Mas Cookies.
Más Amor.
Capstone Project
My Capstone project is centered around my small baking business, Mas Cookies. Más Amor (MCMA.)
Our mission is to donate funds from baked goods sales to a Honduran partner to help families in need.
For this project, I plan to rebuild our brand's social media presence on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, reach a profit goal of more than $500, and introduce new products, including the Más Amor stickers.
Design Goal #1
This design goal consisted of creating and selling 80 stickers as a complementary product for my baked goods.
The goal was to create more inclusion of the Hispanic/Latino community at Berry and generate additional profit for the business.
I used the Procreate app to design four different stickers but only chose the top 2 to sell, along with our business logo.
I planned to sell 20 stickers at a Krannert Sale and 20 more through Instagram. I also intended to sell 48 stickers in total at the Spring Market. However, high competition from other student enterprises selling stickers at the Spring Market affected my sticker sales.
As a result, I could only sell 15 stickers in total. Due to this, I decided to stop creating the remaining 32 stickers since the profit margin was low. I sold the leftover stickers from the Spring Market at our last Krannert sale. To sell them off quickly, I offered a discount price and sold them as a sticker pack for $4.
I still have a few packs left, which I plan to sell word-of-mouth through friends and family.
Design Goal #2
This design goal consisted of reaching a profit goal of more than $500 through our baked goods and stickers.
We participated in two Krannert sales throughout the semester, in which we sold out of our Mini Tres Leches cups.
We also participated in a Bonner IB Project event. The Bonner Program invited selected minority-owned business owners at Berry to showcase their products to students at the Krannert lobby and discuss their social cause.
We sold out of our Amor Cookies and Mini Tres Leches Cups during the Spring Market.
By the end of the semester, we received two personalized orders. The customers wanted a medium-sized pan of Tres Leches Cake each.
We were also invited to participate in the Angel Fund in early March. This annual fund helps student entrepreneurs with start-ups and existing small businesses.
Counting all these participation of the semester we were able to exceed our profit goal of more than $500.
Design Goal #3
This project involved creating an active social media presence for my small business on Instagram and Facebook.
The aim was to rebuild the brand's pages and promote the new products of Mas Cookies. Más Amor. while raising awareness of the brand and showcasing the positive impact of their actions through giving.
To achieve this, I created a social media calendar and scheduled posts at regular intervals, including reels, stories, and regular posts.
I posted twice and once a week to keep my followers engaged without overwhelming them with too much content.
At the beginning of the semester, I had 95 followers on Instagram, and my goal was to increase this number to 150 by the end of my capstone project.
Currently, I have 117 followers on Instagram, and although I didn't meet my target, I still plan to exceed this number after Berry.
On Facebook, I had 28 followers, and my goal was to increase this number to 40. Unfortunately, I was not able to increase my number of Facebook followers. This may be because my primary audience is the Berry community, and I had more engagement on Instagram.
Apart from increasing the number of followers, my other goals were to reach 100 new accounts on Instagram and 20 on Facebook.
I am happy to report that we exceeded our expectations by reaching 693 new accounts on Instagram and around 174 on Facebook.
Conclusion
My capstone project also aims to increase the inclusion of the Hispanic/Latino community at Berry by selling products with an intentional message of diversity and promoting the our brand.
My project also aims to make a difference in the Honduran community through giving.
So far, we have made three donations to our Honduran partner, providing groceries, clothing, and school supplies for children in need.
After this semester's sales, we plan to continue donating to help the Honduran community in the future.
After graduation, I plan to explore graduate programs in user experience and user interface while continuing to work on my small business.
My capstone project has equipped me with experience in budgeting, strategic planning, goal setting, marketing, and branding, which will help me in my future career endeavors.
Link to Capstone Video
https://youtu.be/WfET3LfUibM?si=Kxk9NHjQ9Zx1fusv
