Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jennifer Gilbert. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jennifer, appreciate you joining us today. Alright – so having the idea is one thing, but going from idea to execution is where countless people drop the ball. Can you talk to us about your journey from idea to execution?

My daughter Julianna and I love to bake together in the kitchen. When she was in first grade my budding baker and I (my “babycakes”), started a website to showcase our creations. Each week we informed readers “what’s baking” in our metro Detroit kitchen. Although we formally named the blog “What’s Baking, Babycakes?” My husband nick named me “the midnight baker,” as I stayed up late creating classic chocolate and vanilla recipes. Once I had the classics down, I wanted to stand out from other baking blogs. Julianna loves blue raspberry so we created Blue Raspberry Cupcakes. On our first attempt at baking the cupcakes, the yellow cake batter turned green when we added blue food coloring! After making a white cake batter, we tried the cupcakes again, and we nailed it! The gorgeous blue cupcakes, topped with a swirl of pink and blue buttercream icing, tasted amazing and were visually stunning. We added more flavors to our “fruity category,” including Orange Creamsicle Macarons and a Raspberry Lemon Bundt Cake. Our “fruity” section is our most popular and the Blue Raspberry Cupcakes are a fan favorite on Pinterest..

While it’s thrilling to see our work published on our blog, it’s even more rewarding to see our work in print. Three years after our blog launched, Taste of Home Magazine put my Three Cheese Meatball Mostaccioli recipe on the cover of their Most Requested Recipes of 2016 Cookbook. This past year, Julianna’s S’mores Brownies were published in Taste of Home’s Ultimate Baking Cookbook, which was a huge honor for her.  Last week, Taste of Home awarded my Peach Bourbon Shrimp 2nd place in their Holidays and Celebrations Recipe Contest. It’s fun to see how far we’ve taken our blog over the years. While I miss our early days experimenting in the kitchen, I’m proud of the accomplishments we’ve achieved throughout the years.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

Soon after we launched our blog, we received emails from brands wanting to collaborate with us. Brand collaborations are a great way to expand our baking repertoire and test out products before they hit the shelves in grocery stores. This summer we worked with a company called Cookie Pop & Candy Pop. We have a popular “candy bar” category on our blog, so I was really excited to test out their Snickers Candy Pop. I made Snicker’s S’mores for our family movie night, and they were a huge hit! Another recent collaboration we enjoyed was Baketivity, a kids’ baking subscription box with certified kosher ingredients. Julianna and I had so much fun creating an Earth Day Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake and Worms and Dirt Dessert with our Baketivity boxes. For each brand we work with, I take multiple high-quality photos, and give a detailed write-up about the company. We share our posts on social media, where we have a popular Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter following. Our collaborations over the years allowed us to meet many talented people in the food industry. It’s exciting to meet founders in our field and share up and coming product news with our readers.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

Although we mainly work with food brands, we are sometimes approached by companies in other niches who are seeking brand representation. About 5 years ago, JORD asked me to promote their ladies wood watches. Although the walnut watch with a crystal constellation dial was stunning, I was hesitant. I wasn’t sure if our foodie audience would be interested in a lifestyle brand. I didn’t want to promote products for the sake of getting “freebies.” If we choose to promote a product on our site it has to be one we truly value and think our audience will appreciate, as well. Since JORD values customer service and puts high-quality craftsmanship into their products, we decided to take a risk. I joined a Twitter marketing group, in order to reach a new audience. Not many of the members in the marketing group were in the jewelry niche, so I wasn’t sure how effective the results would be. But the risk paid off, as JORD loved our posts and the attention we brought to their brand. They asked me to promote several additional watches, as well as their vegan leather wallets and handbags.

Since the JORD campaign was so successful, I joined a social media influencer agency called Influence.co, where influencers and brands can reach out of one another for potential collaborations. I’ve had so many amazing partnerships with Influence.co. One of my favorites was Dreams Painter, who offered me an oil painting of a personal photo in exchange for a video reaction of the painting. The photo I chose was taken of my family at Hoover Dam in March of 2021 on our son’s senior year spring break trip. We left the troubles of the pandemic behind us, found solitude in the breath taking scenery, and bonded as a family. I’m so glad we took the risk and decided to establish What’s Baking, Babycakes? as a lifestyle brand. We are bakers at heart, but it’s the time we spend as a family that makes the blog so worthwhile.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Non-creatives might not understand the patience it takes to hone your craft. It can take years, or even decades, to achieve your creative goals. Oftentimes, what you start out creating changes course and turns into an entirely new project. During my sophomore year of college at Michigan State University, I decided to transfer to the University of Central Florida to study film. When I attended my orientation the following summer, I was informed I just missed the deadline to apply to their film school. I was crushed. I returned home to MSU and had to rethink my career plans. On winter break, I met my future husband at a New Year’s Eve party, and I forgot all about film school. Twenty-five years later, I have a beautiful family and a successful baking blog. Because my husband loves Florida as much as I do, we purchased a rental property in Kissimmee, which is close to the University of Central Florida. I often think about the things I might have missed out on had I started my creative path sooner in life. Creative people often take longer to complete a project. But when it finally comes together in the end, it’s a beautiful site to behold.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.whatsbakingbabycakes.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatsbakingbabycakes/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatsbakingbabycakes
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-gilbert-417b6967/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/bakingbabycakes

Image Credits
All photos taken by Justin and Jennifer Gilbert