We recently connected with Eric Kinsler-Holloway and have shared our conversation below.

Eric , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?

Our cheesecake business started on social media. If there was no Instagram there would be no EK’s Cheesecakes.

When I needed some extra income I thought I would finally start the process of selling my cheesecake. The first thing I did was make a few for free for my closest friends. Took photos of them before I delivered them and made an Instagram page. I advertised on my personal IG and Facebook page to help spread the word I was selling cheesecakes finally. It wasn’t long before I received my first order from someone I’ve never met before.

Social media has been an essential tool for our business to grow. We are lucky to be in the business we’re in. We make cheesecakes almost everyday so there is so much opportunity for content. We’ve even started doing auctions on social media to help get our name out there and for people to try new flavors. It also helps with interactions and knowledge on who see’s and likes our page.

Our popularity has grown a lot because of Facebook and Instagram. We have been talked about on the “Ann Arbor Menu” page and “Ypsi Discussion” page often when anyone asks a question about good desserts or cheesecake in the area. Even the “Parents of U of M students” has gotten us quite a bit of business. We deliver to campus so we are a great fit for out of town parents trying to do something nice for their children.
One of the biggest holidays to date was when someone posted about our business right before Mother’s Day on the “Moms 2 Moms” page.

We have a lot to be thankful for when it comes to social media and growing a business. Now a days that’s what potential wholesale accounts want to see. The last few I’ve spoken to, The first thing they asked for was my Instagram. So it’s very important to do what we can to remain relevant.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m Eric and the owner of EK’s Cheesecakes. Before making cheesecakes full time I was working at Zingerman’s Bakehouse in the bread department. So I have them to thank when it comes to my knowledge of food safety and my way around a commercial kitchen. After a few years our paths kept crossing to where people would ask us both to cater the events. Their food and my cheesecakes. They kindly asked me to sign something but in the end it would have been very tough to grow my business. So we both agreed it was time for me to take the plunge of making EK’s Cheesecakes a full time job. Without that push I certainly wouldn’t be here.

I quickly sought out a community commercial kitchen, became serve safe certified, licensed and insured. Made the switch from baking in my own home making six cheesecakes max at a time to now 24 in the same timeframe. Reached out to restaurants and markets that I thought would be a good fit. Always brought free samples for them to try and was happy to answer any questions. When this was a side hustle I was in one market. Today we are in eight locations in five cities.

I still have the mind of a home baker and I think that’s what sets us apart. We don’t cut corners. We are still crushing up our graham crackers and Oreo’s to make our crusts. We add our eggs to our batter in shifts and not at once. We make all the toppings ourselves from whipped creams to compotes to curds. I believe in mood through the food and hopefully our customers can taste the difference. We are constantly laughing in the kitchen.

I absolutely love what I do, and we get to share it with the world. Something I will never forget is when I saw my first customer holding one of my pre packaged slices in their hands as they continued to shop. It was such a surreal feeling. Anytime I see someone shopping and they happen to have one or a few of my slices I remember how lucky I am to be doing what I’m doing. I don’t bake for myself I bake for you guys. I hope you enjoy them.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Right before the biggest holiday of the year; Thanksgiving. There was a cream cheese shortage. I couldn’t find Philadelphia cream cheese anywhere. All the stores had no idea what was going on or when they would get more.

I did not want to switch brands with the holiday so close and there was no time for tweaking any recipes. I finally found 8 oz packages of Philadelphia at Sam’s Club. One cheesecake needs two pounds of cream cheese. So I needed four packages for one cheesecake. I had about 60 cheesecakes to make. Instead of my normal 30 lb brick of cream cheese I spent about an extra 45 minutes unboxing 8 oz packages of cream cheese. Everything worked out but that’s how important consistency is to us. I didn’t want to make it easier for me (and probably cheaper) to use a different brand of cream cheese. I needed to know the customer would be happy with the outcome.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I think the most effective strategy to growing our clientele is to remain relevant. No gig is too small, you never know who you are going to meet.

We have our cheesecakes in Sparrow Market in Kerrytown because the manager had them at Stadium Market. He liked them so much he called me to see if we’d be willing to sell them there also.

And she had our cheesecakes and immediacy said we should be in her stores. Which I also initially said no to because I was feeling overworked and swamped as it was. But I sat down with my wife and we came up with a plan to make it work.

Pop ups has been a great way to help get our name out there it’s really the only way I can interact with my customers face to face. Most people place orders online and pick it up from Stadium Market while I’m not there so I don’t get to meet them.   

Contact Info:

• Website: Ekcheesecakes.com
• Instagram: EK_Cheesecakes
• Facebook: EK’s Cheesecakes
• Other: Text 734 368-7601

Image Credits
@FodosDetroit