Cupcakes - London Trade Your Way to the USA

CBBC's search to find Britain's best young traders is hotting up.

We've scoured the country to find the next generation

of budding entrepreneurs.

From over 1,500 applicants,

just four teams have made it through to our semi-finals.

'They are 3's Company from Essex...'

ALL: We're going to trade our way to the USA.

'..Penny Pinchers from East Yorkshire....'

ALL: We're going to knock the stuffing out of you.

'..Team Synergy from Bristol...'

I know how to smash the opposition.

'..And Street Smart Sellers from Surrey.'

That's how it's done!

'Each has proved they've got an eye for a bargain...'

I think these are going to be, like, the bestsellers, these bracelets.

'Shown they're tough negotiators...'

We've knocked it down to £10.75,

-which is...

-Wow!

..Half price.

'..And demonstrated that they're top sellers.'

We need to go out there and sell, sell, sell, sell, sell.

I'm very confident we're going to win.

SOUND OF FOGHORN

'Now two of these heavyweights go head-to-head

'in the Trade Your Way To The USA semi-finals.'

The team that wins today's challenge

WILL be in our Grand Final in America,

and could be named Britain's Best Young Traders.

Welcome to the semi-finals of Trade Your Way To The USA.

Yes, it's semi-final time,

and Britain's toughest trading challenge

is about to get even tougher.

Let's meet today's two teams of semi-finalists.

ALL: We're 3's Company and we're going to trade our way to the USA.

'Ella,

'brother Brandon

'and friend Bradley make up 3's Company.

'In their heat, these wheeler dealers from Essex

'showed superb selling skills.'

This ice cream's all for you lovely customers that come to this stall.

'Nothing stood in their way of winning the Trading Challenge.'

Never settle for anything but more.

'It was incredibly close, winning by less than £10.'

THEY CHEER

It was extremely hard, very tough.

I'm sure the next one's going to be twice as tough. Even more maybe.

'Their record takings of £231.75

'put them in first place on the leaderboard

'and ensured their place in the semi-finals.'

SHE SCREAMS

-We're in the semis!

-Yeah, we're really excited.

We worked really hard and we're only one step away now

from being on that aeroplane to America.

'But you'd better watch out.

'Your opponents have got their sights set on being crowned

'Britain's Best Young Traders, too.'

Yah!

ALL: We're Street Smart Sellers

and we're here to trade our way to the USA.

'Maddy...

'..Tabby...

'..and Evie

'are three best mates from Surrey.

'In their heat, nerves almost got the better of them.'

Would you be interested in buying any of our glow-in-the-dark goods?

Come on!

D'you want to win this or not?!

-Yeah.

-Let's go for it!

'But when they really started selling, they didn't stop...'

Everything must go!

'..Beating their opponents by almost £90.'

50p.

THEY CHEER

We're going to be a MUCH better team of traders after this experience.

As they say, you learn from your mistakes.

We made quite a lot of them!

'Their total takings of £168.50

'put them in third place on the leaderboard

'and secured their place in the semi-finals.'

ALL: Woo!

I can't believe we're in the semi-final!

The stakes are really high now. We're going to up our game.

We're going to definitely put our heart into what we do,

and I think we're going to win.

We're only one step away from being in the final in the USA.

ALL: So you'd better watch out! Arghh!

'So, it's 3's Company versus Street Smart Sellers.'

But only the team that makes the most money

can win today's challenge.

And only THEY will be guaranteed a place in our USA Grand Final.

'Today's teams have arrived in London.

'But they have no idea what their challenge will be.

'All they know is they need to win this task

'if they want to make it to the USA.'

3's Company, Street Smart Sellers,

congratulations for making it through

to the semi-finals here in London.

The stakes are high. This year, the capital is hosting

the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Your challenge is to design and sell Cool Britannia-themed cupcakes

to the tourists of London's Carnaby Street.

You will need to choose which flavour

sponges and frostings to buy.

You will negotiate the lowest prices

and then sell, sell, sell.

The team that makes the most money wins today's challenge

and they are guaranteed a place in our USA Grand Final.

Here are your trading funds.

For this challenge, I've increased your funds to £150.

Are you ready?

-ALL: Yes!

-Let's buy!

'The teams each have a £150 trading fund.

'What they buy now is vital to victory. The battle is on.'

The first rule of buying

is to really understand the product you're selling.

You've done this before, and whilst you did really well,

you did make some mistakes.

My top tip to you is this,

don't repeat the same errors you made

in the heats in the semi-finals. Here are your notebooks.

-Are you ready?

-ALL: Yes!

-Let's go!

'Bea has turned cupcakes into big business.

'Her three shops turn over more than £1 million a year.

'The teams have just 20 minutes to learn all they can from her

'about turning tasty sweets into killer trading treats.

'Every question counts.'

Which cupcake is your most popular?

Our most popular cupcake by far is the red velvet.

How many cupcakes do you get per lot, and how much do they cost?

We actually sell cupcakes each,

so you actually can order as many or as little as you want.

Could you list the prices for the chocolate sponge

and the red velvet, please?

Yeah, sure.

Brandon is right in there with questions on pricing.

Remember, they failed to ask questions about cost in the heats.

Good to see they've learnt their lesson! Well done.

All the sponges are the same price.

Do you have special cupcakes for, say, allergies, like gluten-free?

Yes, we do. We have a gluten-free chocolate cupcake,

which is the same price as a chocolate sponge.

We also have a vegan chocolate cupcake as well,

so that's definitely an option.

A good question on allergies from Maddy.

'Those cakes could give the team a USP, Unique Selling Point,

'to help win customers.'

Guys, now you have to decide exactly

how you're going to spend your £150 trading fund.

-Are you ready?

-ALL: Yes.

-Let's go!

'The teams must spend their £150 wisely

'to be in with a chance of trading their way to the USA.'

Do you think we should have red, white and blue cupcakes?

Yeah, definitely, to keep with the theme.

'As well as picking Union Jack colours for their cakes,

'the girls have another trading trick up their sleeve.'

We decided to get chocolate cakes,

which were vegan and gluten-free,

so we could appeal to a different market.

'Having a Unique Selling Point

'could help draw more customers in for those vital sales.'

Maddy, you are the chief negotiator. What's your strategy?

I think we want to get as much quantity for as little cost.

Well, good luck,

and I'll see you in the negotiation.

'Street Smart Sellers have a clear game plan.

'How are 3's Company getting on?'

I think we should get what Bea said first of all

was the most popular flavour.

-Red velvet.

-Yeah, that was the red velvet.

And the chocolate sponge and the vanilla sponge.

We should just get the brown cases. We don't need the Britannia cases.

'What?! Losing the Cool Britannia theme

'is a big risk to take,

'especially when there's a trip to the USA at stake.'

Ella, what's your strategy?

Our strategy is to play safe.

So, we're not going for a wild flavour.

We're going with something that we KNOW will sell.

Remember, I mentioned the theme of Cool Britannia.

I don't see that theme demonstrated at all.

Yes, we think the cupcakes sell no matter what.

OK. Now, you're going to go into your negotiation next.

Remember what happened last time.

This time, we need to lay the prices on the table. Boom, boom, boom!

Sort it out. Finished.

3's Company have decided to take a gutsy approach.

They're ditching the Cool Britannia theme

and going with their instinct,

to sell Bea's top-selling cakes.

Street Smart Sellers reckon their red, white and blue cupcakes

will help them bring in the cash.

Now, it's down to the negotiation.

'With their cupcakes chosen, it's time to bargain with Bea.

'They must haggle hard for the best prices now

'so they can make the most money when they sell.

'Because the team that brings in the most cash

'is guaranteed a place in the USA Grand Final.

'First up, wheeler dealers 3's Company.

'They're going to have to drive a hard bargain

'if they want to win this challenge.'

What we've decided is to get a

vanilla sponge with raspberry buttercream,

and we priced that at £1.20.

I actually have it here as £1.05.

They've just overpriced that cupcake!

That's exactly why you don't tell the supplier

what you think the prices are.

Would you do that for 80p?

No.

Could you do it for 90?

-How many are you planning to buy of those?

-Buy around 40 mark again.

I can do that for 40.

Thank you.

Now, that's more like it!

They've negotiated their raspberry and vanilla cupcake

from £1.05 to 90p.

-WHISPERS:

-Well done!

Right, our next one is the

-red velvet...

-Mm hmm.

-..with a vanilla buttercream...

-Mm hmm.

..and a raspberry on top.

'Good choice, 3's Company! Red velvet is Bea's top-selling cake.'

Could we have that for 85p?

-How many would you want to order?

-Again, about 40.

I'll do those for 85p. That's fine.

A chocolate fudge cupcake

-with chocolate fudge icing...

-Mm hmm.

..with gold sprinkles at £1.20.

-Yup.

-Would you do that for £1.10?

I can do it for £1.15.

£1.12?

I can do £1.12 if you get 40.

All right.

'A great deal.

'40 of another of Bea's top sellers for £44.80.'

Right, let's go onto the red velvet. We're buying 40 red velvets...

'Hang on! They've already agreed 85p for their red velvet cakes.'

If we bought, say, 50 red velvets,

would you be able to put that price down?

Oh no. No, no, no.

This is no way to negotiate.

You don't go back on agreed prices and try and negotiate again.

This is really going to wind Bea up.

Currently, right now, your situation is that you haven't hit £150 yet.

Instead of trying to negotiate me on the price of what we've agreed to,

you might just want to order some more.

-Can we have another 10 vanillas and another five chocolates, please?

-OK.

'That's another 15 cakes for £14.60,

'but now they're feeling the pressure.'

How much are you currently charging for the flags?

-Wait. No, Ella, Ella. Wait.

-Brandon, let me speak!

How much are you selling these flags at?

The flags are 12p each.

Will you do the flags for us at 7p each?

I can do the flags for 7p each.

Yeah, then we'll have them.

So then all the remainder funds for flags, OK?

After definitely stating

that they were not going to go with the Cool Britannia theme,

under pressure, they panic-bought 147 of these.

Great. So, that'll be £150.

'3's Company very nearly fell apart before trading had even started.

'Despite that wobble,

'they negotiated 163 cupcakes for their £150 trading fund.

'Next up, the girls.

'They know exactly what Cool Britannia-themed cakes they want.

'Now they've got to buy as many as they can from Bea.'

All right. Let's talk business.

So, can we do the red velvet cakes

with the glitter and the mascarpone icing?

We were thinking of 66 cakes

for £33.

No.

Not even close.

50 cakes for £33?

No.

You know, my top tip for good negotiation

is always establish your cost price first

and THEN go in with the quantities.

That's how you're going to get a deal.

45?

CLEARS THROAT

-If you make it 44, I'll do it.

-OK, 44.

The girls have negotiated 75p for their red velvet cakes.

Is that a good deal?

I have no idea because I don't know what the wholesale price is.

OK, so the vegan cupcakes, which are chocolate with

-flag and golden glitter...

-Mm hmm.

..we were thinking of buying 29 for £14.50.

No. I'll do a for 18.

OK. Can someone write that down? Thank you.

OK, can I have 18 gluten-free cupcakes

for £14.50 as well?

Yup, we can do that.

'Good work, girls.

'Their specialist cakes have given you a USP.'

Can we go for the vanilla blue cupcakes?

60 cupcakes for £33?

No.

44?

No!

You gave us 44 for the same amount of money as the red velvet.

Well done, Evie, for speaking up

and reminding Bea that she's already given you a deal.

Great work!

OK, fine.

OK, that'll be £150.

'Street Smart Sellers negotiated some good deals,

'including 36 of their special wheat-free and vegan cakes.

'They've also gone for the Cool Britannia theme,

'choosing red, white and blue-coloured cakes,

'including 52 of Bea's best-selling red velvet.

'Although 3's Company weren't going with the Cool Britannia look,

'they actually bought 147 Union Jack flags

'as well as 55 of the best-selling red velvet

'and 53 raspberry buttercream cakes.'

3's Company have bought 163 cupcakes

and 147 Union Jack flags.

A last-minute purchase they hadn't intended on making.

Street Smart Sellers have bought 185 cupcakes,

including the vegan and gluten-free ones.

Now it's all about tomorrow and who can sell the most.

'Today, the competition ramps up as 3's Company

'go head-to-head with Street Smart Sellers in the semi-final.

'Each team is ready to give it their all

'because the team that wins today's challenge

'will be competing in the USA Grand Final

'for the title of Britain's Best Young Traders.'

3's Company, Street Smart Sellers,

welcome to Carnaby Street,

one of London's busiest and trendiest shopping districts.

Thousands of people will come through here today

and your challenge is to sell them your Cool Britannia-themed cupcakes.

Remember, the team that makes the most money

wins today's challenge,

and they're guaranteed a place in our USA Grand Final.

Are you ready?

-ALL: Yes!

-Let's go!

'The teams need to set up their stalls.

'They're side-by-side,

'which means their pricing is going to be very important.'

-How much?

-No, don't do prices yet!

Cos then they can look at their price and think,

"They're cheaper. We're definitely going to them."

But if they come to us and we have a chance to explain, do not do prices.

Am I allowed a sneaky peek at what their price is?

OK, I'm just going to have a quick sneaky pick... peak.

They don't have prices up.

Now, in terms of your pricing, tell me what your strategy is.

Cos we're right next to the other team, we're going to wait to see

what they're selling it for.

-Right. Are you happy with that, guys?

-Yup.

'In business, you keep an eye on what your competition is charging,

'but you do have to say what YOUR prices are, too.

'What about Street Smart sellers?'

Evie, what's your pricing strategy?

We're going to price them around £3-£4-ish,

but we're going to wait until the other team have put their price up.

Is that a good idea?

Well, yeah. I think it is.

'This sounds worryingly familiar.

'If no-one sets their prices, how will anyone sell their cakes?'

-All right. Well, listen. I'll see you later. Good luck.

-Thank you.

'The stalls may be set, but the prices aren't.

'Regardless, it's time for battle to commence.'

Teams, are you ready?

ALL: Yes!

Three, two, one...

start trading!

SOUND OF FOGHORN

'This should be interesting.

'I've no idea if they're selling their cakes for 5p or £5.'

That's £4, Madam.

-£4 for one?

-For one.

-How much are they?

-£3.50.

-It looks delicious. Good luck.

-Thank you very much.

-No worries.

£3.50 each or two for £6!

£2.50.

'They don't seem to have a clear pricing strategy.

'This could end up confusing customers.'

Lovely glittery cupcakes!

Two for a fiver!

'In business, that's the last thing you want

'or they'll buy elsewhere.'

I spent £3.50 on a mascarpone one,

and now they're selling it for £2.50

five minutes, four minutes later!

I don't know about that one, really.

Cool Britannia cupcakes!

'That's no way to do business, girls.'

I'll give it to you for £3.

'How are 3's Company doing?'

-How much?

-£3.

-£2?

-Or two for five.

-One.

-There you go.

-Have a nice day.

-Bye.

-Would you like a cupcake?

-How much are they?

-£3.

We're doing £3 each for each of them.

-No, Bradley, we agreed we were going to change it.

-Don't listen to her.

-How much are they selling them to you?

-I have no idea.

'Another confused customer.

'3's Company still have no idea what their prices are.'

You've got to STOP changing the prices the whole time!

You went out and then you started selling for £2.50.

They're supposed to be £3!

Ella, do you think you need to get your team together

and just work out the pricing and just stick to it?

You've just confused a customer and that wasn't very professional.

Come on, guys! Come and buy cupcakes!

Freshly baked this morning!

-I'll buy a cupcake.

-Yeah?

-Yeah!

They're £3 each or two for five.

'At last! A clear pricing strategy

'that will bring in over £2 profit on each cake.'

You can't look at a cupcake without smiling!

Come on!

£3 or two for a fiver.

'It's one hour into the challenge,

'and Street Smart Sellers have also fixed their prices,

'not a moment too soon.'

£3 a cupcake! Two for a fiver!

Cool Britannia cupcakes today only!

We've got raspberry...

'Both teams are selling at the same price,

'but the girls have a Unique Selling Point up their sleeve.'

Gluten-free and vegan cupcakes!

'The girls have got 36 special cakes for non-wheat and non-meat eaters.

'They'll need to shift the lot if they want to be

'on that plane to America.'

One of the girls told me that it's gluten-free.

Apparently, they don't do gluten-free, but these guys do.

You need gluten-free ones?

We don't have gluten-free. That's them.

'That's almost £1.70 profit on the gluten-free chocolate cake. Great!'

We've got into our stride and now we're selling like mad.

Only 30 minutes left.

'Both teams are going for it.'

Oh, OK. I'll get one red velvet.

'But this IS the semi-final.

'Everyone is desperate to win,

'and there's a price war breaking out.'

-They're offering two for four. What can you do?

-Two for four?

We'll do two for £3.50.

We'll do two for £3.50.

Come and buy our cupcakes!

Our cupcakes have glitter and theirs don't!

Which two would you like?

We'll do two for £2.80.

It's so competitive, literally. As soon as we change our prices,

they're changing theirs or vice versa.

Arghh!

My top tip in business is this,

ALWAYS be confident in your pricing and your strategy,

and go for it.

Don't be distracted by the competition.

'There's a fine line between undercutting

'and an all-out price war.

'That WILL confuse your customers and cost you those sales.'

Street Smart Sellers, I'd like you to gather round.

I need you to be professional,

and I need you to be confident in your pricing.

Undercutting each other on price is not the best way forward.

'And they're not the only ones I need to speak to.'

I'd like you to focus, re-group and think about what you're doing.

This is the semi-final.

-Understood?

-Understood.

-Understood.

Right, we are sticking with our guns over the pricing.

I think we're thinking of cutting down the price

cos we don't want to be five minutes left and have so many cupcakes.

It's just going to be impossible.

'While the girls slash their prices, 3's Company

'are keeping theirs 50p higher.

'There's everything still to play for.'

Just 15 minutes left!

£1.50 for a cupcake! Delicious cupcakes! £1.50!

I'm going to have a cupcake. You look very enterprising.

Come on! We've got to try and sell off ALL these cupcakes!

That's £10. Please, please!

OK. Would you be interested in buying some cupcakes?

-Guys, come on!

-£1 a cupcake!

-Come on over, guys!

I think we've got a good chance of winning this thing.

So, this is brilliant.

There's your red velvet. Thank you. Have a nice day.

I've got to get rid of 10 cupcakes in five minutes.

I think I can.

Pound a cupcake! Pound a cupcake!

'But will rock-bottom prices

'mean rock-bottom profit for Street Smart Sellers?'

Five for a fiver.

Only £1 per cupcake!

'With seconds to spare, 3's Company slash their prices, too.'

Start selling more. It's dropping.

30p a cake!

Nine, eight...

THEY SCREAM

-We sold out!

-We sold 185 cupcakes!

..Three, two, one...

stop trading!

SOUND OF FOGHORN

We sold out of chocolate.

Cash tin, please.

Good luck.

Cash box, please.

Good luck.

We'd be over the moon.

Oh, we'd be SO over the moon if we got to go to America.

We had a lot of people just say, oh, we're amazing.

But, oh my God! It was just the best feeling in the world.

It was undescribable.

We've worked so hard to get this far, so hopefully we can go even further.

Just cos they sold all their cupcakes doesn't mean they won.

We kept our prices and we were selling them

more expensive than the other team.

We have to wait until the results.

But hopefully, we've done enough to go to the USA.

'They came, they sold, but today,

'there can only be one winner.

'Is it 3's Company or Street Smart Sellers

'who have made the most money and will be flying to the USA

'to compete in the Trade Your Way To The USA Grand Final?'

Welcome to the London Stock Exchange.

With around £5 billion traded here every day,

it's one of the most important trading centres in the world,

and a fitting place to announce the winner of our Trading Challenge.

1,500 young traders applied to be in your position,

but only four teams made it through to the semi-finals,

so congratulations.

Remember, the team that wins today is guaranteed a place

in our USA Grand Final.

The cash has been counted.

Street Smart Sellers, you took...

..£366.57.

3's Company...

..you took...

..£257.90.

THEY SCREAM

'Street Smart Sellers have won today's challenge

'and WILL be competing in the USA Grand Final.'

It means so much to go to America.

I think all our hard work's now paid off.

We're going to have so much fun and it's just going to be amazing.

We're going to pull out ALL the stops.

We go to America, we'll be crowned

Britain's Best Young Traders. Good luck.

We're a bit disappointed we didn't win,

but at the end of the day, they were a great team.

They did it, so high fives for them.

I honestly don't think we could have lost to a better team.

Business doesn't always go the way you planned.

So, sometimes you have ups and downs,

but you always see through it.

Commiserations, 3's Company. Well, I think you've been a fantastic team

and you should be very proud of yourselves. Well done.

Street Smart Sellers, you ARE today's winners

and you WILL be joining me in the Grand Final in the USA.

So, the lesson to be taken away from today's Trading Challenge?

It's this. Let your competition pull you up, not drag you down.

And that's well worth remembering

if YOU want to trade your way to the USA.

'Next time on Trade Your Way To The USA,

'it's the last of our semi-finals.'

We need to go up by £2.

It may be a good deal for you but it is NOT a good deal for me.

People are taking them, tasting them and then walking off.

They're eating your profits without buying.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd