Cake Jar Business Names: 6 Checks Before You Print a Label

On this page

1. What a cake jar name has to do that a cake name does not
2. Six checks before you print a label
3. How to check your state’s business name records
4. Run the jar math before the name goes on the label
5. Mistakes that cost you a reprint
6. When to stop looking and lock the name in

Cake jar business names get tested in places a logo never goes. Your name has to read from across a market table, survive a phone call from someone who has never seen your page, and still fit a small lid label. Get those three right and the rest is paperwork.

What a cake jar name has to do that a cake name does not

A cake is usually bought once, by one person, for one date. Jars travel in four packs, get handed to coworkers, and sit in a fridge for a week. The name on the lid is often the only thing your buyer sees before she tastes anything.

Words that describe the jar do more work than words that describe a feeling. Jar, layer, spoon, and stack all tell a buyer what she is getting before she reads a price. A word about a feeling tells her nothing she can taste.

Picture your table on a Saturday. A buyer is a few steps away and reading your sign. If she cannot say your name back to her friend, the sign is doing nothing for you.

Six checks before you print a label

Run these in order. Each check costs less than the one after it, so a fail early saves you the rest.

1. 1

   Say it out loud

   Ring your voicemail and leave the name as if you were answering a customer. If it needs spelling twice, it is too long.

2. 2

   Spell it to a stranger

   Ask someone who does not bake to write it down from hearing it. Compare what she wrote with what you meant.

3. 3

   Fit it on the lid

   Write the name at the size it will print and hold it against a real lid. If it wraps to three lines, cut a word.

4. 4

   Search your state's business name records

   Open your state’s business search and look for the same name or a close one. Note anything a customer could confuse with you.

5. 5

   Run a USPTO trademark search

   The USPTO says a trademark search is how you check a mark is available to register for your goods before you apply. Do it before you pay for a logo.

6. 6

   Check the handle and the web address

   Look for the same name on the social accounts you plan to use and on a web address you can point at your shop.

Run the whole list in one sitting, on your phone, before you open a label site. A name that passes all six is worth sleeping on for one night. A name that fails one is worth dropping now.

How to check your state’s business name records

The SBA says most states require you to register with the Secretary of State’s office, a Business Bureau, or a Business Agency. Its state registration lookup lets you pick your state and open the right office site. Start with the name search there, before you fill in a form.

Rules differ by state, so read your own state’s page. Virginia, for example, requires a business formed in another state or jurisdiction to register with the State Corporation Commission to transact business there. If you check the name against your state filing early, you avoid the worst kind of reprint.

Run the jar math before the name goes on the label

A name does not earn anything on its own. The jar does. Cost one batch before you commit to a label size or a price, so the name is not the only thing you are guessing at.

For example, say you make 24 jars in an afternoon. Ingredients come to $18, and jars, lids, and labels come to $15. You pay yourself $15 an hour for three hours, which is $45, and your share of the $20 monthly Brevl fee for that batch is $5. Your cost is $83. At $8 a jar you take in $192, which leaves $109, or about $4.54 a jar.

That margin is what a label run comes out of. A reprint is a real cost, and it lands at the worst time, right when orders start coming in. Our guide to cake business start up costs lists the first bills to expect.

Mistakes that cost you a reprint

Keep a note of every name you reject and the reason. When a customer asks how you chose your name, you will have a true answer. You also will not drift back to a name that already failed a check.

When to stop looking and lock the name in

You will never find a name that nobody has ever used. What you need is a name that is clear in your state, clear on the accounts you use, and easy to say out loud. Once those three are true, stop.

Then order one small run of labels, not a year’s worth. Sell a market or two under the name and listen to how customers say it back. If it still sounds right, order more and get the logo made.

Common questions

Can I use my own name for a cake jar business?

You can, and plenty of home bakers do. Check your state's business name search first, because someone may already have filed it there. If the plain version is taken, add a word that says what you sell, then test the longer version on a real lid.

Do I need a trademark before I sell cake jars?

No. A trademark is a step you take when you want the name protected. A trademark search is the check you complete before applying, to see whether the mark is available to register for your goods. Start with the state name search first.

How long should a cake jar business name be?

Short enough to sit on a lid without wrapping. Two or three words is a good target, and one of them should say what you sell. Test it at the size it will print, not on a full screen where everything fits.

What if the name I like is taken on Instagram?

Use a small, honest difference, like your town or the word jar, and keep the same name on your labels and your web address. Do not copy another baker's handle with one letter changed. Check the new version against your state records before you print.

Does the label name have to match my state filing?

Rules vary by state, so read your own state's page. As a habit, a customer should be able to tell the label name and the filed name are the same business. Keep the filed name on your invoices and your web address so the two line up.

Sources

1. Trademark search
2. Register your business
3. State registration lookup
4. New business resources, Virginia State Corporation Commission

General information, not legal or tax advice. Check your own state's rules before you file.