About
A family-owned cake shop in Los Angeles that specializes in special events and custom orders. Serving the Silver Lake community since 2007.
Company size
1-10
Industry
Retail
Headquarters
Los Angeles
Founded
2007
Missive use cases
Key features
Since 2007, Lark Cake Shop has been satisfying sweet tooths across Los Angeles with their delicious cakes and cupcakes. Owner John Hensley took over the business in 2011, bringing his business acumen to the world of buttercream and fondant.
With custom wedding cakes, birthday celebrations, and everyday treats making up their business, the Lark team needed a better way to handle their growing email communications than their previous Outlook setup.
Before adopting Missive, the Lark Cake Shop team was struggling with a common small business challenge: managing communications across multiple locations using traditional email.
"When people would check in and say 'Hey, can we come get an eight-inch chocolate mousse cake?' and they don't tell you where they want to go, we needed a quick way to coordinate between stores."
This coordination was especially critical for their custom cake business, which makes up about 65% of their revenue despite representing fewer total orders than their standard "off-the-rack" offerings.
During COVID, when in-person operations shifted dramatically, the Lark team decided it was time for a change. They needed a system that could:
After exploring options, they selected Missive as their shared inbox solution.
The system helps keep track of orders that may be booked far in advance: "I've got weddings booked out till 2026. I don't remember what I talked to Janie about on her wedding cake in 2025, so I gotta go to the email and find it."
While John admits he was initially resistant to change ("At the beginning I was like, 'you gotta get rid of this, I hate it'"), he's come to appreciate how Missive helps organize the business communications.
The system has become particularly valuable for:
When asked who would benefit most from Missive, John doesn't hesitate: "I would definitely say small businesses. That would be my bread and butter."
For businesses juggling customer communications, especially those with custom orders or services that require back-and-forth coordination, Missive provides the right recipe for success.
A conversation with
John Hensley
·
Owner