Cupcake interview with Luigi Lobuglio of Brooklyn's Little Cupcake Bakeshop

We visited Bay Ridge, Brooklyn bakery Little Cupcake Bakeshop in February for our monthly NYC Meetup and had a fabulous time! (If others took photos that day, please send them to us.) Here's an interview with the Market Director, Luigi Lobuglio, of this green bakery that has very delicious cupcakes, some of our favorites in New York City.


This photo from Little Cupcake's website; others by Nichelle Stephens

Name: Luigi Lobuglio
Age: 28
Location: Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
Occupation: Marketing Director
URL: www.littlecupcakebakeshop.com

How long have you been baking and what prompted you to start Little Cupcake?

Being part of a business that has the power to simply brighten someone’s day is a dream. The Little Cupcake Bakeshop was always a dream of ours. It fulfills this goal everyday. A simple glance at them can drum up emotions, warm your heart, and make you feel like a child again. What’s most satisfying to me is seeing the excitement in a person’s eyes the moment before they’re about to devour a cupcake.

When did Little Cupcake open and how as it evolved since it opened?

The Little Cupcake Bakeshop was born on July 23, 2005. We’re constantly evolving, from our environmental outlook, to baking a simple and delicious cupcake. Little Cupcake Bakeshop Bay Ridge is anxiously awaiting the arrival of its new little sister that’s on the way. Doctors think it might be twins!

Why did you choose the location of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and are most of your customers locals or do people come from other parts of the city to your bakery?
Bay Ridge is our home; it’s where we grew up. While most of our customers are locals, we have a wonderful out of town fan base. I think the bakeshop has done an excellent job of introducing Bay Ridge to people from all over. I can’t tell you how often we’ve had people visit the shop and say we’ve helped make their decision to move to Bay Ridge that much sweeter.



In 2007, you became "carbon neutral." Can you tell us more about your environmental efforts? Are you part of a movement of green bakeries?

To become carbon neutral, we first calculated our bakeshop's carbon emissions. Then, we began implementing measures to reduce as much carbon as possible. We installed CFL lights, light dimmers, motion sensors, Energy Star appliances, and Low E window panes to reduce our energy use. The bakeshop uses reusable mugs, plates, utensils to replace the need to give out disposable ones. The store also runs on wind power. The link between environmental progress and economic development is very clear. Greening is not some pricey experiment, it’s an essential part of our business model.
Do you plan to introduce any new or seasonal flavors?

We are always introducing new flavors. These past few weeks were especially thrilling, we had the chance to root for our NY Giants in the form of a white vanilla cupcake, with navy blue vanilla buttercream icing, topped with the signature “NY” logo along with sugar football helmets. We couldn’t make them fast enough.

Helen Hunt filmed a scene for an upcoming movie at Little Cupcake. Can you tell us about what that process was like, and when we can expect to see Little Cupcake on the big screen?

It was pretty exciting, we learned about it that same day. She simply walked in to buy a cupcake. A few hours later, we had a visit from the production team leader who asked if we would “mind” if the store was featured in the movie. Then She Found Me is the motion picture, it’s scheduled for theatrical release sometime in May 2008.

You do catering for parties, weddings, and other events, and your clients have included Saks Fifth Avenue, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, NYU, MAC Cosmetics, Manhattan Borough President's Office, New York City Council, and MTV. What's been your most exciting event you've catered? How far in advance should someone contact you for big orders and catering?

Catering is great because you’re able to bring the happiness to them, and the fact that it’s usually at the customer’s workplace makes it that much more satisfying.

So far this year, one of our most exciting events had to be the MTV New Year’s Eve ball. We were asked to create masquerade theme cupcakes that were to be handed out after the bells. The special treats were a mixture of devils food cupcakes, golden vanilla cupcakes, each with black vanilla buttercream icing, with special masquerade designs that were hand drawn on top.

What's your dream cupcake catering job?

We recently catered an event at the Brooklyn, N.Y. Fort Hamilton Army Base. One of our dream cupcake catering jobs would be to somehow be able to ship scores of cupcakes to our troops in Iraq. WOW, could you imagine how exciting that would be? We should put together a coalition of every cupcake shop in America; the goal would be to bake enough cupcakes to fill a US Airbus to be deployed for Iraq.

What are your busiest hours of the day or week?

It’s tough to say. We’re still trying to figure out if lunch has dinner beaten?

Did you do any special cupcakes for Valentine’s Day?

Personalization, personalization, personalization! Surely, this is definitely the most popular time of year when the most customer personalization requests come into play. So far, every year since we’ve opened, we have had someone propose to their significant other in our store on Valentine’s Day.

You have launched The Little Cupcake Initiative, which works with the local community to supposed local educational, environmental, and athletic activities. Can you tell us more about the initiative, and how readers can get involved?

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time, I think more and more former "doubters" are finally raising their white flags. The Little Cupcake Initiative is a volunteer-driven program made up of green advocates and employees. Our mission is to educate the public and other businesses about greening. In the spring of 2008, we are launching Frosting Global Warming: Little Cupcake Initiative's Guide to Becoming Carbon Neutral. It will help people understand how to be green at home and at the work place. It will be featured online at www.frostinglobalwarming.com. My brother Massimo was personally trained by former Vice President Al Gore and his team of science advisors to be a certified lecturer on climate change. He gives talks all around the city about the dangers and solutions to global warming.

New York has numerous cupcake bakeries; aside from your location, what sets Little Cupcake and your cupcakes apart?

NYC is home to many great things, I think what sets us apart from not only cupcake bakeries, but from most other businesses, is the fact that we do not ever let profits be the driving force in our business model.

What are the best and worst things about running Little Cupcake Bakeshop?

The Little Cupcake Bakeshop is our baby; we truly love every waking moment of it.

Why do you think cupcakes have risen to such popularity of cupcakes in recent years? What do you see as the future of the cupcake?

Cupcakes have always been popular, the only thing missing was a platform. Today, cupcake bakeries fill this missing link. As far as the future of cupcakes, I think the next step for the cupcake is to play an active role in U.S. foreign policy. We can use them to broker peace agreements.



And now for some personal questions…

How often do you eat cupcakes?

You see, this can get me in trouble...the thing is, I’m part of our quality control team. One of my duties is making sure our cupcakes are just right, so if that means I have to eat 4 or 5 more than I really should, then I guess I have a good excuse...right?

What's the best thing about eating cupcakes?

It’s yours and all yours, never, ever meant to be shared!

What's your favorite type of cupcake?

This is a tough question, the truth is they all tickle my fancy. It’s the only dessert I have ever went crazy for, but if I had to pick one, one that stands out above the rest, it would have to be our chocolate cloud cupcake. It’s a devils food cake, topped with meringue icing. It’s heavenly!

How do cupcakes compare/contrast to other baked goods for you?

There is no comparison. No other dessert in the world has the power to conjure up more emotions than a cupcake.

Is there any innovation you'd like to see made to the cupcake that would improve it for you?

Mr. Miles once said: Hmmm, what about a cupcake filled with semifredo (ricotta/marscapone/chocolate), or a breakfast cupcake, with an omelet filling (egg/ham/cheese/green pepper), or "Quiche" (egg/cheese/bacon/cream) filling. And maybe even a habenero/queso/white-corn-kernel corn muffin in there somewhere. He was on to something…Nahhhhh, just kidding. Simplicity is best; I’ll stick with our golden vanilla with vanilla buttercream.

Do you bake your own cupcakes? Or (even better) have someone who bakes them for you?

I think the best thing is baking them for that special someone, not for myself. (Otherwise, I’ll really eat too many)

What's your first cupcake-related memory?

All I know is I was in love with my fourth grade teacher, she was perfect, her eyes, her hair, they way she spoke, just everything about her, and the best thing: she even brought us homemade cupcakes every Friday afternoon.

What's the most fun you've ever had with a cupcake?

Cupcakes are considered a secret weapon of ours, and using them for this purpose is extremely fun. We take them to most gatherings, meetings and almost any other social event we might be attending. They are the ultimate messaging tool.

Do you have anything else to add?

BE CARBON NEUTRAL!