Baked by Melissa Celebrates Biggest Ever E-Commerce Day (and Valentine's Day)
*By Chloe Aiello*
Valentine's Day is typically the single biggest holiday of the year for Baked by Melissa, a popular mini cupcake company ー and this year it's shaping up to be its biggest holiday for e-commerce, too.
"We had our biggest day of e-commerce in company history on Monday. Tuesday was the second biggest day," said Melissa Ben-Ishay, co-founder of Baked by Melissa.
Ben-Ishay co-founded her namesake cupcakery with the help of her brother in 2008. Since then, she has sold more than 100 million of her signature mini-cupcakes and expanded to several locations in New York and New Jersey. The company's "better together" V-Day promotion ー which features flavor combinations, like strawberry and dark chocolate, that complement each other ー mirrors Ben-Ishay's belief that teamwork helped her business succeed.
"You can't do anything alone. It's called Baked by Melissa, but I have an incredible team of like-minded, hardworking, passionate people who I founded the company with and continue to grow the company with," she said. "Also just recognizing your strengths, but more importantly, your weaknesses."
Although Baked By Melissa now employs about 250 people, Ben-Ishay still has her hands in the batter when it comes to overseeing the brand and developing new products and recipes. She said that although the company does have new products launching in the spring, the cupcakery won't be jumping on the latest trend: CBD.
"Personally, I love CBD and take it every night before I go to sleep ー a tincture under my tongue," she said. "CBD is not currently in the works, but it's not the first time I've heard or thought about it."
The company also won't be branching out into making full-sized cupcakes anytime soon.
"We make them small so you can try them all," Ben-Ishay said.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/melissa-ben-ishay).
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
U.S. sports betting is booming as NFL and college football fuel massive activity. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt breaks down trends, growth, and what’s next.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
Disney's changes to a program for disabled visitors are facing challenges in federal court and through a shareholder proposal. The Disability Access Service program, which allows disabled visitors to skip long lines, was overhauled last year. Disney now mostly limits the program to those with developmental disabilities like autism who have difficulty waiting in lines. The changes have sparked criticism from some disability advocates. A shareholder proposal submitted by disability advocates calls for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney plans to block this proposal, claiming it's misleading. It's the latest struggle by Disney to accommodate disabled visitors while stopping past abuses by some theme park guests.
With a merger this big, creators, studios, and theaters all face uncertain futures. Here’s what experts are worried about and what good could come from it.
With disengagement rising and hybrid work shifting, 'Everybody Matters' author Bob Chapman explains why treating people well could define the future of work.
We sat down with Ali Furman, U.S. Consumer Markets Industry Leader at consulting firm PwC to ask what trends she garnered from the initial data this year.