Sweet-toothed shoppers have helped the Cuppycake student shop team to take first place in this year’s University of Bath student enterprise competition.
The Cuppycake team sold over £500 worth of handmade cakes during their day-long stint in the student shop in Bath, beating seven other teams by a margin of over £100.
Each team got to run a business in an empty shop in Bath city centre, provided by Bath & North East Somerset Council, from a £200 start-up fund, with a package of training run by the Students’ Union and expert advice from local business mentors.
Siobain Hone, the University’s Student Enterprise Coordinator, said: “The Cuppycake team won because they were very focused and very organised. They concentrated on a single product – cupcakes – and produced a high quality, well-priced product. They made the most of their business mentor and they listened to advice and suggestions on the day.
“It was the only team which didn’t seem to have a problem driving people into the shop, the window was simply decorated and the product clearly on display to passers-by. The team opened the doors shortly after 9am and people started flocking in and they’d taken over £40 before 10am!
Cuppycake winners with their winning cheque - As winners, they get to keep their profits to share amongst the team. The other profits (& losses) go back into the budget for Student Enterprise 11.
“Everyone in the team knew exactly how much they’d spent and what they needed to take to break even.
“Janina Schendel the team leader was excellent – very confident and good at allocating team roles and motivating people – she got stuck into every task. They all worked very hard and it was a pleasure to work with them.”
The results were announced at a grand finale at the Guildhall, hosted by Bath & North East Somerset Council (B&NES) on Thursday 25 November.
Team leader Janina said: “Our moto was: ‘We are in it to win it. We’re not in this competition for second place.’ I think this absolutely drove our team forward when we were stuck at a problem for example how to get the Cuppycakes from our kitchen to the shop; it took us quite a while to solve it. Because it took so long, it dampened our spirits as were all unsure how we would manage. However I kept pushing for victory and overall I think this is what held us together – the shared aim of winning.”
Councillor Francine Haeberling, Leader of Bath & North East Somerset Council, said: “Bath & North East Somerset Council is delighted to be supporting student enterprise in the area by working with the University of Bath on this exciting project.
“Students make a huge contribution to Bath and this project gives them the opportunity to learn and develop valuable new skills. It also complements work being done through the Student Community Partnership to get students involved in the wider community by pairing them with local business mentors.”