Kitsby

What Kitsby does

Kitsby is a private, founder-led experiential culinary studio operating from a single location in SoHo, New York. The company runs hands-on workshops and social events built around Asian-inspired culinary formats — including lunchbox cake decorating, toast art and bubble tea, character pineapple cakes, New York bagels, clay chasen matcha, and lucky knot charms — designed to deliver a community-focused experience positioned as 'being at a friend's place.' The business serves two primary customer segments: individual consumers and social groups booking public workshops or private parties for celebrations, and corporate clients contracting team-building events and brand activations, with on-site, off-site, virtual, and hybrid delivery options supporting groups of 10–200 people.

The product is delivered through in-person instruction by pastry chefs and creative staff, with the entire customer-facing commerce and booking layer built on a Shopify-based e-commerce platform. The signature experience catalog functions as a content library that differentiates Kitsby from generic cooking class operators, and ancillary revenue streams include gift card sales ($25–$500 denominations) and studio rental for external events. The technology stack is intentionally lean — no proprietary platform, mobile app, or integrated booking engine beyond Shopify defaults — reflecting the human-delivered nature of the core experience.

Kitsby's go-to-market is hybrid and primarily event- and community-driven: direct-to-consumer ticketing through kitsby.com, organic social on Instagram and TikTok for top-of-funnel awareness, email newsletters for mid-funnel engagement, and a B2B sales motion for corporate events and brand activations. The company has no disclosed venture funding (a single $0 round is recorded in 2017), operates with a 'small team' of 1–10 people, and has built a notable enterprise client roster spanning BCG, Microsoft, Anthropic, Airbnb, Campari Group, PwC, Waymo, Jane Street, and others through episodic activations rather than disclosed recurring contracts.

Name

Kitsby

Website

https://kitsby.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Kitsby is a Brooklyn/SoHo-based experiential culinary studio offering hands-on Asian-inspired workshops, private parties, and corporate brand activations, serving both individual consumers celebrating occasions and enterprise clients booking team-building and experiential marketing events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Culinary Experience Studio

NAICS

Caterers (722320), Caterers (72232)

SIC

Sugar & Confectionery Products (2060)

akta.pro primary industry

Dessert & Bakery Catering (Cakes, Pastries, Candy) (HSACAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Gift Basket & Curated Hamper Assembly (HSACANAD), Kitting & Bundling Services (TLAIAFAA)

Keywords

• Hands-on culinary workshops
• Creative baking classes
• Corporate team building events
• Brand activation experiences
• Private celebration parties

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Workshop Tickets: Revenue from individual tickets to scheduled workshops and community events at the SoHo studio. Pricing varies by experience type.
2. Private Event Bookings: Revenue from booking private workshops and corporate experiences for groups of 10-200 people. Pricing starts at $65-$100 per person depending on the experience, with custom experiences quoted based on requirements.
3. Gift Cards: Sale of gift cards in denominations of $25, $50, $100, $200, and $500. Digital delivery via email with no expiration.
4. Studio Rental: Revenue from renting out the Kitsby studio space for external events.
5. Brand Activations & Corporate Experiences: Custom branded experiences for businesses including Macaron Creator Workshops, Matcha workshops, and pop-up bakeshops. On-site, off-site, virtual, and hybrid options available.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Kitsby operates a creative and culinary studio in SoHo, New York that hosts hands-on workshops and classes covering Asian-inspired baking and crafts (lunchbox cakes, bagels, bubble tea, matcha, pineapple cakes, Chinese knotting). It also runs casual community events, bookable private parties for celebrations, and custom corporate experiences and brand activations delivered on-site, off-site, virtually, or in hybrid format.

Product overview

Kitsby is a creative and culinary studio offering an integrated portfolio of in-person experiences. The core offering consists of hands-on workshops and classes held at its SoHo studio, community social events, and private/corporate experiences for both individuals and businesses. Signature workshop experiences include Lunchbox Cake Decorating, Toast Art + Bubble Tea, Character Pineapple Cake, New York Bagel, Clay Chasen Charm + Matcha, and Lucky Knot Charm. Private Experiences cater to celebrations (birthdays, showers, holiday parties) for groups of 10-200 people, while Corporate Experiences and Brand Activations serve businesses with team-building, product launches, and brand events. The company also offers studio rental and gift cards. All offerings are centered on hands-on creative activities combining culinary arts with social connection.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Public Workshops and Classes Scheduled hands-on creative and culinary workshops at Kitsby's SoHo studio where individual participants learn to make items such as lunchbox cakes, bagels, pineapple cakes, charms, and matcha lattes. Beginner-friendly with full instruction, ingredients, and equipment included.
• Community Events Casual social events hosted a few times a month at the SoHo studio, including dessert swaps and movie nights, designed as low-commitment gatherings for individuals and small groups.
• Private Experiences Customizable private workshops for celebrations such as birthdays, bridal and baby showers, family holiday parties, and other social milestones. Accommodates groups of 10-200 people delivered at the SoHo studio or off-site.
• Corporate Experiences and Brand Activations Bespoke team-building workshops, company parties, influencer events, product launches, and brand pop-ups for businesses. Delivered on-site at the SoHo studio, off-site at client locations, virtually, or in hybrid format. Served clients include BCG, Microsoft, Campari Group, Anthropic, PwC, and Airbnb.
• Studio Rental Rental of Kitsby's SoHo studio space for external events, with on-site capacity of up to 65 people.
• Gift Cards Digital gift cards redeemable for Kitsby workshops and experiences, available in $25, $50, $100, $200, and $500 denominations, delivered by email with no expiration.
• Lunchbox Cake Decorating Workshop Signature workshop where participants decorate their own 4-inch earl grey chiffon cakes with buttercream frosting, inspired by Korean cafe culture. Cakes are taken home in a bento take-out container. Priced from $90 per person.
• Toast Art + Bubble Tea Experience Signature workshop where participants paint on toast using milk bread as a canvas with cream cheese, jams, and spreads as paints, paired with handmade bubble tea. Inspired by Asia's artistic cafe culture. Priced from $65 per person.
• Character Pineapple Cake Class Signature workshop teaching a modern take on traditional pineapple cakes with flaky spiral crust and sweet jam-filled center, shaped into favorite characters. Priced from $100 per person.
• New York Bagel Workshop Signature workshop teaching participants to craft classic New York bagels from scratch—mixing, boiling, shaping, and baking—with customizable cream cheese toppings.
• Clay Chasen Charm + Matcha Workshop Signature workshop covering matcha production, handmade clay charms with beaded chains, and matcha lattes prepared with personalized matcha whisks.
• Lucky Knot Charm Workshop Signature workshop teaching traditional Chinese knotting art, with participants creating personalized charm sets from start to finish.

Named customers16 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Xing Fu TangcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 August 2026Collaborative partnership for the 'Kitsby x Xing Fu Tang: Boba Making Workshop' event, combining Kitsby's workshop expertise with Xing Fu Tang's bubble tea brand for a unique collaborative experience.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Cozymeal: Online and in-person marketplace for cooking classes, private chef experiences, and team-building events in NYC. Competes with Kitsby in both consumer workshop bookings and corporate/private event categories.
• Classpop!: Marketplace for in-person cooking and craft classes with a strong NYC footprint, offering group and private event bookings that overlap Kitsby's core ticket and private-event revenue streams.
• XO Marshmallow: Chicago-based confectionery and dessert workshop studio offering hands-on candy, marshmallow, and treat-making classes plus private events — a regionally similar experiential dessert-workshop business model to Kitsby.
• Butter & Co: NYC-based experiential cooking and baking event studio offering group workshops, private parties, and corporate events with a similar in-studio, hands-on format to Kitsby.
• Sugar & Spice NYC: Baking/cake-decorating studio in NYC offering hands-on dessert workshops and private events for birthdays, showers, and corporate groups — overlapping strongly with Kitsby's dessert-focused private party business.
• La Scuola at Eataly: Eataly's in-house cooking school in NYC offers hands-on pasta, pastry, and culinary workshops for individuals and corporate groups — directly comparable to Kitsby's studio-based experiential format and target customer segments (consumers + corporate events).

Emerging players

• MasterClass: Premium online culinary-education platform featuring celebrity chef lessons. Adjacent rather than directly competitive, but competes for the "learn a culinary skill" consumer mindshare that drives workshop demand.

Broad incumbents

• Sur La Table In-Store Cooking Classes: National specialty kitchen retailer running in-store cooking classes and date-night workshops, including at NYC-area locations. Broader incumbent with overlapping class-based experiential format and consumer audience.
• Airbnb Experiences: Global marketplace where hosts run hands-on culinary workshops and food-themed experiences, including in NYC. A much larger incumbent distribution channel that competes for the same consumer and corporate group activity-booking wallet.

Others

• Tasty Mocktail / Eventbrite Cooking Classes: Eventbrite aggregates a large catalog of independent cooking/baking workshops and private events in NYC. Functions as a discovery and ticketing channel that competes for the same consumer booking intent as kitsby.com.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/thekitsby
• TikToktiktok.com/@thekitsby
• Facebookfacebook.com/kitsby
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kitsby

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kitsby