12/05/2026
DON’T RAISE YOUR PRICES.
No Sugarcoat Friday
Before you react and say I’m contradicting myself, keep reading. During our last Zoom chat, we talked a little bit about cake pricing. I know I often say you should raise your prices more and learn to value your time however, not everyone should be doing it. While this is good advice given that a lot of people are undervaluing their work, there are some things to consider before following it. Many of you, when asking about pricing, expect an exact formula they can just follow to price their cakes. If someone tells you they can give you an exact formula to follow for pricing, they’re either lying, don’t know what they’re talking about or just want your money. That’s not how it works with CUSTOM cakes. By custom cake I mean a cake specially designed based on the client’s preferred look, decorations, theme, flavor, size, shape, colors, etc., not a regular iced cake you see in a bakery. A large chunk of the cost of a bespoke cake is based NOT on expensive ingredients or tools but on someone’s skill level, in short, how good you are at designing a cake? No one else knows the value of your time and talent, except you.
Looking back at my cakes from twelve years ago compared to now, I know I couldn’t have charged those cakes the same way I do now. A P15,000 cake then would be P30,000+ now, not just because of inflation but because over the years, I have been constantly improving my skills, building my portfolio, evolved my design style, took more advanced classes, re-did my recipes and changed my workflow to be more efficient and to be able to charge more for my cakes. It didn’t happen overnight. I’ve seen how my skills have gotten better over time and that showed in my cakes. I didn’t do it because I was educated at a very good school abroad or because I’ve been doing this for many years. Someone said “But I just started a year ago…” I know cake artists who only started 6 months ago, no baking education whatsoever, but can make absolutely more beautiful cakes than most people I know. I have this one follower who showed me her work and she makes these beautiful hand painted cakes and cookies. I’m pretty sure she’s undercharging and she’s not confident yet because she just started a year ago. I told her forget about the length of time, her work is worth three times more than what she’s currently charging. On the other hand, I know some bakers who have been in the industry for 15-20 years but they have been doing the same mediocre work they did when they started.
It’s not accurate to charge higher simply based on how long you have been doing something, it’s based on HOW GOOD you are at it. You shouldn’t just raise your prices because you read one of my posts telling you you should. Do it because you feel that you deserve it and earned it. How can you tell?
1. Look at photos of your work from when you first started and now, do your cakes look much better now?
2. Do your cakes look professionally done? Are the tiers aligned? Sides straight? Edges sharp? Sugar flower work on point? Colors matching? Buttercream or ganache perfectly smooth? Fondant free from air bubbles, dents or bulging?
3. Do you offer a variety of flavors to choose from? Has the taste gotten better as you improved your recipes or are you still using the same recipe you learned from YouTube?
4. Are your designs unique or are you still doing copycat work done by other cake artists?
5. Can you torte and ice cakes faster now than when you started?
6. How good and neat are your piping skills? Do you roses look like roses? Your beads/pearls don’t have peaks? Do your shells have tails?
7. Are more people complimenting your work?
Consider all these and much more.
In these two cakes in the photo I made for my nephew, they’re 4 years apart. These are two of my older cakes but it’s just to show you what I’m talking about. Before 2014, I used buttercream and the rolled fondant recipe using gelatin. You can see how I struggled to keep the sides smooth and edges sharp on the cookie monster cake. The filling was bulging on the sides and the fondant was quite thick on this one and the cookies looked like cardboard. It was only around late 2014 that I started using ganache on my cakes and switched to marshmallow fondant. You can see on the Paw Patrol cake that the edges are sharper, the sides smooth and straight, everything looks neat and polished overall. In the 4 years in between, I made an effort to really study, learn and improve my decorating skills so I could stop undercharging, be more confident with my work and provide better cakes for my clients. Every year, I tried something new and different, and I still do to this day. When someone commented that my cakes are overrated and overpriced, I laughed because I know it’s not true. For over 12 years, I’ve worked endlessly and hard to get better, and it shows in how my designs, techniques, style and my brand have evolved over the years. I earned the right to charge the way I do now. If someone tells you your cakes are overpriced, it’s because they can’t afford you, but there are so many others who can. Don’t stress over it.
Many small business owners are undercharging, however, your prices should also reflect on your work. The way to justify the cost of your cakes is by improving the quality of your products and craftsmanship. How? Practice, practice, and practice until you get better. It doesn’t matter how many certificates or diplomas you have or how many classes you take, without practice, you’ll never be able to hone those skills you learned.
Don’t raise your prices… until you’ve raised your standards.
-J
