The cupcake was an interesting idea. I don’t know who was the first person to ever make one, but I do know that this person, in his or her own way, was a genius. Not quite as festive as a whole cake and not as boring as a muffin. The cupcake allows us to satisfy our inner child without feeling too bad about the indulgence.

Cupcakes seem to be the main selling point of Munch, and it looks as though their popularity is not going to diminish anytime soon. With an appeal to both children and adults, it goes without saying that Munch serves a rather large market.

Imagine Willy Wonka decided to restructure the chocolate factory. Or, perhaps he decided to start a new subsidiary in an experimental attempt to adjust to modern tastes and standards. The idea of chocolate abundance made by little-people slaves just does not have the same appeal it once did. In addition, his business model proved unsustainable with overweight children drowning in chocolate, physical deformities and pigment mutation leading the list of lawsuits. To attain some advice on how best to change Mr. Wonka’s image, he consults with Martha Stewart and Steve Jobs. Then, targeting a specific market as a case study, he opens a little store in Jeddah. I believe that store would look very much like Munch.

Munch essentially consists of pastel colors set on a white background with little drawn muffins that spot the walls. If you look closely, the squiggly lines that make up the frosting also spell out “munch”, which I thought was quite clever. There are various candies about the store that just seem to call to your inner child. In addition, they have what seems to be a changing display of childhood books and toys and a gumball machine by the door to give it that neighborhood store feel. While all these goods are for sale, they seem to be more a decorative factor than an actual point of profit. Their real selling points are their baked goods in a glass display at the center of the store.

While cupcakes are their main appeal, Munch also has a variety of tarts, pies, cakes, loaves, cookies and brownies. One may even order personalized cakes and cupcakes in whatever design one desires — a perfect touch for children’s birthday parties. I tried a couple of their fruit tarts and pies, and while good, they did not really compare to the actual cupcakes. The cupcakes themselves come in two categories, the normal sized and the minis. Cupcakes come in a variety of flavors with diverse and creative names such as: Je t’aime, Chocoholic, Cloud 9, Bunny, Crème de la Crème, Volcano, Date Me, Chocolate Soufflé, Black Forest and White Forest. Although the names are nice enough, they could more easily be summed up as: red velvet, chocolate, carrot cake, caramel, strawberry and the like. All were good, but my personal favorite was the red velvet, and I think that upon returning I would probably stick with those. Of course, this all depends on your personal taste.

If Munch suffers any setbacks, they seem to be mainly logistical. The parking lot is cramped, the store itself is rather small (it is often crowded) and there is no real feasible option to eat-in. Munch seems to have a good thing going for it, and I would like to see the shop expand upon what it has already established. Perhaps if they found a larger location where they could offer tables and chairs, then they could also serve a variety of hot beverages and perhaps open up a nice children’s play area. So long as they maintain the same character and style, I think such expansion would be quite welcomed and popular.
 
On Arafat St. between the National Commercial Bank and the Hamada Shopping Center,

Al-Hamrah Dist., Jeddah

Tel: +966 2 660 5010

Website: www.munchbakery.com