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Candace Nelson, alongside her husband, Charles, has created from scratch a hugely successful cupcake business. This phenomenal entrepreneur found her true passion after losing her successful investment banker position during the familiar dot-com bust. After some reevaluation, this innovative spirit came up with the idea to start an exclusive cupcake bakery. Pouring all of her heart, soul, money, and time into her bakery visions created more success than the couple could have ever imagined. Using only the finest ingredients, ‘Sprinkles’ cupcakes have attracted the attention of famous personalities such as Tyra Banks, Oprah Winfrey, Blake Lively, Ryan Seacrest, and Katie Holmes. Her popularity amongst the famous has significantly contributed to her nationwide success. The elite’s attention on her business has also established her store as an exclusive cupcake bakery among the international massesand following cue many copycat bakeries are appearing all over the globe. Nearly all of her store’s locations have a continual line of customers waiting to taste the finest cupcakes. She has become a television personality herself, gaining fame through the famous show ‘Cupcake Wars’. Noted as a cupcake expert, she sits on a panel of two permanent judges on the show. This amazing woman shares her success by donating huge amounts of extra cupcakes, cookies, and ice cream to shelters and food banks daily.
CHILDHOOD & EARLY LIFE
The cupcake queen was born on May 8, 1974. She spent most of her childhood growing up in Indonesia.
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She soon moved to the United States to attend high school. In 1996, she graduated from ‘Wesleyan University’ and took up a career in investment banking.
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In 2002, she graduated from the professional pastry program offered at ‘Tante Marie’s Cooking School’ in San Francisco. This was a major turning point in her life, where she found her passion in creating her famous cupcakes.
CAREER
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Before her cupcakes became famous, she worked as an Oklahoma investment banker. The dot-com bust, however, collapsed her banking career and she was left jobless. At the time, she decided to turn her focus to baking.
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In 2005, her first cupcake bakery, ‘Sprinkles’, was opened in Beverly Hills, California. She was an instant success and within the first few days of opening, her stocks sold out every day. Within no time, she was selling up to 1,000 cupcakes a day.
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By 2006, another ‘Sprinkles’bakery was opened in Newport Beach. The exquisite cakes were beginning to attract the attention of notable legends like Barbara Streisand and Oprah Winfrey.
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In 2010, she was offered a position as a judge in the hit television series ‘Cupcake Wars’. The show invites bakers from all over the nation to create the most tasteful themed cupcakes and the judges award the winning team with $10,000. The show is still on-air.
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She creatively designed the world’s first Cupcake ATM, in 2012. Catering to Sprinkles addicts on the go, this machine is restocked with fresh cupcakes and cookies throughout the day and night. The machine is open 24 hours a day.
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Sprinkles currently has 14 locations nationwide along with a Sprinklesmobile cupcake truck, and major business with ‘Williams-Sonoma’ stores in the US and Canada.
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Recently, she signed a deal with M.H. Alshaya to open 34 more ‘Sprinkles’ locations around the Middle East. Nelson has no plans of slowing down any time soon.
MAJOR WORKS
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The most notable work of her career was the opening of the very first ‘Sprinkles’store in 2005. This amazing entrepreneur worked seven days a week, getting a meager two hours of sleep at night and even sometimes sleeping on the floor of the bakery. Candace and her husband’s dedication set off a cupcake craze throughout the country.
AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS
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Her unique and delicious cupcakes have been featured in famous shows such as the ‘Today Show’, ‘Nightline’, ‘Good Morning America’, ‘The Martha Stewart Show’, and ‘Oprah’. She has also been mentioned in ‘Food & Wine’ magazine, ‘Bon Appetit’ magazine, ‘People’ magazine, the ‘Los Angeles Times’, and the ‘New York Times’.
PERSONAL LIFE & LEGACY
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She is married to Charles Nelson. Initially the couple worked as investment bankers. When Candace started her endeavor in the cupcakes business, her husband supported her in every way and continues to assist with the opening and running of ‘Sprinkles’.
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The ‘Sprinkles’ franchise is dedicated to using the freshest and best ingredients, which has provided many other stores with inspiration to do the same. The cupcake store is so insistent on top quality that it uses ‘Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla’, which is priced at over 100 dollars a gallon.
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They pioneered a trend in the bakery industry with their delicious cupcakes. Once Sprinkles gained popularity it garnered the attention of many business enthusiasts and copycats began appearing everywhere.
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During an interview with ‘The Business Makers’ radio show, she expanded on the fact that everything is baked every few hours. Due to this fact, at the end of the day there are several leftovers. Instead of selling them the next day, the shop donates all extras to local food banks and homeless shelters.
TRIVIA
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After opening the second Sprinkles location in Newport Beach, this famous personality appeared on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’. This boosted their sales by over 50 percent.
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The cupcake franchise offers Doggie Cupcakes. They are available in-store, online, and even in the Cupcake ATM’s. The couple has a dog of their own that holds the position of doggie cupcake taste taster.
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