CHEESECAKED

 Desserts have always been a guilty pleasure of mine. In fact, they used to be too much of a pleasure for me, so I've had to learn how to find balance with a diet. However, when I saw these creations on Instagram, I knew that I would have to leave my diet at the door for this once in a lifetime experience. As I flung the door open with pure excitement, I was immediately floored with the amount of creativity I saw all at once. Whether it was the multi-colored "Unicorn" grilled cheeses, the variety of cheesecake cupcake flavors, or the outrageous over-the-top milkshakes, I knew that I needed to try something (and I needed to try it FAST!)

After my friend devoured this milkshake and I inhaled two cheesecake cupcakes, we struck up a conversation with the owner of this business. We mentioned that we found her through the Instagram popular page, and she was pleased to hear that as it is currently her only form of advertisement. Once we left the store, I decided to go back and analyze her Instagram marketing strategy. Right off the bat, I realized that it was very cost efficient as it is a free application to broadcast a product to the world, and if her page were to ever reach hundreds of thousands of followers, it would become very a successful enterprise. My next thought was, "What's holding her back?" As I scanned through her pictures, I noticed that a majority of the clientele included within her page were teens, a vast majority below the age of 20. 

In an industry where competitors like Georgetown Cupcake, Carlo's Bakery, and Cheesecake Factory exist with half a million followers each, have local branches, and market themselves to all age ranges, this one-store business should not be marketing itself to only one age range. I believe it is simply limiting their overall potential. As kids go back to school and have less time during the week to drive to Lenox Mall, I am curious if Cheesecaked will continue to market to this age range with new incentives, or if they will attempt to advertise towards adults who work closer to the store. 

All in all, Cheesecaked is such a different, creative, and yummy adventure. The owner is one of the sweetest people you will meet, and that is one of the things that makes the experience one to remember.