Winter 2010
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Creative Occasions Inc. Sweet Success
THE MAGAZINE FOR LE ADING INDUSTRY EX ECUTIVES
Creative Occasions Inc.
Sweet Success Produced by Sean Barr & Written by Kellie Ducharme
Sheet cakes, square cakes, bar cakes, round cakes, organic cakes, iced cakes, seasonal cakes, wedding cakes … getting hungry? It’s okay, because there’s a fat free cake, too. As one of the nation’s leading cake makers, Creative Occasions Inc. bakes just about any type or flavor of cake imaginable. Having just experienced its eighth anniversary, the company has grown exponentially since its inception in 2002. Creative Occasions makes up to 15,000 cakes a day, each one carefully crafted by one of its 135 food specialists. “We put the goodies back into cakes,” chuckles Phil Crow, the company’s founder and owner, describing mouthwatering recipes that include lots of sugar, butter, cream and personalized attention. “Each cake is handmade and customized.” Creative Occasions has a 65,000 square foot production facility and a 12,000 square foot 2|
US Executive Journal
Winter Edition 2010
freezer in its Nashville, Tenn., plant. Crow strategically chose the Nashville location because it is just 650 miles from more than 50 percent of the nation, thus minimizing transportation costs for the product. Crow, who has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Baldwin Wallace University, began his 29-year career in the food industry with a Cleveland food production company, and then moved on to Dawn Food Products, a billion dollar operation in Mississippi. There, he spent 16 years perfecting the company’s brand, eventually becoming the president of Dawn’s international branch. Under the position, Crow spread Dawn’s products to the UK and Mexico by building plants, developing management teams and streamlining production facilities.
in-house, self-performing all design, baking and icing mixtures. The company may, however, buy premade fillings and concentrates from specialty suppliers, and relies fully on outside trucking companies for transportation. “Having good vendors is critical,” says Crow, adding that he takes into consideration “costs and flexibility” when choosing between subcontractors and vendors. Adapting Swiftly
“The market changed dramatically two years ago due to commodity and fuel prices, such as sugar, shortening and eggs; there was a 60 to 70 percent increase in pricing,” Crow explains. Unlike many companies whose sales were struck by the economy, however, Creative Occasions decided to invest more money into its Seeing a market for retail, however, Crow struck out on business in order to remain competitive. In fact, the his own. And now Creative Occasions is a highly regarded company bought out of a few of its competitors and purveyor of baked goods that handles its cake-making then rebranded them under the Creative Occasions |3
Creative Occasions Inc.
name. “We took a percentage [of our money] and decided to go after our competitors’ business, which has allowed us to control costs by picking up their distribution and exposure.” Thus, in an unlikely maneuver, Creative Occasions actually expanded in 2009 during the downturn. In addition to acquiring new locations, the company introduced a line of “clean label, all natural cakes,” which are essentially cakes made with organic, unprocessed ingredients. The firm also created a
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US Executive Journal
Winter Edition 2010
trans fat-free cake, which required significant effort to develop. “It took us nearly a year to come up with the right taste,” Crow says, adding that the company sets aside “resource and development dollars that go to developing new lines.” Currently, Creative Occasions has 96 different product lines and projects underway, from adult-themed cakes to wedding lines to private label desserts. “They’re all interesting to me,” Crow shares, explaining that the variety of projects is one of his favorite things about the cake-making business. For example, Creative Occasions recently acquired a contract with Honey Baked Hams to make all of that company’s cakes. The company is also looking into spreading into brownie production.
COMPANY AT A GLANCE Established : 2002 Creative Occasions Inc. Employees : 135 President : Phil Crow
www.coi4cake.com
Over the next few years, Creative Occasions plans to continue its legacy of growth by adding a few automated production lines and new products. Crow says he wants Creative Occasions to grow by 25 percent each year, a goal that can be easily accomplished with the company’s current level of ambition and professional execution.▪ |5
Creative Occasions Inc.
1 6 0 5 C o u n t y H o s p i ta l R oa d Nashville, TN 37218 U n i t e d S tat e s w w w. c o i 4 c a k e . c o m Winter 2009
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