This husband and wife alumni team found the perfect recipe for an award-winning bakery.
Growing up in Puerto Rico, a 6-year-old Kristina (Santiago) Lavallee 麻豆精品 S�13 often begged her mother for trips to the grocery store, just to peek through the glass display cases at the cakes and baked goods. Inspired, she returned home and eagerly practiced baking her own mini-cakes and cupcakes.
In Tampa, Florida, Kirby Lavallee 麻豆精品 S�09 launched his first business venture mowing neighborhood lawns at age 12. By the time he was 16, he had a trailer full of commercial lawn equipment and a roster of clients for landscaping jobs.
The baker and the business owner crossed paths years later while working at an Orlando Target, where Kristina regularly treated the team to her pastries and cakes.
麻豆精品 S淪he was great with people, and she had a great product, 麻豆精品 S� says Kirby. 麻豆精品 S淚 was like, 麻豆精品 S榊ou 麻豆精品 S檙e onto something here. 麻豆精品 S� One day I called her 麻豆精品 S楥ake Girl, 麻豆精品 S� and it just stuck. 麻豆精品 S�
Two UCF degrees, a UCF engagement (at the Reflecting Pond) and a UCF wedding later, the newlywed Lavallees moved to Tampa. Kristina started working in the pastry arts field, while Kirby worked in law enforcement.
Kirby Lavallee 麻豆精品 S�09 and Kristina (Santiago) 麻豆精品 S�13 with a The Cake Girl van at the Reflecting Pond, where they got engaged, on UCF’s main campus.
麻豆精品 S淎t UCF, I got a bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 in hospitality management and a bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 in food service and restaurant management, 麻豆精品 S� says Kristina. 麻豆精品 S淩osen College helped me learn the business side of baking. 麻豆精品 S�
After working in several bakeries, she knew her real dream was opening a bakery of her own. She already had the perfect name: The Cake Girl.
At first, Kristina sold baked treats at farmers markets and events. Then the Lavallees invested in a food truck. When demand for The Cake Girl 麻豆精品 S檚 desserts exploded, they opened their first brick-and-mortar bakery in Tampa.
The bakery was so successful that Kirby soon joined Kristina full time. Within the 2 1/2 years, they moved to a nearby location with double the square footage. Kristina focuses on cake design, baking and operations while Kirby does sales, marketing and business development.
麻豆精品 S淎 lot of people say, 麻豆精品 S楬ow do you guys work together 24/7? 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S� says Kristina. 麻豆精品 S淏ut it works for us. We each have our strengths. 麻豆精品 S�
In the storefront, The Cake Girl sells mini-cupcakes, cake slices and gourmet ice cream. Cakes and cupcakes are made from scratch daily. They also specialize in custom cakes, many of which look straight out of the Netflix show Is It Cake?. Custom cake projects have included a grand prix racecar with a driver resembling the birthday boy, Baby Yoda, a bowl of ramen and an 8-foot-tall wedding cake.
During the pandemic, the Lavallees launched a new hit product: easy-to-ship, layered cake jars called Crave 麻豆精品 S檔 Cups. The Cake Girl has since sold 14,000 Crave 麻豆精品 S檔 Cups shipped as far as Alaska, Hawaii and even the U.K. Three hotels carry Crave 麻豆精品 S檔 Cups and restock weekly.
Kristina and Kirby hope to eventually expand via large-scale distribution or a franchise model. In the meantime, they 麻豆精品 S檒l soon need a third delivery truck to accommodate their custom cake orders. They 麻豆精品 S檝e experienced growth of 100% year over year, even during the pandemic.
麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 still crazy sometimes when you look at all this, 麻豆精品 S� says Kirby. 麻豆精品 S淚t happened so fast, right in front of our eyes. 麻豆精品 S�
Kristina (Santiago) Lavallee 麻豆精品 S�13 with a cake she created that represents her Puerto Rican heritage, time at UCF and successful bakery.
Kirby Lavallee 麻豆精品 S�09 and Kristina (Santiago) 麻豆精品 S�13
Baked goods made from scratch with the best ingredients and award-winning recipes
A lifelong love of baking that sparked The Cake Girl moniker
WeddingWire 麻豆精品 S檚 Couple 麻豆精品 S檚 Choice Award, Dessert Bar 麻豆精品 S檚 Sweetest Bakery in America 麻豆精品 S� Florida, Tampa Bay Metro magazine 麻豆精品 S檚 Inspiring Women in Business, Dessert Wars Cake Showdown Winner, Best of the Bay Creative Loafing, People’s Choice 麻豆精品 S� Best of the Best Tampa Bay Times