Students launch cupcake delivery service

Dollops of frosting, red velvet and decadent chocolate cake can be at your doorstep in a matter of clicks.

As of a week and a half ago, Whip & Whisk, a cupcake delivery business founded by Wharton senior Cristina Peruyera and College senior Saralyn Andrick, hit the ground running. Whip & Whisk intends to establish itself as a go-to for Penn students to acquire affordable, customized and delicious cupcakes for events like club meetings, sorority gatherings and BYOs.

Andrick and Peruyera are operating the business themselves and do not plan to hire anyone else or deliver outside of the Penn community. Serving both “mini” and “full size” cupcakes, Andrick makes each one in her kitchen. Whip & Whisk allows customers to customize each cupcake by giving them the options of a vanilla, chocolate or banana base and a frosting of Nutella, vanilla or chocolate.

They also offer a variety of gourmet flavors and cite Cookies n’ Cream as their most popular. The recipes can be modified to be gluten and lactose free as well as vegan upon request. Mini cupcakes, which can be bought in packages of six, range from $1.30 to $1.50 each, and full size cupcakes start at $2.50 each.

The idea for Whip & Whisk began when Andrick’s co-workers at Penn College Achievement Program raved about the cupcakes she baked and brought into the office once a week. The positive reinforcement and an interest in the food industry motivated Peruyera and Andrick to transform this hobby into a business.

“I’ve always said I wanted to open a restaurant and be in a world where I can both express my creativity and utilize my business knowledge,” Peruyera said.

Although Andrick and Peruyera initially planned to wait until after graduation to get involved in the food industry, the enthusiasm of their coworkers encouraged them to create Whip & Whisk now. With the vision of “What if we could make this into a business and bring joy to other people?” the two launched their company.

To expose the Penn student body to their freshly made cupcakes, Peruyera and Andrick initiated a Facebook page, an Instagram account and held a tasting event in Huntsman on Feb. 3. Andrick baked over 300 cupcakes, and over 150 people attended.

“The event was a huge success and brought in a lot of orders,” Andrick said.

Andrick said she has been pleasantly surprised by the amount of business garnered in the past week and a half. They have received a few large orders of 40 cupcakes.

To further promote their business, Andrick and Peruyera have encouraged their friends that lead various organizations throughout campus to solicit Whip & Whisk’s services for club meetings and events. Since Peruyera and Andrick have other extracurricular and academic commitments to consider, they require that customers place orders on Whip & Whisk’s website at a minimum of two days in advance and do not deliver on weekends.

“This way we can stay prepared while juggling everything else,” Peruyera said.

Whip & Whisk is partnering with Penn’s student-run startup Hangify, an events-based social media app, and will be on Locust in the coming weeks handing out free cupcakes in exchange for signups.

Andrick and Peruyera said they are confident that Whip & Whisk will be profitable because it is the only cupcake delivery business accessible to Penn students. They added although there are other sweet treats at the fingertips of Penn students, Whip & Whisk is the only customized cupcakes business and is more inclined to the interests of the Penn community.

To further promulgate Whip & Whisk, Peruyera and Andrick plan to advertise a cupcake of the month — February being red velvet for Valentine’s Day and Irish cream in March for St. Patrick’s day. In honor of Valentine’s Day, one can purchase six cupcakes with a 5 percent discount.

They plan to hold more tasting events to introduce people to their company and mission: “Satisfying your sweet tooth is a piece of cake.”

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