Graphika Online 2021: Get to know the sweet venture of Johnny Cupcakes

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MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The most unexpected things happen for a reason, and for Asia’s most influential creative conference, it is to gather creative people online. For this year, Graphika Manila invited 10 of the world’s top creative minds to share their respective creative journey – from art to sciences and business. Among the first set of speakers on the first day of Graphika Online 2021 was Johnny Cupcakes.

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Jokingly introduced himself as “Johnny Cup-cah-kes”, Johnny Earle is an entrepreneur, innovator, and the owner of the renowned brand Johnny Cupcakes. He was also known as America’s #1 Young Entrepreneur by Business Week and hailed as Top Innovator in Retail by The Boston Globe. But before all the sweet success he’s got and still getting, Johnny was once a little boy who dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur despite the learning difficulties and inability to concentrate.

“I had sixteen businesses before I was sixteen.”

In the event, he shared that because of his inability to sit in one place and concentrate, he became obsessed over the idea of being an entrepreneur. At a young age, he started selling lemonades, tupperwares, and joined yard sales. He also worked as a disk jockey and did magic which he admitted he still does; and before he turned sixteen, he already had sixteen different businesses.

According to Johnny, the brand name Johnny Cupcakes was one of the nicknames he had when he was working in a local record store. As he was making a t-shirt order for his then-hardcore metal band, he wore one to work where everybody was asking where to get one.

As he considered food-themed clothing weird and good at the same time, he started making more Johnny Cupcakes t-shirts.The cupcake designed with crossbones brought curiosity to strangers. Aside from the coolest and unique design, Johnny Cupcakes also includes the most strange freebie a customer could get upon receiving their packages – including a doll’s head.

Johnny Cupcakes is the first t-shirt bakery in the world. In his talk, Johnny shared a few humorous marketing strategies they did with their brand. One of which was the time where the brand released a limited edition breakfast special t-shirt and recalled a customer who got mad after not being sold one during lunch time.

As Johnny Cupcakes’ store set up looks like a real bakery, he happily shared that strangers get fooled by the brand’s name and presentation. T-shirts are displayed on baking racks and packaged in a signature pastry box. With his humorous side, Johnny Cupcakes actually sold real cupcakes and hid their merchandise on April Fools’ Day.

To date, Johnny Cupcakes had over 400 pop-up shops that helped Johnny Cupcakes reach customers around the world.