As recently as 2006, cupcakes weren't even on the radar for advertising executive Jill Segal. But in August of that year, while waiting in her dentist's office and flipping through magazines, she happened across a TIME magazine article describing the success of New York City's Magnolia cupcake bakery and Los Angeles' Sprinkles Cupcakes. The advertising business owner was intrigued by their success, and began to examine possibilities.

“I thought it was a great idea immediately, and after some investigating, I found it likely that it could be very successful right here in St. Louis,” Segal says. “But there was one problem, I wasn't a baker.”

Segal, who is currently attending pastry school, turned to a consultant for help. They arrived at a moist, all-natural formula and used it as a starting point for additional varieties. Jilly's Cupcake Bar and Café had lifted off.

“A primary signature of Jilly's cupcakes is they are big. They start out at 6 ozs. undecorated, and may be 1/2 lb. when they are finished,” Segal says. “Then, we also stuff them with caramel, Key lime custard, whip cream, fudge ganache and so on. They are pretty big when it's all said and done.”

So big, in fact, that packaging became a problem. Generally, cupcake boxes, even those with cardboard inserts complete with circular holes meant to stabilize the cupcakes, couldn't keep the large and heavily garmished cupcakes from bumping up against one another. Segal could market those cupcakes to her retail clients as being cupcakes that “kissed” en route to their destination, but wholesale clients needed the cupcakes to arrive in more pristine condition.

After trial and error, Segal came across Lindar's clamshell single serving bakery containers. These containers were large enough to accommodate the large Jilly's cupcakes.

“The Lindar package is a single-serve clamshell, completely clear, and functions like a small dome. The cupcake sits in there, perfectly held in place by four little pegs moulded into the package,” Segal says. “It is airtight, so products keep well, and is available in a variety of biodegradable NatureWorks^™ materials, which goes well with our all-natural personality.”

To complete each package, Segal affixes a sticker to the top of the clamshell. This way, the company logo with product information is easily visible to the customer without interfering with the visability of the product. “Packaging and branding are really essential to separate us from everyone else,” she says. “Our real success is our product, and the individual clamshell domes help us display our product. All of our wholesale customers order cupcakes individually packaged now because they preserve the product while showing it off.”

Segal also says the no-assembly-required nature of the one-piece Lindar clamshells has saved them hours of manually folding display boxes. “It's made our lives so much simpler,” she says. “It has been revolutionary for us.”

For more information about Lindar's line of products, visit www.lindarcorp.com or call 218/829-3457.