Quality Makers: Melissa Ben-Ishay of Baked by Melissa

Whether you’re walking the streets of New York City, at a birthday party, an office luncheon, or a friend’s house, odds are you’ve either requested, ingested, or been in the presence of a Baked by Melissa cupcake.

Melissa Ben-Ishay, Co-Founder and CEO of the widely known, widely tasted, bite-sized cupcake brand, has been micro-baking since 2008, hoping to rid people of their post-dessert guilt trips and instead, encouraging sweets-lovers everywhere to try more flavors and experience more joy.

Now, 16 years and 400 million cupcakes later, Baked by Melissa has 13 retail locations in the NYC area and a booming ecommerce business with nationwide shipping. Melissa has also found herself going above and beyond the cupcake call of duty, gaining mass popularity on TikTok for her next-level salads and everyday recipes (which you can explore in her newest cookbook, Come Hungry). 

We sat down with Melissa as she shared all of the small steps that led to a huge, inspiring business.

TQE: Rumor has it Baked by Melissa just turned 16 (!), which makes many of us feel very old. How did the brand start?

MBI: When I was 24, I was fired from my advertising job. I ran to my brother’s office crying, and he encouraged me to go home and bake my tie-dye cupcakes (at the time, I had been baking them all the time for everyone I know). He said we should turn it into a business. That night I baked 250 cupcakes and sent them into work with my best friend’s sister, who was interning at a well-known PR agency. The owner of the PR agency loved them and connected me with her caterer, who invited me for a tasting. My brother and I recognized the opportunity immediately. We named the business Baked by Melissa, developed a logo (the one we still use today!), and created business cards, and I went into that meeting as if we already had a business. The caterer loved the cupcakes, and I started doing VIP events with him the next week as Melissa of Baked by Melissa! 

‍TQE: Were you always interested in baking? What was the prompt for tiny cupcakes in a bajillion colors and flavors?

MBI: I’ve loved to bake since I was a little girl.  My mom always let me bake with her from the time I was so little that I needed a chair to reach over the counter. She let me do it all—crack the eggs, mix everything together—you name it.  In high school, my friend Jen and I would make up crazy flavor combinations for fun. To me, baking is arts and crafts, except you get to eat your project. As I grew older, I started baking for anyone and everyone I cared about.  Sharing food is my love language. 

‍TQE: When Baked by Melissa first began, what was your intention for it? At what point did it start to shift into something more… “serious?”

MBI: I always knew I wanted to do something that was fulfilling and left me exhausted from hard work at the end of the day. The night I was fired, instead of feeling sorry for myself, I made the conscious decision to take control of my own happiness. I went home and baked cupcakes. My brother recognized the potential to turn my baking into a business before I did.

TQE: What were your initial go-to flavors? What inspired you the most? 

MBI: I’ve always loved classic rock music and the carefree culture of the 60’s and 70’s. One of my work friends loved the band The Grateful Dead as did I, so for his birthday, I decided to make him red, white, and blue tie-dye cupcakes with the Grateful Dead 'Steal Your Face' piped on top in icing.  It was the first batch of tie-dye cupcakes I ever made. When I brought them into work the next day and everyone tasted them, the reaction was incredible. After that I started making tie-dye cupcakes for everyone and became known for them. So naturally, this was one of the four flavors we started with. The other three were S’mores, Peanut Butter Cup, and Cookie Dough. Tie-Dye is still and always has been our #1 bestseller.  

TQE: 16 years later, how do you continue to make a business that has become so commercialized / widespread feel local, artisanal, and inventive?

MBI: The Baked by Melissa brand evolves and grows with me. Without our customers and community, we wouldn't be able to do what we love every day, so we are always listening and engaging with our community to better understand what they love about Baked by Melissa and what they want to see next. We are constantly creating new flavors that make you feel like a kid again. We never compromise on the quality of our product. 16 years into the business, everything is still made entirely by hand, using only top-quality ingredients like real Hershey’s fudge, Skippy Peanut Butter, real Oreos and Biscoff cookie butter (imported from Belgium!). This sets us apart from so many other brands.

TQE: When you look at how far the business has come, what are the biggest changes you’ve made along the way to turn it into a nationwide conglomerate?

MBI: We perfected our packaging and the art of shipping perishable goods. Our cupcakes are placed in hard clamshells, packed with ice and insulation and shipped via one and two-day speeds. We also offer premium gift boxes for almost every occasion. The unboxing experience is beautiful, and we guarantee freshness. All of this has allowed us to grow our e-commerce business exponentially over the years and become recognized as a top gifting solution. Whether it’s for a birthday celebration or a friend who had a really shitty week and needs a pick-me-up, we exist to make people happy. 

TQE: Tell me a little about your Come Hungry cookbook that came out this year (which goes far beyond cupcakes). How did this come about? Who’s it for? Give us all the tea!

MBI: After my salads like the Green Goddess started to go viral on social media, I immediately saw the opportunity. I wanted to share the food philosophy that I live by: If you eat nourishing food at mealtime, you can absolutely indulge in dessert every day,  just like I do. Come Hungry is filled with over 100 nourishing recipes that are delicious and nutritious. There are a lot of salads of all sizes, toasts, weeknight dinners, breads, and desserts. 

TQE: What are some food mantras you live by?

MBI: My food philosophy is that mealtime is for nourishment, and dessert is for indulgence. If you eat nutritious, nourishing foods for meals, you can indulge in some dessert every day. 

TQE: Your TikTok is full of #FoodVibes. What are some things you’re hoping people will take away from the recipes you’re sharing?

MBI: I hope that those who watch me on social media can gain a sense of confidence in the kitchen through my recipes. You can make a flavorful, nourishing meal with ingredients you likely already have in your cabinet.  

TQE: Anything else we may have missed?

MBI: If you have any get-togethers coming up, need a gift or just feel like a treat, right now at Baked by Melissa, we’re offering some of my favorite assortments. Our cozy Fall for Dessert pack has flavors like Pumpkin Pie, Fudge Brownie and Red Velvet crunch.