Dot cake went from TikTok trend to Philly bakeries. Here’s how 3 small businesses jumped on the bandwagon.

Michael Ibrahim, general manager of the Bakery House in Bryn Mawr, said custom orders for dot cakes, the latest viral TikTok food trend, started trickling in at the end of May. By June 1, the Bakery House posted the new menu addition on Instagram and Facebook.

Within 15 minutes, they were sold out.

“We ordered more material, made more the next week, and then we made sure to never run out of it again,” Ibrahim said.

The dessert — a layered cake in a cup coated in nonpareil sprinkles — was created in 2017 by mother-daughter duo Alex and Sondra Posner of the Dot Cakes in Roslyn, N.Y. It reached national audiences this past May when influencers began reviewing the bakery’s dot cakes sold in New York City’s Butterfield Market. In June, the New York Times Style section reported people standing in line at 6 a.m. for a taste of the sweet treat.

Elizabeth Aversa, owner of the Margate location of Aversa’s Italian Bakery, said her shop is now regarded as “cool” after introducing dot cakes.

“I’m getting these new, trendy people that we were never getting before,” Aversa said. “Before, we were just like a mom-and-pop, old-school store … but now they come to us.”

With viral trends appearing and fading almost as fast as they arrive — remember crookies and butter boards? — deciding which fad to hop on can be a challenge for small businesses.

Ray Sheehan, founder of Old City Media, said businesses have to identify when viral trends will stick around long enough to be worth the investment. That most often occurs when they cut across several consumer demographics.

“When things take off like this, it’s almost like pop music,” Sheehan said. “It just speaks to so many different people.”

When the Bakery House got its first order for dot cake, Ibrahim thought it was an easy request. The bakery already had everything needed to prepare the dessert: cake ingredients, frosting, and nonpareil sprinkles

“Then, the customers told each other, and then everybody started calling,” Ibrahim said. “All of a sudden, we had about 60 custom orders for dot cake.”

Ibrahim said that the team usually avoids bending to the whims of social media trends — notably, they skipped the “crookie” despite offering both croissants and cookies on their menu.

“We didn’t do it in the store because we didn’t feel that anybody was asking for it,” Ibrahim said.

Dot cake, however, was so popular among customers that the Bakery House decided to put it on the menu permanently.

According to Sheehan, adapting to a viral trend is one of the best ways for businesses to show consumers that they are relevant.

“If I’m a customer, it feels like this bakery is in tune and that they’re talking to me,” Sheehan said. “I’m resonating with their brand because they understand me, and that this thing is so popular.”

Ibrahim said the bakery now has two employees dedicated to making dot cakes all day, and the fervent demand has caused a dip in sales for traditional cupcakes.

Though, he says, it’s a net gain. Ibrahim estimated that for every loss of 100 cupcakes, 200 dot cakes are sold. On top of that, dot cakes are priced about $5 more than the bakery’s most basic cupcake, generating greater revenue.

At Aversa’s bakery, the decision to start making dot cakes was a family affair.

Aversa’s 14-year-old son, Ralph, saw the viral dessert on TikTok and he asked his mother to make dot cakes for a school party.

It was a popular choice: ”He was a rock star at the party,” Aversa said.

Ralph wanted to bring dot cakes to the bakery. His mother let him go for it, thinking it would be a fun summer activity.

Then they flew off the shelves.

“We put 20 out; they sold out. Then 40, then 50,” Aversa said. “Now we’re selling almost 100 a day.”

Aversa said that dot cake sales are not replacing regular items but rather bringing in new customers. The younger demographic, drawn in by the dot cakes, may bring their parents, who then come across Aversa’s chicken salad or Caesar salad wraps.

“Some people maybe never would have come to Aversa’s if it wasn’t for the dot cakes,” she said.

At Sweet Box Bakery on South 13th Street, owner Gretchen Fantini said a well-known social media personality who frequents the shop tipped her off to dot cakes.

Destiny Deniz, a Philly-based creator with nearly 177,000 followers on TikTok, told Fantini that the dessert was blowing up in New York, and Sweet Box should hop on the trend. At first Fantini was reluctant, but then she started seeing it all over her feed.

“We have everything here,” Fantini said she thought at the time. “We should just do this.”

Since the business — and local influencers — started advertising Sweet Box’s dot cakes, Fantini said their Instagram has grown by almost 1,000 followers.

Sweet Box’s feed features collaborative posts with local food Instagrammers showcasing the viral dot cakes, including @josheatsphilly (197,000 followers), @phlfoodstagram (42,900 followers), and @phillyfoodies (135,000 followers).

Fantini said the bakery’s influencer relationships are built organically. Creators may pop into the shop, and she’ll give them a taste of her baked goods for free, but she has not done a paid partnership so far.

“I’m Italian, so if you come into my bakery and I’m baking something, I’m going to give it to you to try,” Fantini said.

Dot cakes are hit at Sweet Box, but so far sales have not surpassed cupcakes, the bakery’s specialty. On a day where the bakery sells 500 cupcakes, Fantini said they typically sell about 250 dot cakes.

This isn’t the first time Sweet Box has adopted social media-fueled food trends. In 2017, the bakery introduced edible cookie dough, which was a breakout dessert of the year.

“I want to make my customers happy,” Fantini said. “If I can stay true to what I’m making, and if it’s something that they want, I’m going to make it.”