Business: Johnny Cupcakes

Website: Johnny Cupcakes

Industry: T-shirts

USP: Exclusivity, excellent customer experience

Why It Works

Johnny Cupcakes sells t-shirts. He has a worldwide cult following and you can’t buy his -shirts in any stores but his own. There are numerous reason why Johnny Cupcakes is successful, let’s look at them in turn:

A Strong, Authentic Story

Check out the story behind Johnny Cupcakes and it becomes obvious this isn’t about mass produced products by a global brand. It’s about one man who is passionate about what he does. The story on the site walks you through the organic growth and expansion of the business meaning you not only get an insight into the business today – you understand where it’s come from and how it’s got to where it is (including some valuable business insights, if you read carefully)…authenticity and a clever way of fostering an emotional contact with readers & customers.

Exclusivity Not Mass Production

A limited number of each design is made and the t-shirts can only be bought from a Johnny Cupcakes store – not from Target, Gap or anywhere else. As Johnny states, this makes them more than just a t-shirt line – it makes them collectible, limited, wearable art. Very smart!

Excellent Customer Experience

Johnny Cupcakes doesn’t just focus on customer service, they focus on customer experience. This includes fitting out the stores like a Bakery (confusing as hell apparently for some customers!), the sales assistants wearing aprons and giving out cupcakes for free on weekends, random days and special events.