Renegades, Issue 4: Michelle Wong (CMO, Sprinkles)

Creating emotional connections one cupcake at a time

Michelle Wong

Chief Marketing Officer
Sprinkles

Welcome to Renegades, a series spotlighting Asian Pacific leaders and creatives who are carving their own paths and defying stereotypes along the way.

This week, we're featuring Michelle Wong, CMO at Sprinkles, a woman-founded cupcake brand. Michelle shares her path from the stage to the C-Suite, how storytelling connects people to food spaces, and her biggest challenge and joy as an Asian women CMO. Sprinkles’ newest limited-edition cupcake collaboration with Nguyen Coffee Supply and Gold House will be available from April 17th to May 14th. Pre-order now at Sprinkles.

What did you want to be when you were growing up, and how does that compare to what you do today? 

I was an actor as a kid up until my early twenties and thought that’s what I would end up doing. I even majored in Drama in college. But, other paths opened up for me, and while what I do now feels very different, I’m still able to tap into the parts of an actor’s life that I enjoyed so much. Pitch meetings let me play the showman, speaking engagements allow me to take the stage, and I always bring a little dramatic flair to my day-to-day in an office setting.

You’ve worked at various advertising firms before opening your own consulting firm. What did you learn from those jobs you use now in your role as CMO at Sprinkles?

The biggest thing I learned across my career is how to treat people. I faced discrimination, unconscious bias, sexism, and poor management. I also benefitted from mentorship, allyship, trust, and loyalty in the business world. The combination of those experiences informed how I would lead as an executive in advertising and how I would work with clients as a consultant. Being on the brand side as CMO now, I have a truly 360 perspective on how to bring the best out of people both inside and outside our organization. Being present, honest, and what has worked for me, a little vulnerable, helps everyone around you be successful.

What are some challenges or joys you’ve encountered as an Asian woman in the C-Suite?

The most challenging thing I’ve experienced is that I’m often met with surprise and disbelief that I hold this position and the aftermath of that. People have said to me, “YOU are a CMO?!” I think some of that is bias that an Asian woman could be CMO as it doesn’t fit the image they have in their head. From there, it can feel like I have to prove myself all over again, but I’m learning to let that go. I’m here, and people that don’t get it can either get on board or get out of my way.

My greatest joy has been the ability to bring my whole self into this role, whether that’s my culture, life experiences, or unique executive style. Being at Sprinkles has allowed me to step into who I am as an individual and produce meaningful work that allows for more voices to be heard. Not everyone can understand how much it means to me that Sprinkles produced a Matcha cupcake and a Lunar New Year cupcake, but when you’ve fought to be seen your whole life, bringing something like this to the world has more resonance than you can imagine.

The food and beverage industry has introduced many Asian Pacific Islander chefs, entrepreneurs, and brands to the public. What role do you think food and beverage could and should play in advancing Asian Pacific representation?

Food can be such a powerful storyteller. Whether it’s about our cultures and traditions to the neighborhoods we grew up in, having more Asian Pacific representation in this space lets us be the ones in control of that storytelling. When we partnered with Sahra Nguyen at Nguyen Coffee Supply, driving that narrative together was critical. Sprinkles had been concepting a Vietnamese coffee cupcake, but we couldn’t really call it that unless we actually used Vietnamese coffee. Baking with Sahra’s product not only made it taste incredible, but we were able to be authentic in this flavor story, even down to the condensed milk buttercream core we developed just for this launch. Sprinkles is able to open a wide audience to Asian Pacific representation with this flavor and the Nguyen Coffee Supply brand, and we are so excited for this launch!

How have you employed storytelling to ensure that the Sprinkles brand resonates across geographies and cultures?

People connect to truth and authenticity. When I decided to produce a Lunar New Year cupcake with Gold House, it came from a genuine place. I’ve always looked for our culture to be represented in the brands we love and because it so rarely happens, being able to do that with Sprinkles was such a big deal. We were intentional with every detail behind the launch from choosing Red Velvet as our main flavor for its sweetness and lucky red hue, to adding almonds for more luck. We even used Twin Dragon almond cookies to create a cookie crust. From there, partnering with Gold House allowed us to tap into API creative, Madison Mariani, to develop the artwork that would go on our (lucky) eight, custom gold-embossed Sprinkles x Gold House red envelopes included with each Lunar New Year box of cupcakes.

Being able to amplify that message with Gold House was powerful. All of that meaning and storytelling was shared in our communication, and whether you were familiar with the Lunar New Year holiday or not, you were left with the same feeling – that this flavor was inspired by culture and tradition. And it tasted amazing! All that added luck didn’t go to waste, and during its two-week run, the Lunar New Year cupcake was auspiciously ranked as the 8^th most popular cupcake flavor in the country!

Sprinkles is famous for its limited-edition collaborations, and Gold House has been lucky enough to participate in a couple, including the new Nguyen Coffee Supply cupcake. Tell us more about why Sprinkles is investing in collaborations with diverse chefs and tastemakers.

Sprinkles values emotional connections and being empowered and fierce with our actions. Bringing in diverse talent and partnerships ladders up to those values. Our internal teams are incredibly diverse and far from the norm in the hospitality industry. With over 70% of our general managers being female and almost 80% people of color, the work we do has to reflect the people at Sprinkles as well as the guests who shop with us.

At the end of the day, we need to grow the business but being more inclusive doesn’t mean we reach fewer people. In fact, we’re bringing more people in by homing in on specific experiences. We’ve proven that authentic representation and storytelling through food have a positive effect on the business and sell a lot of cupcakes.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to those looking to innovate a product or brand in the food space?

I’ve worked in food and beverage, CPG, and hospitality my entire career and the one thing that always matters is having a distinct point of view. Why does your product exist? Differentiating yourself from the rest is easy once you know who you are as a brand.

You’ve studied at Le Cordon Bleu in cuisine and patisserie. How often do you cook at home, and what is your favorite dish or dessert to make?

Embarrassingly, I don’t cook very often anymore because of my schedule, but I still love it when I do. My husband and I have gone much more plant based and learning to cook this way has brought a fresh take on making some of our favorites. But my go-tos include making a mean ribeye steak, so much so that my in-laws politely demand I cook for them when I come over. I also tend to add booze to my desserts, my favorite being a generous splash of cognac to anything with cream.

What are you currently working on that you’re most looking forward to?

Me! I’m a work in progress, and I look forward to evolving more as a woman, activist, creative, partner, executive, all of it. My life is something I never dreamed was possible and I just want to keep getting better, bolder, and braver.

Lightning Round

Most Used Emoji
❤️

Most Productive Time of Day
Evenings

Go to Coffee Order
Oat milk latte

Favorite Sprinkles Cupcake Flavor
Matcha Yuzu

Most Interesting Flavor Request
Everything Bagel Spice and Cream Cheese

Best Culinary Tip
Taste at each step while you’re cooking, so you know how it’s going and if you’re seasoning well