KANSAS CITY — Female businesses across Kansas City are capitalizing on the Taylor Swift craze.
With her KC shows less than a week away businesses say Taylor Swift baked goods are in high demand.
“In our terms it’s become it’s own holiday, compared to a Fourth of July or Valentine’s Day,” said Kathleen Cussen, COO at Dolce Bakery in Prairie Village.
Dolce Bakery launched a series of Taylor Swift mini cakes themed after her upcoming Era’s tour. The popular bakery says they’ve been flooded by requests on social media and say nearly 300 Swift themed cakes were ordered within the first week and a half. Cussen believes many of her customers simply want to craft up the perfect ‘Love Story’ and celebrate even if they aren’t going to the concert.
“We are female heavy baking business and that’s always in the back of my mind, and what we are creating is supporting the female community and watching another female do what they do best,” said Cussen.
The Taylor Swift impact can be seen across state lines, across the metro. Muffin Top Bakery, another female owned shop saw a similar demand and increase in sales after launching their Sweeter than Fiction treats. From ‘Red’ velvet cakes, ‘To feeling ’22’ cupcakes, owner Emily Thomas believes the craze is here to stay and draws parallels to football fans.
“We got the Swifties, we got football lovers, and we love to just play into all those themes,” explained Thomas. "It brings people in that didn’t know we were here, because people tag them and it brings more people to the door.”
Due to the amount of businesses changing up their inventory to match Taylor Swift, die-hard fans are confident sparks will continue to fly across KC as we inch closer to Taylor’s big night.
"I think that's just being a Swifty, I think her fans are so influential that cities want to you know pair up with the fans and like be a part of the Swift revolution,” Houda Matar, a self-proclaimed Ultimate Swiftie said.
KSHB reached out to VisitKC about the economic impact Taylor Swift will have on the City of Fountains and they estimate the two-day concert event will have a local economic impact of $46 million dollars.
“Kansas City’s convention and leisure business continues to deliver an upward trajectory.
Next week’s events, MennoCon 2023 and the Taylor Swift concerts will continue the city’s momentum for economic growth, said Kathy Nelson, President, and CEO of Visit KC. “MennoCon, the biennial gathering of the Mennonite Church USA, is expected to bring 1,200 convention-goers to our city and has already booked an estimated 1,704 hotel rooms in the city’s convention core.
This convention is estimated to bring in $2 million in economic impact. Hotel rates over that weekend are nearing those that we saw during the 2023 NFL Draft, however, this upcoming impact will be more widespread throughout the metro vs. concentrated in the central business district.
We estimate the two Taylor Swift shows next weekend (July 7/8) will produce a direct impact of just over $46 million for the Kansas City metro. This widespread impact encompasses in-destination spending by attendees across various sectors, including but not limited to: Lodging, Dining, Transportation, Retail, & Recreation.”
