Orders coming in from around the world
When a local man called an area bakery to ask about making a cake to look like an Amazon package he had no idea what he was starting. Now the idea has gone viral on the internet with orders flooding into the Dunn bakery from around the world.
Trena and Brent Norris, owners of Inspirational Grounds Coffee House and Sweet Dreams Bakery, have created unique cakes in the past, with confections looking like sewing machines, skeletons and other unique items, but none have gained attention like the chocolate cake they designed to look identical to an Amazon package.
The cake was a gift to Emily McGuire, on the occasion of her 39th birthday, from her husband, Mac.
Trena Norris saw it as a challenge to design the unique cake.
“I wanted to know if I could pull it off,” she said.
The cake was complete with Amazon’s packing tape, a UPS shipping label, the internationally known logo and a unique address. The cake’s address was 1234 Birthday Lane.
Once the cake was shown on Facebook, the owners began to understand the modern concept of “going viral” as people all over the world wanted the Amazon cake as the news of the cake spread across the internet.
It quickly had more than 26,000 Facebook likes. Another 19,000 shared the posts about the cake.
In recent days, orders have come to the small business in Dunn from Arizona, Thailand and Australia. Three orders have been received in the last week. People are already placing orders as much as a year ahead of time.
“It has been almost like a dream,” Brent Norris said. “The phone has been ringing nonstop.”
Shipping the cakes presents a unique challenge. It is difficult to prevent them from being damaged.
“We can ship them, but there is no guarantee what kind of shape they will be in when they get wherever they are going,” Brent Norris said. “That is something we are working on. It might be very expensive, but I think it can be done.”
Freezing the cakes is a possibility, but not the best solution, according to Trena Norris.
“I don’t like to freeze the cakes,” she said.
Trena Norris acknowledged she is a little surprised about the national media interest in her cake.
“I didn’t expect this,” she said. “I was just doing something a customer requested and then it went viral.”
Using the Amazon logo was a concern because of trademark laws. The company is now using the cake as an advertisement.
“That is something we thought about, but since they put it on their website I think we are OK,” Brent Norris said.
Mac Maguire told the “Today” show that he ordered the cake because of his wife’s love of Amazon. As many as three packages a week arrive at the couple’s home.
Inspirational Grounds and Sweet Dreams bakery has operated for nine years. It is located on U.S. Highway 301 North near Carlie C’s IGA store. The business specializes in many bakery items including wedding cakes, unique creations and other sweet treats, in addition to being a coffee shop.
-The Daily Record
