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In a world of protein-maxxing and fiber-counting, it\u2019s hard to remember a time when a baked good itself could be a fad.<\/p>\n
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\u2019d 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\u2014except one.<\/p>\n
Melissa Ben-Ishay founded Baked by Melissa in 2008 after getting fired from her job as an assistant media planner at 24. Eighteen years and more than 500 million bite-sized cupcakes later, she\u2019s stepping down as CEO\u2014and for the first time, she says the company is open to a sale.<\/p>\n
Ben-Ishay will transition to president\u2014a title she held before the board installed her as CEO in late 2019\u2014while Sanjay Khetan, the company\u2019s current CFO, takes over as chief executive. In an exclusive Fortune interview with both Khetan and Ben-Ishay, Ben-Ishay said she\u2019d planned to bring Khetan on with the intention of finding someone who could replace her. On her first day of being the President and not the CEO of her company, Ben-Ishay described the move candidly: \u201cI am so freaking thrilled that I am no longer needed in that seat,\u201d she said, \u201cso I can focus on the areas of the business that I can uniquely drive.\u201d<\/p>\n
The openness to a sale marks a reversal for Ben-Ishay. In a 2025 interview with the Food Institute, Ben-Ishay said that maintaining quality standards was one of the reasons she\u2019d \u201cavoided acquisitions.\u201d When Fortune read the quote back to her, she said she didn\u2019t remember making it, then acknowledged the shift in her perspective. \u201cIt\u2019s something we\u2019re definitely interested in exploring and working towards,\u201d she said. She noted that the company fields acquisition offers regularly. \u201cEvery day we get offers in my inbox,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Asked what Baked by Melissa figured out while other brands from that era burned out, Ben-Ishay credited its bite-sized format\u2014mess-free, with no knife or fork required\u2014and a \u201cbest in class\u201d shipping experience. That, and a refusal to scale recklessly. \u201cWe didn\u2019t try and grow too quickly,\u201d she said. The company now has 14 retail locations, nationwide shipping, and claims continued year-over-year top-line growth. Where Crumbs chased a Nasdaq listing and Sprinkles sold to private equity, Baked by Melissa stayed private, taking in just $6 million in outside funding in its 18-year tenure and kept a light footprint.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Going viral for the opposite of cupcakes\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ben-Ishay had been CEO for barely three months when COVID shuttered stores across New York. \u201cI was scared out of my mind,\u201d she said, unsure of how to scale the business. Ben-Ishay has been open about the imposter syndrome that defined her early years\u2014she has previously told Fortune she didn\u2019t think she deserved the CEO title. Asked whether she ever felt the company had outgrown her, she was unequivocal. \u201cNever,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In her first year of being a CEO and during a pandemic, she said the company grew e-commerce revenue roughly 99% year over year. It was also during the pandemic that Ben-Ishay accidentally built what she now calls \u201ca business within my business\u201d\u2014going viral on TikTok not for cupcakes but for her Green Goddess salad recipe, which racked up over 27 million views. Her social following has spawned a brand partnerships division, two cookbooks (including a New York Times bestseller), and collaborations with Oatly, Squishmallows, and Ferrero.<\/p>\n
Ben-Ishay\u2019s TikToks are chaotic\u2014food bits flying, kids yelling, smoke detector beeping\u2014with the overachieving-burnt-out-mom energy that millennials have made aspirational. It clearly speaks to a strong contingent: Baked by Melissa has nearly 3 million followers on TikTok alone. On the call with Fortune, the vibe wasn\u2019t all that different; Ben-Ishay took part of the interview from the passenger seat of a car, at one point pausing to hug and chat with someone while Khetan answered questions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI am a mom with young kids. I am a creator. I am a cookbook author\u2014New York Times bestselling cookbook author\u2014and an executive co-founder of Baked by Melissa,\u201d she said. \u201cToday, president and co-founder. Yesterday, CEO and co-founder,\u201d which, she said, make up \u201cmany, many hats, and I have my priorities straight. I think this transition is not only best for Baked by Melissa, but best for me so I can breathe, like, a tiny bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
The question of what happens to the brand\u2019s social media presence\u2014arguably its most valuable marketing asset, built almost entirely on Ben-Ishay\u2019s personal content\u2014seems central to the transition. But she said she expects the shift to give her more time to create, not less. She has resisted the label \u201cinfluencer\u201d even as her following has grown. \u201cI\u2019m not an influencer by trade,\u201d she said. \u201cI have this greater responsibility, not only to Baked by Melissa, but also to my customer.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s founding story has always been a family affair. Ben-Ishay\u2019s brother Brian Bushell co-founded the business and served as its first CEO until 2016. He remains a shareholder and is involved in high-level strategic conversations, according to Ben-Ishay. She declined to comment on a books-and-records inspection lawsuit that Bushell appears to have filed against the company. (Bushell has not responded to a request for comment). Her husband, Adi Ben-Ishay, also works at Baked by Melissa and will continue to report to Khetan.<\/p>\n
Khetan said the partnership works because the division of labor is clean: Ben-Ishay leads brand and creative, he handles operations and finance. \u201cThe potential to create more value over the next couple of years is extraordinary,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ben-Ishay offered a final thought. \u201cBaked by Melissa\u2014we make bite-sized stuffed cupcakes in a variety of flavors that make you feel like a kid again, and we ship nationwide,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd hop to it, because Easter is on its way.\u201d Eighteen years in, and she\u2019s still closing.<\/p>\n
#Baked #Melissas #founder #freaking #thrilled #step #CEO<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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