag bestowed on even such a humble publication. The value and quantity of said swag increases proportionately to the influence and circulation of the publication targeted. This is pervasive throughout the media industry in the USA.
(Interns for Vogue have the best wardrobes...) Many bloggers and webmasters take advantage of this fact and manage snare the occasional gift card or free merchandise in the name of good PR. In all fairness, unlike some other publications, a good number of the bloggers to whom I link in the cupcake contests and giveaways thread do _disclose_ that they received from the company which produces it the merchandise they are reviewing, gift cards or vouchers they have received, and/or are giving away by random drawing.
While there are still little chi-chi places like magnolia bakery and others of that ilk making gourmet cupcakes, some with exotic ingredients, I'm increasingly seeing cupcakes in display cases in delis and suchlike here in NYC too. It's more likely that like the black-and-white cookie, the buttered roll and the bagel, nondescript non-fancy cupcakes will just become part of the convenience store food landscape. It's less likely that they will truly die out insofar as retail availability goes then that at least some of the "specialness" will wear off.

[Cup_Cakr]

OMG, CupCakes are sooo cool. They have not lost their cool over here!!

[Princess Cupcake]

There will always be a place for cupcakes. Maybe they won't always be hot enough to support bakeries dedicated solely to cupcakes, but I can't imagine ever going back to the days when cupcakes meant a cheap dry cake with a messy slathering of tasteless icing on top... with sprinkles if you were lucky. Today's consumers are going to demand better quality cupcakes tomorrow as well.

[partycupcake]

I think cupcakes being a fad is like saying cake is just a fad. Maybe brides will go back to traditional wedding cakes rather than cupcakes....but cupcakes will be baked forever. I haven't had a store bought one in years, but hostess is still selling good 'ole hostess cupcakes.