The big boom of 99 cent cheesecakes

"We opted for a product that other brands can have but at a price that is completely impossible to find, not even in a supermarket," says Roger Bettosini, co-owner with Laura García of 99 CheeseCake, an establishment founded last year that sells slices of cheesecake for 99 cents. The establishment is located at number 42 on Aribau Street and sees long queues that allow them to sell around 1,200 slices a day during the week and more than 1,500 on weekends. The boom has been so significant that they now have a team of 11 workers to cope with the high demand.

"If there is something completely different in the dessert world in Spain, it is the prices," explains the 22-year-old entrepreneur. Big brands such as Boldú, Jon Cake or Alex Cordobés compete to have a differentiated product, but at a higher price. Bettosini wanted to apply the opposite idea: a much lower price. In the shop you can find the classic slice of cheesecake for only 99 cents, as well as other flavours, such as Lotus, white chocolate, four cheeses or cookies and cream at 2.99. In addition, you can add a variety of more than 20 garnishes at 0.80 cents each. You can also order whole cheesecakes to order at 14 euros for the classic one and 25 euros for other flavours.

The co-owner explains that neither he nor Laura had any knowledge of baking and that the most difficult thing was to get a standardised product so that each portion was always the same: "There were a thousand errors in cooking times, in the quantity of ingredients. The first cakes were not what we wanted and, nevertheless, we had to sell them, because we were just starting out." According to Bettosini, they now have all the quantities adjusted and production much more controlled, but he remains faithful to his motto: "Do it, even if you are not completely happy, even if it is 80% of what you want. We will perfect it, we will get it done. Well, with the cakes, the same, and now the result is ideal."

The followers and clients of the establishment have played a fundamental role in making many of the important decisions in the business: the location of the establishment in the Eixample, the opening hours from 3 to 10 pm, and some decorations, such as the "Say cheese" from the mirror. However, Bettosini has a clear decision: to maintain the price of the classic portions, although he knows that "there will come a time when we will lose money selling at 99 cents" due to inflation and rising costs. He explains that the Costco supermarket chain has maintained the combo since 1980 hot dog and a drink for 1.50 dollars. They may be making a loss with this offer, but they have not eliminated it because it is part of their identity and helps to continue attracting customers thanks to the good quality-price ratio. Similarly, the young man emphasizes that his classic portion represents the essence of the business and assures that he will not raise its price, despite having "super tight" margins.

The company already has plans to expand and strengthen its brand. In March, they plan to open their second establishment in the Gràcia neighbourhood, a larger location with more staff and two points of sale to speed up service and reduce queues. In April or May, they will try to leave Catalonia and open a third establishment in Madrid, managing it themselves, as they are very clear that it is very difficult to replicate a business without controlling it directly. However, they do not rule out franchising in the future.

Within a period of 4-5 years, they would like to have a store in every Spanish city with more than 300,000 inhabitants, but their ultimate vision is not limited to Spain: "The ultimate goal is to open in Times Square." The idea for 99 CheeseCake came about during a trip to New York, where the young man was inspired by the 99-cent pizza establishments and decided to repeat the model based on economies of scale but with one of his favorite desserts. "It would be like closing the cycle, it would make me very happy as an entrepreneur and as a person," Bettosini confesses.

Roger clarifies that despite the success and good reviews received from social networks, where they have more than 20,000 followers between Instagram and Tiktok (@99cheesecake), starting a business has been a very hard process: "You suffer a lot." According to him, it is important to be aware that there is a lot of content on digital platforms about creating your business and "being your own boss," but he warns that you have to be careful. He advises knowing how to balance the weight of the business thanks to having a reference person, both on the work side, which he attributes to his partner and co-owner, and on the emotional side, to his family.