Cinnamon Roll Pop-Up Shop (How I Did It + What I Learned)

One thing I’ve learned after all these years in my home bakery is this: you cannot stay in the same place forever and expect your business to grow. It’s really easy to get comfortable doing the same things over and over, especially when they’re working. But sometimes, you’ve got to shake things up a little.

That’s exactly why I decided to do a cinnamon roll pop-up.

Cinnamon rolls have been a huge part of my bakery for years. I’ve made so many different flavors over time, and I started realizing… most of my customers had only ever tried one or two of them. So I thought, what if I gave them a chance to try more?

Instead of just offering one flavor like I usually do, I went all in and offered seven.

Customers could come in and pick exactly what they wanted. One roll, a mix of flavors, or a whole pan. It made it fun for them, and it made it fun for me too.

The Setup

A friend of mine owns a plant shop right in the center of town, and it ended up being the perfect spot for this pop-up. It had good foot traffic, it felt welcoming, and it gave people a reason to stop in even if they hadn’t planned on it.

One thing that worked really well for me is that I didn’t have to label my baked goods since they weren’t pre-packaged. That meant I could display everything in cases, let customers see all the options, and then package their order as they chose what they wanted.

That setup made the whole experience feel a little more personal. Instead of grabbing a box and walking away, they got to stand there, look at everything, and decide.

What I Used (Supplies)

Here’s exactly what I used for the pop-up:

Take-Out Boxes (9x9)

Display Case

Pink Tablecloth (learned my lesson 😅)

Vinyl Tablecloth (what I’ll use next time)

 I loved how the pink tablecloth looked, but cinnamon roll icing had other plans. Next time, I’m sticking with vinyl so I’m not stressing over every drip.

The Cinnamon Rolls (and How I Pulled It Off)

I offered seven flavors:

• Original
• Strawberries and Cream
• Lemon Blueberry
• Chocolate Cookies and Cream
• Triple Chocolate
• Butter Pecan
• Caramel Apple Cheesecake

And here’s the part that made this even possible…

I did not make all of these the morning of. There is no way!

I made most of my cinnamon rolls ahead of time, froze them, and then pulled them out the day before to ice and decorate. This is the exact method I teach inside my Cinnamon Roll Mastery Course, and it is one of the biggest time-savers in my bakery.

If you’re trying to do something like this all in one day from scratch, you’re going to burn out real fast.

Pricing + Quantities

I had 45 pans of cinnamon rolls ready to go (each pan holds 6 rolls).

Here’s how I priced them:

• $4 for original rolls
• $5 for specialty flavors
• $20 for a pan of original
• $25 for a pan of flavored

The pan discount only applied if they bought the full ¼ sheet pan, and a lot of people did. But most people bought the singles! 

What Actually Sold

Here’s exactly how everything broke down:

• Original — 6 pans
• Strawberry — 8 pans
• Lemon Blueberry — 8 pans
• Caramel Apple Cheesecake — 4 pans
• Butter Pecan — 7 pans
• Chocolate Cookies and Cream — 4 pans
• Triple Chocolate — 8 pans (I sold 4 at full price and 4 at a discount)

The first flavor to sell out was Strawberries and Cream.

The chocolate flavors were the slowest sellers, which honestly surprised me a little. But even then, I was able to move most of them, and I only came home with one single roll at the end of the day.

I’ll take that as a win.

Timing (This Matters More Than You Think)

I kept my pop-up short and simple:
9:00 AM – 11:00 AM on a Saturday

We had a steady line for the first hour. I’ll tell you a little secret…I was not fast. 

I was using metal spatulas from the bakery to pull out single rolls, and it took time. But instead of rushing, I leaned into it. I talked with people, let them take their time choosing, and just enjoyed it.

It didn’t feel chaotic, it felt fun. And I think my customers felt that too!

After that first hour rush, things slowed down into a steady trickle, which is exactly what I’ve come to expect with pop-ups like this.

You do not need to be open all day to be successful.

The Team (Don’t Do This Alone)

I could not have done this by myself.

My job was to dish out the cinnamon rolls and talk with customers. My husband handled packaging, bagging, and payments. My daughter-in-law jumped in wherever she was needed—refilling trays, keeping things clean, and grabbing photos and video for marketing.

Having help made everything run smoothly and kept me from feeling overwhelmed.

A Few Things I’d Do Again (and One I’d Change)

I would absolutely do this again.

But I would:

• Stick with the vinyl tablecloth
• Possibly scale back chocolate flavors just a bit
• Keep the short time window
• Maybe prep an easier way to grab single rolls faster

And one thing I would not change at all… marketing.

Marketing Matters More Than You Think

If you decide to do a pop-up like this, you need to talk about it. A lot.

Post about it every day for at least a week leading up to it.

And I know what you’re thinking…
“I don’t want to be annoying.”

You’re not.

People are busy. They forget. They scroll right past things. You’re not bothering them—you’re reminding them.

And most of your customers will actually appreciate the reminders, because otherwise they would have missed it completely.

Want to Do This Yourself?

If you’re reading this and thinking, “I could never pull that off,” I promise you—you can.

The biggest piece of this whole thing is having a system that actually works. Being able to prep ahead, freeze, and not feel like you have to wake up at 4 AM the day of is what makes something like this doable.

That’s exactly why I created my Cinnamon Roll Mastery Course.

Inside, I walk you through:

• My cinnamon roll recipe
• How I make them in bulk
• My freezing method
• And all of the flavors I mentioned in this post

If cinnamon rolls are something you want to build your business around—or even just simplify what you’re already doing—this will save you so much time and stress.

-Michelle