In a world of protein-maxxing and fiber-counting, it’s hard to remember a time when a baked good itself could be a fad.
But a decade ago, people underwent a frenzy for cupcakes. Adults would line up around the block for cupcakes that came out of vending machines; a company selling jumbo cupcakes with custard filling IPO’d at $13 a share, and people raced to buy a sheet of miniature tie-dye cupcakes for $45. The frenzy was so massive, the cupcake boom moved 669 million units in a single year, but like an overdone cupcake in the oven, it deflated just as quickly as it went up. Crumbs went from a Nasdaq darling to bankrupt in three years. Sprinkles, the brand that invented the cupcake ATM, shut its doors for good just weeks ago. Nearly every gourmet cupcake company from that era has dramatically flared out and died—except one.
