The BonBonerie

What The BonBonerie does

The BonBonerie is a single-location, founder-owned bakery, café, and tearoom established in 1983 in Cincinnati, Ohio (2030 Madison Road) that produces handcrafted pastries and cakes from scratch using traditional European methods and premium ingredients (Belgian chocolate, Madagascar vanilla, fresh lemon juice, sweet cream butter). Its product portfolio spans a rotating monthly bakery menu of signature cakes and tortes — most notably the long-running Opera Cream Torte — alongside European desserts, handcrafted pastries, artisan cookies, breakfast items, and fully custom celebration cakes, cookies, and cupcakes. Adjacent lines include a full-service café, an afternoon tea service on 3-tiered stands featuring 15+ blends from partner Elmwood Inn Tea, a wedding services suite (custom tiered cakes, cupcakes, dessert bars, cake stand rentals), catering (petite tea sandwich trays and box lunches), a wholesale program delivering twice weekly to Kremer's Market and Jungle Jim's locations, and UPS-based shipping of shelf-stable items.

The business serves a diversified mix of customers. Individual consumers drive walk-in retail and café traffic; couples planning weddings anchor a high-touch consultation, tasting, and custom-order segment (cakes start at $6.75 per person, custom orders require 7+ business days lead time); event hosts use catering for showers, birthdays, and corporate gatherings; and B2B wholesale partners (cafés, restaurants, boutique shops such as Braxton) resell BonBonerie products. Distribution is direct at the Cincinnati store, via wholesale to regional grocers, and through limited UPS shipping. There is no online ordering — all orders are taken by phone — and digital presence is via a Wix website plus active Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok accounts, with a content-led blog ('Sharon's Sweet Stories') and email capture.

The company is privately held by co-founders Sharon Butler and Mary Pat Pace, employs 11-50 people, operates Monday–Saturday 10am–4pm, and has been community-voted "Best Bakery in Cincinnati." No external funding, M&A, or parent-company relationship is disclosed.

Name

The BonBonerie

Legal name

The BonBonerie

Website

https://bonbonerie.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Since 1983, The BonBonerie has operated a single Cincinnati bakery, café, and tearoom producing handcrafted-from-scratch pastries, custom celebration and wedding cakes, afternoon tea service, catering, and wholesale distribution to regional retailers in the greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky market.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artisan Bakery

NAICS

Retail Bakeries (311811), Baked Goods Retailers (445291), Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing (3118)

SIC

Bakery Products (2050)

akta.pro primary industry

Cafe-Bakeries (Bakery + Coffee/Foodservice) (THAFAFAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bread & Pastry Specialty Stores (CRAHAGAC), Artisan & Specialty Bakeries (Sourdough, Heritage Grains) (THAFAFAD)

Keywords

• Artisan bakery products
• Custom wedding cakes
• Afternoon tea service
• Café catering
• Wholesale pastries

Headquarters

HQ city

Cincinnati

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Bakery Sales: Direct sales of pastries, cakes, cookies, and other baked goods at the bakery counter. Walk-in customers purchase items from monthly rotating menu.
2. Cafe and Tearoom Service: In-person dining at the cafe offering breakfast, lunch items, afternoon tea service, and beverages. Seatings available 10am-2pm for afternoon tea.
3. Catering: Catering services including Petite Tea Sandwich Tray ($100), Box Lunches ($15 each), and a la carte tea sandwiches for events and private parties.
4. Wholesale: Wholesale program supplying pastries to cafes, restaurants, and boutique shops. Products delivered to Kremer's Market (Northern Kentucky), Jungle Jim's (Eastgate), and Jungle Jim's (Fairfield).
5. Custom Orders: Custom cakes, cupcakes, and cookies ordered for special occasions including weddings. Requires 7+ business days notice.
6. Shipping: Shipping of cookies and bars via UPS. Tortes cannot be shipped due to weather conditions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The BonBonerie is a handcrafted artisan bakery and café producing from-scratch pastries, signature cakes (including the 30+ year signature Opera Cream Torte), European desserts, cookies, and breakfast items. It operates an adjacent full-service café with traditional afternoon tea service and offers custom cakes/cookies/cupcakes, wedding dessert packages, café catering, and a wholesale program supplying pastries to regional retailers.

Product overview

The BonBonerie is a traditional bakery and café established in Cincinnati in 1983, offering a unified portfolio of products and services centered around handcrafted pastries and baked goods. The core offering consists of a rotating monthly bakery menu featuring signature cakes and tortes (notably the Opera Cream Torte, their signature cake for over 30 years), European desserts, handcrafted pastries, artisan cookies, and breakfast items. Adjacent to the bakery is a full-service café offering breakfast, lunch, and afternoon tea service on 3-tiered stands. The company also provides extensive custom-order capabilities for celebrations, including custom cakes, cupcakes, and cookies available in various themed designs. Wedding services represent a major product line, encompassing custom wedding cakes, wedding cupcakes, dessert bars, and cake stand rentals. Additional services include catering (petite tea sandwich trays and box lunches), wholesale distribution to local retailers, and a tea program featuring over 15 specialty blends. All products are made from scratch using quality ingredients including sweet cream butter, cane sugar, fresh lemon juice and zest, Belgian chocolate, and real Madagascar vanilla. The business operates from a single Cincinnati location with bakery and café hours Monday through Saturday, closed Sundays.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Best Bakery in Cincinnati

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Kremer's MarketminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWholesale delivery location in Northern Kentucky. BonBonerie delivers products twice a week to this location. Customers can place orders to be picked up at Kremer's with no delivery fee.
• Jungle Jim's (Eastgate)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWholesale delivery location in Eastgate. BonBonerie delivers products twice a week to this location. Customers can place orders to be picked up at Jungle Jim's with no delivery fee.
• Jungle Jim's (Fairfield)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWholesale delivery location in Fairfield. BonBonerie delivers products twice a week to this location. Customers can place orders to be picked up at Jungle Jim's with no delivery fee.
• Elmwood Inn TeacoreTechnology or IntegrationProvider of specialty blended teas for the afternoon tea service. Offers over 15 different types of teas including Black teas, Oolong, White tea, Green tea, and caffeine-free tisanes. Custom house blend 'BonBonerie Blend' created specifically for the cafe.
• Cincy FavoritesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOnline retailer through which customers can order 6" Opera Cream Torte and Carrot Cake for shipping within the Cincinnati area.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Sprinkles Cupcakes: National cupcake and celebration cake chain with retail bakeries and a strong shipping business. Comparable premium cupcake and celebration cake offering, though at broader scale than The BonBonerie.
• Magnolia Bakery: Established New York-based bakery famous for cupcakes, custom celebration cakes, and banana pudding, with multi-city retail and wholesale distribution. Comparable in custom-cakes-for-celebrations positioning and brand-led cafe-bakery model.
• Carlo's Bakery: Celebrity bakery known for elaborate custom cakes and pastries with multiple retail locations and national shipping. Comparable premium custom-cake business and brand-led artisan bakery positioning.
• Tartine Bakery: Iconic San Francisco artisan bakery and cafe renowned for handcrafted breads and pastries from scratch. Comparable as a benchmark for scratch-made, premium-positioned bakery-and-cafe operations with national brand recognition.

Direct peers

• Macaron Bar: Artisanal French pastry and macaron-focused bakery with a Cincinnati presence and online shipping. Directly comparable as a specialty/European-style patisserie competing for the same cafe and custom-order occasions.
• Holler Bakery: Cincinnati-area artisan bakery and cafe serving pastries, custom cakes, and cafe fare in a similar scratch-made, premium-ingredient model. Direct competitor within the same Cincinnati metro and adjacent suburbs.
• Pleasantry Bakery: Ohio-based artisan bakery and cafe known for scratch-made pastries, custom cakes, and European-influenced desserts. Comparable operating model — bakery + cafe + custom cakes — in the same regional Midwest segment.
• Servatii Pastry Shop: Historic Cincinnati-based German/European pastry shop and bakery founded in 1857, operating multiple locations. Directly competes with The BonBonerie for artisan bakery, custom cake, and cafe business in the Cincinnati metro.

Emerging players

• Milk Bar: Multi-city bakery and online retailer known for signature layer cakes, cookies, and celebration desserts with strong e-commerce and shipping. Comparable custom-cake-and-cookie focus with a much stronger digital and shipping model.

Others

• Elmwood Inn Tea's: Provider of specialty blended teas used by The BonBonerie for its afternoon tea program. Not a competitor but a key supplier and ecosystem partner whose brand is co-marketed through BonBonerie's tea service.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/bonbonerie
• Instagraminstagram.com/bonboneriecincy
• TikToktiktok.com/@bonboneriecincy
• Xx.com/bonbonerie

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 The BonBonerie