Description

What happens when you treat a cookie fundraiser like a real marketing campaign?

In this episode of Mixing Up Success, Dani sits down with Dani’s Kitchen Shop marketing manager, Alyssa Schroppel, to break down the strategy, numbers, and lessons behind the bakery’s annual Colon Cancer Awareness Cookie Fundraiser.

What started four years ago as a way to support a close friend fighting colon cancer has grown into an annual community campaign that customers now anticipate each March.

This year’s goal was simple:
Sell 100 dozen cookie sets and raise $3,000 for colon cancer research.

In the end, the campaign sold 92 dozen cookies and raised $3,003 for research—all while reaching over 112,000 people on social media and generating over $5,000 in sales without spending a dollar on ads.

But the most interesting part? Dani and Alyssa tracked the entire campaign as a live marketing case study, analyzing what content performed, what converted into sales, and how intentional marketing builds demand before an event.

If you're a baker, small business owner, or someone curious about how real marketing works inside a small business, this episode pulls back the curtain.

In This Episode We Discuss

• The origin of Dani’s Kitchen Shop’s Colon Cancer Awareness Cookie Fundraiser
• Why selling a product can be more effective than asking for donations
• The difference between reach and conversion in marketing
• Why viral posts don’t always generate sales
• How email marketing continues to outperform social media for conversions
• The strategy behind marketing pop-up events and limited opening hours
• What small business owners should track during a marketing campaign

Campaign Results

• 92 dozen cookie sets sold
• $3,003 donated to colon cancer research
• 112,000+ people reached on social media
• $5,580 in total cookie sales
• $0 spent on paid advertising

Resources Mentioned

If you run pop-ups, markets, or vendor events, Dani shares the exact planning framework she uses.

Download the Free Pop-Up Sales Checklist
https://daniskitchenshop.myflodesk.com/pop-up-checklist

Join Dani’s upcoming webinar:
Profitable Pop-Ups: Plan, Price, and Execute Successful Baking Events
https://www.daniskitchenshop.com/event-details-registration/profitable-pop-ups-plan-price-execute-successful-baking-events

In this live training, Dani breaks down the systems she uses to:

• evaluate which markets are worth attending
• price products for pop-up profitability
• plan inventory strategically
• and market events so customers show up ready to buy.

About the Podcast

Mixing Up Success is a podcast for bakers, creative entrepreneurs, and small business owners who want to build sustainable, thoughtful businesses.

Hosted by Dani Annala, owner of Dani’s Kitchen Shop in Hood River, Oregon, each episode explores the real strategies, systems, and stories behind building a successful creative business.

Learn more about Dani’s Kitchen Shop:
https://www.daniskitchenshop.com/