by: John & Benz Rana
article originally appeared in print: 07.21.07

Fact: nowadays more and more soon-to-weds are eager to personalize and customize each and every aspect of their wedding. With this trend, there is now a growing need to reinvent the standard packages and set menus of caterers and hotel banquets which tend to be typical, unexciting or just like any other wedding they have previously catered. The wedding cake is out of the question, as it is oftentimes mostly styro and the edible part is reserved for the newlyweds for the ceremonial cake-cutting. Although a few hotels and caterers have recently started to include dessert buffets as an add-on to their packages, we also starting to see a rise of new companies who have stepped up to the plate to fill this void. Now, the dessert lineup is not anymore a mere afterthought, but as equally important as the main courses.

We did a simple Q&A with four new dessert companies who have just started to venture into weddings and asked them about the products/services they offer. Here’s the profile and contact info of these new industry players:

Strawberry Dreams - strawberry-themed desserts, most notable of which is the chocolate-covered strawberry table centerpieces as edible alternative to the typical floral centerpieces (Jenn Manigao | 0916.2875727 | cloverandlace@gmail.com | strawberrydreamsph.multiply.com)

photo by Rico Ramoso | venue: Mag:net Cafe

Cuptails & Dreams - a unique and different take on the traditional cupcakes where the looks and flavors are inspired by popular cocktail drinks (Reena Francisco | 0927.5653261 | cuptailsanddreams@hotmail.com | order@cuptailsanddreams.com)

photo by Eddieboy Escudero

SanFo Treats - the kiosk we see in malls offering assorted caramel apples have now diversified to offering dessert buffet in weddings and other special events (Rochelle & Gerald Javier | 628.2993 | 0927.4637248| 0927.5632239 | 628.2993 | sanfotreats@yahoo.com.ph | www.sanfotreats.com | Glorietta; Megamall; The Block SM North Edsa; The Fun Ranch)

Classic Confections - well-known for her designer cakes, Baba Ibazeta-Benedicto came up with a dessert bar with an assortment of whole cakes and easy-to-grab sweet bars (Baba Ibazeta-Benedicto | 746.2773 | 0917.5245892 | bibazeta@yahoo.com | 4/F 87 West Capitol Drive, Kapitolyo, Pasig)

Q&A

How did you come up with this unique dessert idea?

Strawberry Dreams: Back in college, we had a Valentine project to sell flowers and chocolate-dipped strawberries and it was a hit. In Valentine ‘07, I decided to sell flowers myself as a sideline and we were thinking of another product to compliment the setup and came up with this. Lo and behold, it was a hit; even more than the flowers! Chocolate-coated strawberries isn’t really new, and upon searching the internet, we discovered a wide range of products related to it catering to the American palette, so we thought, why not here?

Cuptails & Dreams: I come from a family of cooks & bakers. I’ve been baking ever since I was 6 years old, and have always had that ‘entrepreneurial gene’ in my body. But it was only last May 2007 that I took my passion seriously. My older sister who owns The Gourmet Bread convinced me to do the dessert line. With that, I put up an affiliate which is Cuptails & Dreams. My business specializes in single-serving desserts, and the product that I’m pushing right now are cupcakes. Inspired by the craze that hit Manila , I thought of doing something different and targeting a niche market that’s more predisposed to trying out new things. I’m targeting the yuppie or the young adults market who love to go out with their friends either to parties, restaurants or bars. For them, having their own personality and uniqueness is the one that binds their friends together. That’s the reason why I decided to specialize in cocktail-inspired cupcakes (called Cuptails) to differentiate myself from all the cupcake businesses or dessert businesses mushrooming around. At the same time, though people are more aware right now of eating healthy, I believe that the idea of “indulgence” is still there. What more to enjoy this indulgence with your own serving of a cake in a cupcake! Very soon, I will be launching other Cuptails such as Lychee Margarita, Black Russian, The Alexander, and Sex on the Beach. Other than cupcakes, I will be launching several single-serving pastry lines like bars, cookies, and pies — all retaining the same image and tone as the Cuptails. They will still be targeting to the yuppie crowd and would have “flirty” or adult names.

For weddings and parties, I cater cupcake towers or Cuptail Highs (for those who will be ordering exclusively Cuptails for their tower). I can make from 4-6 tiered towers ranging from 100 cupcakes to 250 cupcakes. The clients can mix & match the flavors, or I can also follow their wedding or party motif.

As soon as all the other single-serving pastry lines are launched, I will be catering dessert bars (not just cupcake towers) to weddings and parties.

SanFo Treats: I have a passion for desserts. I love anything and everything sweet. When I was living in the US , I used to frequent a lot of dessert boutiques, go to stores that specialize in all sorts of fudge and taffy. Until eventually I started to work there and make caramel apples. They are much more expensive than the ones we sell at the store( we price the way we do because we want everyone to try it and be able to afford it. I guess it really is just for the love of our products). Frozen bananas also bring back a lot of childhood memories for me, going to Disneyland and biting into one of these frozen desserts was something I wanted to bring back, so we brought it here. As for the dessert buffet, I always dreamt of going to a party where all tables were connected and everything they had were just desserts. More like a Willy Wonka Birthday party. so we came up with extra long designer dessert buffet tables. We also did this for our wedding and I swear, it was a hit!

Classic Confections: We have been selling desserts since 1999 through our commissary kitchen in Pasig . It was when my partner Kat Malvar got married, we made a grand dessert buffet. I had cake stands custom made and we featured all of our desserts.

What do you call the desserts you offer?

Strawberry Dreams: We have Chocolate-coated Strawberries, Chocolate-Coated Apple Wedges, Choco Pudgy which is pure chocolate with fresh strawberry fillings and our brand new product the Choco-coated Tuxedo and Bride Berry which simulates a groom in a tuxedo and a bride in a gown.

Cuptails & Dreams: For my cocktail-inspired cupcakes, I call them Cuptails. For those without liquor, I call them Dreams. For the Bars, the brownies are called Brunettes, butterscotch are Blondies, red butterscotch are Red Heads, and revel bars are Afro. I’ll also be launching Oreo d’evours (pronounced as Oreo dervs) very soon.

SanFo Treats: I would call our desserts “designer treats.” Everything that we make are all individually designed and created by hand.

Classic Confections: Our desserts consist of small bars and whole cakes. We don’t have a name for the dessert bars itself. The cakes consist of rum cake, chocolate cake, lemon torte, Nono’s chocolate oblivion (named by Food Magazine as one of “The10 Best Desserts in Manila”), banana cream pie bars, opera torte bars, toffee walnut bars, Almond Rocca, mini cupcakes etc.

What makes your desserts unique?

Strawberry Dreams: If you think about it, the idea isn’t so unique, everybody can do it. I think what makes it unique in the Philippine market is that strawberry is the kind of fruit which people only experience occasionally. But it is the kind of fruit that gets people excited. Now team it up with chocolate and it’s just divine.

Our Strawberry Centerpieces are quite unique since people are always using non-edible products as reception centerpieces. Now you can have it as a decoration and as a dessert.

Cuptails & Dreams: For the Cuptails, the unique thing is that they’re cocktail-inspired. So your favorite cocktails such as the Margarita, Cosmopolitan, Screaming O, BJ, Mojito, Tequila Sunrise, and Pina Colada are all in cupcake forms. At the same time, I often ask the couple if they have a favorite cocktail drink (as long as they’re not beer-based or soda-based), and I can make a personalized Cuptail for their wedding. Each Cuptail has a hint of the liquor, just to bring out the over-all cocktail flavor. For me, it’s still a dessert so it should keep its sweetness and creaminess flavors and textures.

SanFo Treats: We customize a lot of our products most especially when it’s for a wedding or birthday. We follow the client’s color motif or theme. My background is really interior and production design so a lot of effort is put into making the “look and feel” of the table fit into the right theme. The desserts are also meticulously designed. We also provide pastries, cakes, cupcakes, fudge, jellies and so much more. We experiment with a lot of flavors and textures and we don’t limit ourselves to readily available ingredients. If we think of a treat that we know would work well for the client, we would come up with something from scratch. Truly gourmet! With our desserts, the possibilities are endless.

Classic Confections: I think what makes our dessert bar unique is that we use a variety of cake stands that are custom-made. Our dessert table also consists of whole cakes and easy to grab pieces. Our cakes are elegant looking and at the same time known to people.

Why should couples spend on this kind of desserts?

Strawberry Dreams: I’ve never seen this kind of dessert on any wedding I’ve been to. Try our Tuxedo and Bride Berry and it will make any wedding unique. It’s pretty and you can eat it too!

Cuptails & Dreams: I think it’s something different. All the couples and weddings have been going for the traditional fondant cake, but they, most of the time, never get the chance to share the cake with their guests. All the other layers are styro and there’s only one small piece that’s an actual cake just for the traditional cake cutting. If a couple would go for an all-cake fondant, it will cost them a lot. So I’m offering an alternative to all the couples, because not only is the concept unique, but they can also finally share their wedding cake with their guests either as dessert or give-aways. The couple can still have the traditional cake-cutting (I can make a 6-inch in diameter round cake on top of the tower for the couple), and at the same time, invite their guests to take part in their sweet dessert.

Moreso, Cuptails always manage to be a good conversation piece in parties. Everytime a person takes a bite, they’re in for a pleasant surprise. So it makes the whole feel of the party different. It gives it more personality.

SanFo Treats: A lot of my clients have told me their caterer or the hotel would only give them 3 kinds of desserts for their chosen menu. They say its never enough, so, when I come up with a 25 ft dessert table with 40 kinds of treats, they really think it’s a good idea and that it is another highlight that they would really remember about their special day.

Classic Confections: Who doesn’t love desserts? Plus visually, it’s a treat to your guests!

What’s the most memorable wedding set up you did so far?

Strawberry Dreams: To be honest, our company is pretty new and we have yet to experience an actual wedding setup. I attended one bridal expo though and I would say I loved this one setup I made, it even surprised me!

We have made some bookings for this year and like all of them, we’re really quite excited to see how it’s going to look like. I talk to brides and we share ideas on how to make their weddings beautiful. My first wedding is on November and I’d be more than happy to share the experience once it’s done.

Cuptails & Dreams: Since Cuptails & Dreams only started 2 months ago, I haven’t catered to a wedding yet. I’ve only had the chance to cater to birthday parties and baptisms, since those types of events don’t need a long planning period. But I’ve already booked several wedding clients for this year and next. Anyway, from my previous caterings, I believe each one of those is memorable in their own way. But the common denominator is that I always receive either an SMS or an e-mail from the clients that my cupcakes were a hit. They were either finished during the party itself, or a lot of the guests took them home. What’s good is that I always manage to get smiles and positive reactions from the clients and the guests as soon as they see the tower assembled. Even if the meal hasn’t started yet, they want to get cupcakes from the tower already.

For my upcoming wedding clients, my most unique experience would be a couple asking me to make a Mai Tai Cuptail for them, because it’s their favorite cocktail drink. I really like it when clients truly understand the nature of my desserts, and even want to be adventurous about it. So for their wedding, their wish is my command.

SanFo Treats: I guess it would be ours. Before we had gotten married, I imagined a wedding cake that would say “this is our story,” but I guess the small cake was just not enough to do that. So, we decided to tell the story on how we met using the 25ft dessert buffet. My husband and I met on an island while diving. So, I wanted to work around that. On the table were two figures standing bedside an “island-looking” cake with palm trees and cookies for rocks. The entire spread was really delicious and we used a lot of sea shells for props and even a small lighthouse on top of cascading pastries. The caramel apples doubled as rolling hills and at the end of the party, they were given away as souvenirs.

I had gotten a lot of great comments and until now, our guests would come up to us and tell us how wonderful our dessert buffet was. Most of them didn’t know how we met and when they had seen the table, they quickly understood. It was really memorable and fun for everyone.

Classic Confections: The most memorable would be the dessert buffet for my partner’s wedding and my wedding last year. Because we had no limitations and we could do what ever we wanted.

How much would it cost to have your desserts for a wedding?

Strawberry Dreams:
Strawberry Centerpiece - P5000-P9000/20 tables
Giveaways - P20-P120
Strawberry Dessert Bar - P6,000 up

We innovate products every time, so we accept personal suggestions and requests.

Cuptails & Dreams: A regular cupcake tower is a 4-tiered tower with 100 pieces of cupcakes (maximum of 5 flavors). The cost ranges from P4,000-P5,500 depending on what flavors they will choose. They can mix & match the flavors, or we can follow their wedding motif. But I can also make a 5-tiered tower with 200 cupcakes and a 6-tiered tower with 250 cupcakes. And if it’s an even bigger wedding or event, I have two 6-tiered towers with 500 cupcakes. Costs for bigger towers will also depend on the flavors they will choose.

SanFo Treats: I think that’s what makes working with us so fun. We are really flexible because we follow the client’s budget whether is P6 thousand or P50 thousand. We would come up with a customized menu. Some of our clients get as much as 40 different desserts for their special day.

Classic Confections: We usually work with the budget of the couple. Usually P15,000 and up.