Upcoming Events

Well, it seems as though I have still not been very diligent about updating our blog regularly... I promise that that is truly still a goal of mine and I will continue to work on being more efficient in that regards. A lot has happened since our last post, and so the updates shall begin now! :)

First and foremost, generally speaking, our snack boxes are still going pretty well. We have a new idea we would like to implement starting in May. We are going to look at our sales statistics from the past few months and figure out which 10 of our products have been the best sellers out of everything we have put in the box. From that list of 10, we are going to create a survey to be passed out at each snack box location and ask our customers to select their favorite 8 from the list given. We will tally the results and the 8 treats which recieve the most votes will be on our official "Snack Box Menu," so to say. The 8 treats selected will become regulars in the boxes and be stocked on a schedule, with 2 snacks designated for each week of the month. We will also throw in surprise treats, probably once or twice a month, because I can't imagine not being able to test out new recipes. Hopefully the consistency will allow us to better supply more of what our customer's demand, and in turn, hopefully this will also boost our profit margin. I am contemplating adding a new box or two, but our time constraints have us pretty well overbooked as it is, so this is really only a consideration at this point.

Second, we have been selected to be featured as U.S. Bank's Business Partner of the Month at the local Laramie branch! This will start April 20th and run until May 20th. For this promotion, we will have a table set up at U.S. Bank that is stocked with business cards, magnets, and samples of our products. We are really looking forward to getting our name out and circulating in the larger community. As of right now, there is a relatively small pool of people who actually know about us and what we offer, so this is a wonderful opportunity to expand on that pool! Hopefully, we will see some new inquiries and new customers will start to drift our way.

As a personal endeavor, we are entering two original recipes into the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest. The deadline for entries to be recieved is April 18th. The two recipes which will be submitting are our Banana Split Swirl Brownies and our Tropical Island Cookie Bars... both are delicious and simple to make, so hopefully, we stand a chance! How surreal would it be if we were actually somehow selected to be finalists? I honestly can't imagine, but I am excited at the opportunity to try! We will keep you posted if we make it past preliminary judging, as, if I am correct, our recipes will be posted online and viewers will have the opportunity to vote for the favorites.... Not holding our breath, but definitely keeping our fingers crossed!

We have really been having a blast experimenting with cupcakes lately, and we welcome any opportunity you have for us to continue on with our experimenting. Finding new flavor combinations is really exciting, and birthdays are always a great occasion for us to try out some new ideas! So far, we have come up with original recipes for Dreamsicle cupcakes, Boston Creme cupcakes, Cookies & Cream cupcakes, Blueberries & Cream cupcakes, and Irish Cream cupcakes... All are wonderful, and as mentioned already, we have a ton of other ideas we want to try out... Next on the list I think is going to have to be either Junior Mint cupcakes, Almond Joy cupcakes, or something Springy and Summery that I have not yet titled yet. :)

You can find pictures of all of the mentioned treats on this page on our Facebook page! Hopefully someday I will find the time to add all of those pictures here so I can better cater to both audiences, but for now, hopefully you will visit our Facebook page, as it really is updated more frequently, both with posts and pictures! Also, be sure to look for the contest we have going on this week. The person who can get the most referrals for our page on Facebook will win free treats!

Until next time.... take care!

It's Been Awhile...

Well, it has been almost a month since our last post. Things have been incredibly busy and, unfortunately, the blogs are one of the first things that I let go by the wayside when time constraints begin to present an issue. Hopefully, as the year moves forward, I will find more time to devote to maintaining this page and updating our posts more frequently! But anyways, here is what has been going on in the world of Jacab's Heavenly Sweets...

After the start of the new year, we started our snack boxes off by supplying only healthier snack options thinking, as mentioned in earlier posts, that this might help attract more customers by including those looking to make health-conscience decisions in their treat selections. We found out quickly that this was not the case. Although the majority of the places where our snack boxes are located are filled with healthy, in-shape individuals, we realized that when someone is looking for a treat, they want just that. Needless to say, the healthier snack options did not sell as well as we were first anticipating, and we quickly resorted back to our typical goodies. We do, however, still include the homemade granola bars and apple cinnamon snack mix in the boxes on occasion, as those both became very popular at almost every location.

In lieu of the healthier alternatives, we also decided to try and see how successful a savory snack mix would be, so we whipped up a big batch of our own special cereal mix and put it in the boxes. This was actually a huge hit; we almost sold every bag that was placed in the boxes. We will definitely continue to make this snack mix on a regular basis.

We have also recently made Magic Cookies Bars, Cookies and Cream Treats, a variety of rice cereal treats, and one of my personal favorites in celebration of Valentine's Day, Grams' Sugar Cookies. My grandma made absolutely the BEST sugar cookies I have ever had, and luckily, she passed the recipe down to me. She recently passed away, and I enjoy honoring her memory through the many things she taught me, including baking and cooking, of course. The one thing I have yet to accomplish successfully is making her soft, frosted molasses cookies. Many people have tried these cookies and almost all of them assert that they are one of the most delicious cookies they have ever had. I promised my grandma before she passed on that I would never give up on making these special and beloved cookies and I won't. Hopefully, one day success will fall into my hands and bless them as they attempt to make her molasses cookies. At this point, I really don't feel as if it is much of an option. Grandma's molasses cookies were so amazingly delicious that I can't imagine never having one again, so that leaves it up to me to figure out what her secret was and make it happen. I will keep you updated on how the progress goes!

In the meantime, we are continuing to formalize our home-based business. We received confirmation from the Secretary of State that we are officially established as an LLC and are now deciding whether we should register our trademark at the State level or the Federal level. So many decisions to make that we never really thought of beforehand... We are also hoping to be able to get a business account set up soon to help us track our income and costs more accurately and are also looking into the possibility of employing software such as Intuit to help us maneuver through the unknown waters of all that running a successful home-based business entails.  Surely it will take some time, but we feel confident in our ability to end up where we need to be.

As always, keep us in mind to help satisfy your sweet tooth! We make wonderful birthday party cupcakes (last month we came up with some Dreamy Creamsicle Cupcakes that were OUT OF THIS WORLD and are looking forward to experimenting more with fun and unique flavors along the same lines) and can offer a variety of sure-to-please treats perfect for any occasion!

Thank you, as always, for your support!

Welcome to 2011!

Well, after a much-needed break, we are officially back into the swing of things after the holidays. Currently, our only projects consist of filling the snack boxes we have set up around town every Monday and taking the few orders that occasionally wander our way . With the exception of the snack boxes, things are pretty quiet right now- which in all honesty is a bit refreshing and gives us more time to focus on more of the "official" aspects of the business. We have officially applied through the Secretary of State to be licensed as an LLC and have also set up our tax information through the IRS. Once we recieve confirmation from the Secretary of State that we are official, we plan on submitting our application to register our name as a trademark. Once all of that is complete, we should be all set and ready to go! Hopefully our success will continue to grow as we do!!!

Let us know if you are in the market for anything that may call for delicious treats! Whether it be Valentine's Day, a Super Bowl party, or just a friendly get-together, we offer a variety of items that are sure to satisfy!!! Based off of our recent baking endeavors, I would have to recommend our Chocolate Peanut Butter Temptation Bars or our Double Chocolate Orange Fudge Sauce.... YUM!!!

Hope that everyone's new year is off to a sweet and successful start!!!