Carolyn Gurtz of Gaithersburg, Maryland won the 43rd Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest, in 2008. Yep, she won $1,000,000 and the $5,000 Jif® Peanut Butter Award. Now what I am about to say next is not out of jealousy and I am not being mean. I know folks always say if you have to justify your comments well, dada, dada, dada.

Look, I grew up with the Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contests. I can remember my mom watching them on television in black and white, no doubt. The bakers and cooks during that era were real bakers and real cooks. They were not into fake food, mixes or prepared cookies dough’s that might be laden with e-coli. What happen to us? What’s up with all the processed cookie dough? Are we really so busy that we don’t have time to create a plain, honest recipe? The bakers in my class “How to Operate a Home-Based Bakery” are some of the most genuine bakers I know. They are into the food, the process, the ingredients, taste, texture and flavor; and if given the task I am certain most could come up with a homemade peanut butter cookie that would stifle the Pillsbury winner. Since the start of my course over three years ago I have been asked time and time again, what can I sell that will make lots of money. I want to say so badly, buy some Pillsbury cookie dough and sign up for the next Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contests. Unfortunately we know the odds are often not in our favor. And just like that million dollar cookie, locating a million dollar recipe is more than a notion. Do you think Paula Deen could have foreseen her success when she started “The Bag Lady and Sons?”

Do you think Mrs. Fields knew her cookies would be the hit they turned out to be in 1977? Did Duff really know Charm City Cakes would be the Food TV poster child for cake decorating? The answer is no, absolutely not. You may have a “feeling,” a hint, that you are onto something great, but you never really know until it is right there in your face. There is no simple answer. It has a lot to do with luck, creativity and more luck. What makes a product profitable? You make the product profitable. You will note that each of the individuals I mentioned have personality, passion and perseverance; the drive that makes you move forward even when you feel like you want to call it quits. Look, every product you sell must be in strong demand by your customers, use simple Ingredients, produced in a reasonable amount of time and …well I will leave the rest for the class, but you get the idea. Ask yourself, “What do the Pillsbury Bake-Off® winning products have that mine doesn’t?” Is it all those preservatives and additives that make it taste perfect or the fact that no one has tasted your product yet?

Related Links

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