The Cinnamon Roll Business That Never Happened (But Should Have)

“You should start a cinnamon roll business.”

That’s what I told a friend who worked next door to one of my coffee shops. And she laughs every time I bring it up. But I wasn’t joking.

It All Started With a Batch of Homemade Rolls

A facebook post went out one day saying, “hey, I’m baking cinnamon rolls and if anyone wants a pan hit me up.” Well who doesn’t want fresh cinnamon rolls??

My friend showed up with a batch, still warm from the oven. And they were ridiculous. Like, call-your-mama good.“You really should start a cinnamon roll business,” I said, a couple rolls in, with an impending a sugar coma.

Now, just because someone can bake doesn’t mean they know how to launch a business.

But this wasn’t some random idea.

She Had the Skills — And the Setup

I’d seen her in action for years. Like, our stock rooms were literally connected. She worked at a business that prepped premium frozen meals, flash-froze them, and shipped them to homes across the country.

So I started asking questions.

“So, how well does bread freeze?”“Beautifully,” her boss told me.

“What about par-baked bread?”“Even better.”

That’s when the vision started to form.

This wouldn’t be just any cinnamon roll business.

Take-and-Bake Cinnamon Rolls delivered to your door

It would be a par-baked, frozen cinnamon roll brand—Something people could stash in their freezer and bake fresh whenever they wanted that warm, nostalgic joy.

Just like those take-and-bake grocery store cookies… but better.

(And let’s keep it 100 — unlike take and bake cookies, the current cinnamon rolls in a tube? TRASHHH.)

I tend to get a bit swept away when creatively solving a problem.

But hey, the wheels were fully turning at this point.

Infrastructure was already in place

The most exciting part? The unique advantage I spotted: She didn’t need to start from scratch. (haha, no pun intended) She had access to:

• A full commercial kitchen

• A walk-in freezer

• Dry ice for shipping

• Inbound/outbound delivery systems

• A team trained in prepping and shipping frozen products

All the infrastructure. All the upside. None of the usual barriers.

I'm talking no 5 year lease on a space. No building out a commercial kitchen just to, "see if this would even work."

On the consumer side you’re taking something most people wouldn’t dare make from scratch… and removing every barrier. No mixing and no mess. Just warm, golden, bakery-quality cinnamon rolls that hit like a hug from childhood.

And here’s the kicker:

There are over 13,000 donut shops in the U.S. But fewer than 1,500 cinnamon roll brands.

340 million people in the country. How many of them do you think DON'T like cinnamon rolls?Oh, hello there gap. That’s what we call market whitespace.

The Strategic Breakdown

You dive even further into the strategy and here’s how I broke it down:

• Product → High emotional value, perfect for gifting or indulgence

• Production → Infrastructure already in place

• Distribution → DTC + TikTok Shop potential

• Brand → Name it after Grandma or a beloved baker = emotional hook

• Schedule → Night shift (6PM–2AM) avoids disrupting her day job

• Waste → None. No storefront. No end-of-day throwaways

• Scalability → High margin, low overhead, big upside

And yet…

As the title says:

This business never happened.....But I still mention it every time I see her 😂

What This Says About How I Work

So, why share all this?

Because this is how my brain works.

If I work with you, I’m diving into the deep end of your business.

Not just shouting advice from a lounge chair while you struggle to swim.

I’m in the water with you.

Helping you find your footing, identify your edge, and build something real.

Whether it’s a cinnamon roll idea, a café that needs to stand out, or a boutique hotel with an identity crisis — I don’t just “do branding.”

I help you spot the right opportunity, then build the plan to make it happen.

Most people don’t need an idea.

What they need is clarity, alignment, and a strategy that fits who they are and what they actually want.

And that’s what I do at Primrose.