Why
it matters:
- Baked by Melissa, which disrupted the cupcake market with bite-size confections in offbeat flavors, is now emphasizing e-commerce, authentic social media content, and a more thoughtful approach to physical stores for growth.
- New CFO Sanjay Khetan, who brings two decades of experience from multinational CPG and food-tech startups, is charged with accelerating Baked by Melissa’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) business and unlocking more new revenue streams, such as content partnerships with brands from Tabasco to Squishmallows.
- A social strategy that included content like day-in-the-life videos of Founder Melissa Ben-Ishay cooking meals for her family saw followers surge 6000% in five years.
Almost
17 years ago, Baked by Melissa
carved a niche in New York City’s saturated cupcake market with
bite-sized treats, innovative flavors, and a distinctive tie-dye
design. The endeavor started out as a comfort and distraction for
Melissa Ben-Ishay, CEO and Co-founder, who baked cupcakes for friends
and family in her Murray Hill, Manhattan, apartment after being fired
from a media planning job at age 24. After partnering with her
brother, Brian Bushell, to create a business for the baked goods,
Ben-Ishay soon was fulfilling online orders on foot or via subway,
picking up catering orders, and eventually opening her first retail
location, a pick-up window in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood.
Now,
the baked goods giant—estimated to have sold 400 million cupcakes since its inception—is
ready for another turning point in growth. On the heels of a
skyrocketing social media following, Baked by Melissa is embracing a
self-described “supercharged” direct-to-consumer growth strategy
and adding firepower to the C-suite by bringing on a former PepsiCo
executive.
Baked
by Melissa’s social media strategy pays off
Ben-Ishay
assumed the helm as CEO at her eponymous business in December 2019
(the role was previously held by Co-founder and brother Brian
Bushell, followed by Seth Horowitz, formerly of Modell’s Sporting
Goods). Since then, she’s captained Baked by Melissa sales through
a pandemic that would challenge, and ultimately help reinvent, the
company’s messaging and strategy.
Before
the pandemic, Baked by Melissa was focused on 14 retail locations,
plus online sales. With shutdowns and stay-at-home mandates, it
instantly became a 100% e-commerce brand.
The
product already shipped nationwide, with gift boxes for every
occasion and freshness guaranteed, so the marketing pivoted its
messaging to sentiments like, “If you can’t celebrate/share love
in person, send cupcakes.”
I knew it was important to build a community of people who trust us and consistently come back for quality content, so I continued to post more of what worked: nourishing meals designed to deliver the perfect bite, just like our cupcakes. This is what propelled our social growth.
Melissa Ben-Ishay, CEO and Co-founder of Baked by Melissa
As
the social audience grew, Baked by Melissa used that messaging to
drive brand awareness. “Then we strategically brought [customers]
into the brand ecosystem through paid social media and other more
traditional marketing tactics,” she continued.
A
new, perhaps counterintuitive, content strategy helped the pivot.
Ben-Ishay explained that, before COVID, Baked by Melissa’s TikTok content
consisted of cupcake-focused videos and dessert recipes, but it
wasn’t performing.
When
the pandemic hit, like many others, Ben-Ishay spent time cooking meals
for her family and started posting videos of those recipes on her
personal TikTok. So she tested them on the Baked by Melissa account.
“Engagement increased immediately, then various salad videos
quickly went viral, including my Green Goddess,
with over 25 million views,” she recalled.
“I
knew it was important to build a community of people who trust us and
consistently come back for quality content, so I continued to post
more of what worked: nourishing meals designed to deliver the perfect
bite, just like our cupcakes. This is what propelled our social
growth.”
Propelled
might be an understatement: The company’s social media following
across channels has hit over 4 million users, an eye-popping increase
of over 6000% since 2020. The brand’s TikTok following alone has
grown from 26,000 followers to 2.5 million in the past five years.
[Read
more: Cooking Convenience Trends Are Driving Sales for Food and Beverage Companies]
New
CFO from Pepsi and Wonder charged with DTC growth with the website as
our flagship store
With
surging brand awareness and deepening consumer connections
underpinning Baked by Melissa’s DTC plans, enter a new strategic
financial leader. As of April 1, 2025, Sanjay Khetan joined as Chief
Financial Officer after 15 years at PepsiCo, most recently as VP, CFO
of e-commerce, and a stint at buzzy food delivery and takeout
platform Wonder
as Chief Production Officer. “He’s joining the team at a critical
inflection point for our company’s growth,” noted Ben-Ishay.
Meeting
customers where they are is the objective. “That’s the drive
behind supercharging DTC,” explained Khetan, whose breadth of work
provides the financial, strategic, and operational background to
apply to Baked by Melissa’s still-unfolding new growth strategies.
Khetan will work with Ben-Ishay and Chief Growth Officer Joy Peabody
to increase distribution points across all channels and capitalize on
new opportunities. He will also oversee operations to drive increased
efficiency and productivity within the manufacturing operations.
“I’ve
helped to drive profitable growth at various stages of scale and
automation and learned lessons along the way, such as knowing where
and when to invest in operations to drive efficiency, pivoting
quickly to support evolving consumer preferences, and evaluating new
and unique growth opportunities,” he told CO—.
Baked
by Melissa currently operates 11 physical stores throughout
Manhattan; as well as locations at JFK international airport in
Queens, New York City; Garden City, New York; and Paramus, New
Jersey, but thoughtful expansion will be the approach for any new
brick-and-mortar locations, with an eye on supporting efforts to
expand distribution points and reach more customers, said Khetan.
“Retail has and will continue to play an important role in our
strategy of meeting customers where they are,” he added.
Still,
e-commerce is center stage in future growth and has stayed a robust
distribution channel even throughout brick-and-mortar expansion,
comprising 50% of the company’s sales in recent years.
“I
believe that prioritizing DTC and wholesale (B2B) while streamlining
brick-and-mortar is the key to driving long-term success,”
Ben-Ishay said. “We see our website as our flagship store.”
[Read
more: How Food Giants Like Whole Foods and DoorDash Find Innovative Brands by Running Accelerators]
Authentic
storytelling and brand partnerships uncork new revenue streams
Baked
by Melissa will continue to lean into a social media strategy of
authentic content. “As the face behind the Baked by Melissa brand,
it feels natural to share behind-the-scenes clips, product launches,
and day-in-the-life videos,” said Ben-Ishay. “It humanizes the
brand and furthers a genuine connection to our audience.”
We
will continue to use social media as a primary platform to connect
with customers’ needs and wants, added Khetan. “As our social
audience grows, Melissa will continue to use these platforms to
connect and engage with our customers, feedback that will help better
inform our DTC strategy.”
The
expanded brand awareness has allowed Baked by Melissa to create new
revenue streams through sponsored content and paid brand
partnerships. In recent years, the company has partnered with
companies like Tabasco,
Cabot Creamery,
and Squishmallows
to create attention-getting cupcake flavors. More collaborations are
on the horizon, though not ready for public reveal. “We see
partnerships like the ones we’ve executed as fun and exciting ways
to capitalize on and continue to grow our brand awareness and topline
revenue,” said Khetan. “We have some exciting partnerships in the
pipeline.”
‘Know
what you don’t know and build a team’
As
she adds strategic leadership and poises for new growth, Ben-Ishay
has advice for other companies starting a business, baked goods or
otherwise. “As a founder, make sure you surround yourself with
people who possess the skills you lack,” she said. “Know what you
don’t know and build a team.”
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Published
Denise Purcell
