225. Baking it Down - Diamond Demand

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💎 Diamond Demand - Sifting through the competition.

In this week's Baking it Down Podcast - Episode 225 - Diamond Demand, we're telling EVERYONE they need DIAMONDS right NOW. 💎💎💎💎

Just kidding - this is just an analogy, so before you make this into something it's not - we're not talkin' about the diamond industry or bl🩸ood diamonds - we're just comparing a not-necessary-for-life luxury good with not-necessary-for-life luxury bakes. And there's somethin' we can all learn from the "very very slightly" interesting podcast comparison.

Diamonds are a luxury item, but how can my local Tysons Corner Center mall be home to so many jewelry stores? It's because while they're selling a similar product (diamonds), they've each carved out their niche among the competition. Blue Nile focuses on web-based marketing, Helzberg is a chain, Mervis is a D2C brand, and Lenkersdorf focuses on diamond watches. 

They're all competitors, but because of their respective niches, they aren't really.

💍 1. Dye-Free Baker = Ethically Sourced

Okay, no - I'm not supporting the train that using dyes in your food coloring makes you unethical, but the comparison here is that diamond suppliers who spend more money to focus on ethical sourcing measures tend to charge more. Thus, they incorporate that messaging in the marketing to counter the price gap between their competition. 

Same with the dye-free bakers. They can use the current climate to market the potential health benefits of a dye-free approach, niching them down a lil' bit further and also still allowing them to charge enough to cover their costs + make a profit (dye-free food coloring is quite a bit more expensive at the time of writing).

💍 2. Luxury Branding = Tiffany's

If there's one diamond company known for color, it's "Tiffany Blue." People will regularly overpay for that teal color because they're buying the luxury experience and the branding, and they don't mind payin' the big bucks for it. 

A baker who wants to niche down can focus on the buyer's experience. Website, branding, check-out, communication, packaging = hit this out of the park and you're in a "name your price" arena. 

💍 3. Volume Baking = Wholesale Importers 

Now this is where you'll find twin2 supporting her shiny habit. Diamond importers that sell wholesale cut out the middlemen, the fancy packaging, and the white glove treatment in exchange for selling you more for (allegedly) less. 

This is the baker that, like Corrie's not-client requested, "slaps icing on a delicious cookie." Some buyers (like the twin) just want a good deal at the sacrifice of everything else. Bakers who focus on cheaper prices and cheaper production will niche themselves away from the higher-end branded baker.

💍 4. Drop Cookiers = Moissanite 

Now now, down dog - this isn't to say drop cookies are cheap knock-offs. Rather the point is that they're not even competing with diamonds at all. They're a completely different product snagging some market share that the diamond sellers wouldn't be able to sell to anyway! People who want a giant, delicious drop cookie likely won't love the steep price of a vanilla-only sugar cookie. This is a neat way to niche it up. Talk about a power play, the baker who can sell both sugar cookies and drop cookies.

We compare the "lab-grown" baker in the podcast, but I need to go get some meds and some sleep, so give the podcast a listen! 

👂 Snag this podcast on any major podcast player (Spotify, Apple Music, Audible, Amazon Music, or watch it on YouTube) by searching for Baking it Down Podcast - Episode 225 - Diamond Demand.