AI've been doing cakes from home for sometime now and 9/10 I usually deliver them. When I deliver them, I usually never use a cake box to sore them in or anything. But now it seems it's becoming more and more of a problem. My customers always ask "Did you just bring the cake like that?" Or "Where's the box?" As if they're expecting it to be closed off.. Wondering if I'm doing something wrong here...? I don't see te point in me putting it in a box when I deliver if I'm just gonna set it at the table an te box will be thrown away

we always put it in a box, unless for some reason it's just too big. Even when we are delivering a 3 tier cake that won't fit in a standard box height for a celebration we cut off the top and at least put it in the box. A lot of decorators will build their own boxes around the cake, buy them from Office Max, or custom order the ones with windows, even if delivering. We usually don't go that far, but it is a good idea.

It may not make sense to you, but a box is kind of a way of saying "you got a professional product." It's also more sanitary and secure. 

Nothing like pulling someone's unboxed cake out of your trunk to give people the wrong impression. 

AI always put cake in a box. It just feels cleaner to me. It is also a great place to attach a business card. ;)

AGrosd and totally unhygienic. Nasty.

Why is it so strange that clients expect their costly cakes to be hygienically packed and delivered?

I can't believe the amount of people who deliver cakes unboxed! Wtf? Where's the common sense here, folks?

I pretty much never boxed cakes when I delivered them.  Just the way I was taught when I first worked at the bakery.  ::shrugs::

i've done it all different ways--some bakeries never use a box for tier cakes--some always make and seal up the box--some use the plastic (organizational type re-useable) boxes--

i started out not boxing -- somewhere along the line i switched--then for one cake i thought screw that box making mess-- easy cake--just gonna toss it in the car--no worries--well it came up a brief downpour right at delivery time--there was thick white steam pouring off roofs and cars and all the surfaces --it was an instantaneous steam bath so i had to toss a box together last minute--and it was good thing really because it was a long way from the car to the venue and up this massive staircase--so i like the security of boxes for climate control and it is easier to maneuver--

oh but more importantly--delivering a couple new cake boxes* for leftovers is important -- keeps caterers, venue peeps & clients very happy--they ♥ u 4 that --and the opposite is true too--

*i often deliver in corrugated cardboard moving boxes, sometimes re-fashioned sheet boxes--

 Boxing a cake (or any product) is the professional standard.

AJust out of curiosity, why would you NOT use a box?

ATo the OP: I understand that many people have no problem with a cake being uncovered in transport but many people are grossed out by it. But if you have more than a few customers telling you their cake should be covered, why not invest in boxes?

I would not eat a cake, much less order another cake from the baker, if it was delivered uncovered. I know that it's possible that it came in contact with nothing disgusting, but my imagination is active.

Why hurt your chances for return customers?

It's really going overboard to say it's nasty. If it's so nasty, then it must also be nasty to set the cake uncovered at the venue table with all sorts of people oohing and ahhing and breathing on the cake.  I suppose if a person's car is filthy and animals ride in it... My car is quite clean.  Plus, I always line the areas where the cake is going with clean, white sheets whether delivering a boxed cake or not boxed.

AMy opinion is that when you work from your home (I do) you need to go out of your way to look professional so you are not perceived just as a cake lady. I would expect my cake to be delivered in a box and I would want it for the leftovers. Although I do have to admit that many friends ask if I want the box back, I guess they want to help me save money, but I never take them back. Who wants a used cake box?

A

buddy and duff do both--used boxes & didn't use boxes--looked like mostly no box when they delivered and boxed for pickups--normal operating procedure

AYes, it IS nasty (not to mention very unprofessional) to deliver unboxed product. What clients do with a product once delivered or picked-up is up to them.

It's MY responsibility to make sure the product is as hygienic as possible, which means boxed (not to mention following HD regulations for food service premises), and the use of ONLY food-safe equipment when making the product.

If I ordered a cake (or any other food product, for that matter) and it was delivered unboxed I would refuse delivery and never order from there again, and never ever recommend the place.

It's up to ME, the professional, to provide the right size and type of box for the product.

Cars are pretty gross, too. It doesn't matter how clean you think your car is - it isn't. Thrre'd always crud floating around in it.

I am constantly amazed at all the different feeble reasons folks come up with in order to justify their unhygienic practices.

For the record, I'm absolutely NOT one of those people who are scared to death of bacteria!

A

OK so lets state the obvious - some states, NOT ALL, require licensed home bakers to have all food transported and delivered in a box or a food safe container as part of the cottage law and some cottage laws require your food have a sticker on it stating it was made in a home kitchen - the only way to abide by said law is to deliver your cake in a box with the appropriate sticker... if you are legal then you should already know if this is a requirement or not.  Not trying to start a legal vs. not, but OP, you will get mixed answers on this because we are from all over the world... some have opinions, some follow their own local laws, all our laws are different, some have even bigger opinions, and not everyone will be helpful here.  

I live in CA and it is not a state requirement to deliver in a box because I work in a commercial facility.  If I worked from home it would be a requirement (I think) to deliver in a box and have it labeled that it was made in a home kitchen.  However I try to box when possible because it's logistically more sanitary.  I didn't used to worry about it (for large cakes) because I didn't have to legally until I saw an episode of Top Gear (US) where they tested the insides of 3 used cars and found literally the most disgusting things in them you can imagine.  I was going to list it out here but I started grossing myself out and I have a used car (yeah, made a trip to have it shampooed right away.  People do the most disgusting things in cars).  At any rate, if the cake is under 10", its in a box.  If it's a large tiered cake I use large moving boxes and try and minimize any funk from getting onto the cake in transport and always bring a small box to leave at the venue for any left overs.  

But there is another reason to invest into boxes for smaller cakes - BRANDING.  I brand, sticker and label everything.  Word of mouth is extremely important and people are naturally curious.  If they see a box, they want to look at the box.  And guess what?  They see my company name, website and phone number.  They taste cake.  They love it.  Then remember they saw where it came from and low and behold, I get business from it.

\o/

If the local pizza parlor delivers your $10 pizza in a box, why wouldn't someone expect the same from the baker they just paid $100+ to for a cake?

Liz

This is definitely an interesting thread to read, with lots of information to mull over.  And the fact is that you guys are all doing it differently and you are all in successful businesses.  

Thinking back over the Big Money Cake businesses on TV; not only do they appear to NOT cover their cakes, (although some are transported in a box) but they have tons of nasty unsanitary on-camera habits that are off-putting.  For example they walk around in their delivery truck then place a cake board (with a cake) directly on the floor of the delivery truck.

i actually go to great lengths to box my cakes, liz, thank you for asking so nice though--

however it's not a crime against humanity to deliver unboxed cakes imo--

it's just done all day every day everywhere--

i mean start a campaign against i guess but it's ok to do this most everywhere--

what i mean is i'm surprised at the surprise --

it's ordinary to me--

And I said this before, but I guess you didn't see it:

I do mostly high end fondant cakes than can't be stacked at the venue.

Look, I don't want to be in this argument. I only posted because of Godot's inflammatory comment using the word nasty. It's not nasty. If you think it is, then that's your right. Obviously a box is better than not a box, but a box is not always possible or advisable. Hats off to those of you putting your 3 tiered cakes and big cake sculptures in a box.

yeah--16x16x16 is the largest that i can do --i can fit 5 in my car ( a sedan) at one time i think--no 6 if nobody's riding shotgun--i've never had a maximum load like that though--and i make removeable plateaus and bottom boards so i can place a maximum 15" cake in there--if i had a 16" cake or larger i would box that one alone --probably have to box the next tier separate too--otherwise the remaining tiers would be too heavy to stack--

how sanitary are moving boxes--how sanitary are cake circles and boxes that sit around every freaking where--if you buy half & full sheet cake boxes do you have them wrap them all up so nothing can get on them? my cake store doesn't even bag those--(but they carry my stuff to the car for me--they are awesome)  but everybody can grab those cake circles with whatever is on their hands--there ain't no sneeze guards on any of those products--they just come packed into in a cardboard box anyhow--

we buy these items and get them home and all of a sudden they are magically clean enough for food--(but our cars are not?)

it's what we do

ANo, it's what you do. Don't you wipe them down with paper towels and food-safe sterilizing solution?

MY cake boxes come in a pack of 100 - sealed. Drums are sealed.

I would never use a moving box or a used box for food storage or transportation.

As I said before - it's MY responsibility as a food service provider to make sure product arrives safely, and to only use food-safe equipment.

And yeah, it's nasty. I stand by what I wrote. It's my opinion.

Every single cake that leaves my premises is boxed. No exceptions.