Business Description
Sweet Equations’ mission is to add to the sweetness of life. The belief is dessert should be fun and bring you joy. The core products are candy cakes, which range in size from 8-inch to 2-inch. Sweet Equations also sells classic cakes, and will be ready to launch a line of Bundt cakes this summer. Additionally, Sweet Equations is a proud supporter of local community. On the last Friday of each month, the bake shop will sponsor a local charity. A portion of the Friday sales will be donated to the chosen charity, as Sweet Equations believes in ‘adding to the sweetness of life’, which entails giving back to our community. Sweet Equations also has a delivery service covering select parts of Connecticut and New York. Orders can be picked up from our commercial kitchen in East Hartford, CT. Delivery services will be expanded to more towns in Connecticut over the summer and fall this year. The bake shop also has weekend classes where people are taught how to make candy cakes.
What is the purpose of this loan?
The Kiva Zip loan will help grow Sweet Equations in the following ways: •EQUIPMENT- Sweet Equations needs bakery equipment such as mixers, preparation tables, a display case, cooling rack and mobile concession stand. Purchasing important operating equipment will allow Sweet Equations to produce more cakes efficiently thus increasing revenue. The preparation tables, mixers and a cooling rack will allow the bakery to serve double the amount of people that would attend a typical baking class. Sweet Equations will also be able to manufacture more cakes per a month. The display case will allow the bakery to sell smaller cakes directly from our commercial kitchen to the people in our building. The mobile concession stand will allow cake production on-site at events optimizing efficiency and the sale of our best-selling products, which changes at each event. Sweet Equations will be able to replenish inventory on cakes that it sells out in at food events. A mobile concession stand helps to mitigate missed sale opportunities to eager customers. The purchase of new equipment has the potential to increase profits to $9,780 a month. The estimated equipment cost include the following: 2 Kitchen Aid Mixers – $680, 2 Preparation Tables – $300, 1 Bakery Display Case – $3,000 and 1 Mobile Concession Stand – $3,000. The equipment total cost is $7,080. •WEBSITE AND BRANDING SUPPORT- Sweet Equations needs a critical update to www.sweetequations.com based on the feedback received from customers. The Kiva Zip funds could help with the fees associated with the website and branding update. The goal is to make the website more user-friendly with a better check out page, detailed descriptions of products, enhanced pictures and more products to better serve the needs of customers. A marketing and consulting company will lead the branding and website refresh. The company has projected the branding refresh could help garner the bakery over $10,000 in additional revenue and acquisition of more than 1,000 new customers. The estimated website and branding support cost include the following (list of services Sweet Equations will receive): Branding Session, Visual Design and Content, Technical Development and User Testing and Training. The projected cost is $1550 (one-time fee). •FOOD EVENTS- The loan would also help with cost such as event health permits and application fees associated with food events like markets and fairs. Participation in fairs and markets are important because it provides another opportunity for Sweet Equations to sell products to new customers, and also for the bakery’s brand to have a consistent presence in the community. The plan is to participate in larger events this year, which could potentially increase seasonal profits made from food events from $650 to $6,125. The estimated food event cost include the following: World Maker Faire – $395, Smorgasbord – $600 and Manchester Flea Market – $375. The food event fee total is $1, 370. •The Kiva Zip loan will help me personally and have a major impact on Sweet Equations. It will help me achieve my target to scale the bakery before the end of the year. My goal is to be able to provide employees with compensation for all the hard work they have put into the business. I want Sweet Equations to be able to provide financial stability for me and my family, support my employees, attract talented people to help sustain the business and give back to the community. I believe the Kiva Zip loan is a great funding opportunity for my business as it would provide the bakery with the ability to reach its full potential.
Sweet Equations will be able to purchase essential bakery equipment that will help increase production, better serve existing customers and acquire new ones with an enhanced website and branding support and exponentially increase profits by participating in large food events such as markets and fairs. This will provide Sweet Equations with more capacity to give more back to local charities it partners with and supports.