What at first glance seemed to be merely another TSA mindless grab of cupcake frosting ended up having a silver lining.
The TSA confiscation of “gel-like” frosting on a packaged Wicked Good cupcake created an unexpected surge in orders for a small Massachusetts company that came up with a novel way to conserve its cupcakes without freezing them.
The story starts out with TSA inspectors confounded at finding a cupcake in a jar. Somehow they decided that the cupcake was a dangerous explosive.
The agent who first found my dangerously delectable snack consulted [REDACTED] about it just barely within my earshot. He responded hesitantly at first, saying that he was “not sure”–and “with the holidays coming, it’s getting harder and harder.” When he finally decided my treat was a no-go, I asked to speak with him directly, and he asserted that the frosting on this red velvet cupcake is “gel-like” enough to constitute a liquid, in part because it “conforms to its container.” Also: it “should have been in a zip-lock.”
The surprising result was a rush of orders for the confiscated cupcakes felt in Cohasset, Massachusetts at Wicked Good Cupcakes.
They say no press is bad press, and the old adage certainly seems to be true for Wicked Good Cupcakes in Cohasset. Following the TSA’s confiscation of a Wicked Good “National Velvet” cupcake “to go,” business has been booming at the local bakery.
Orders have flooded in from all over the country, according to manager Brian Vilagie.
“The progression has been absolutely insane,” Vilagie said in a phone interview. The bakery, which opened in October, has done ten times more business in the past three days than they have over the past three months, the manager said.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
