Sprinkles Cupcakes Shuts After Years of Selling Treats From Vending Machines

Sprinkles Cupcakes, the specialty chain known for its A.T.M.-style cupcake vending machines, has closed, its co-founder Candace Nelson said on social media. Ms. Nelson wrote that the company’s final day was Dec. 31; she sold the California-based business to private equity firm KarpReilly LLC in 2012 and no longer had a role in the company.

Ms. Nelson started Sprinkles in 2005 “with a KitchenAid mixer and a big idea,” and the brand helped spark a nationwide cupcake craze. The chain became known for 24-hour vending machines that played a catchy jingle when they dispensed cupcakes as well as for other innovations such as a mobile cupcake truck introduced in 2013.

The company’s website on Friday showed no products available for nationwide shipping; a New Year’s Eve dozen offer led to a “page not found” message and the locations page read, “When it’s gone, it’s gone.” KarpReilly described the bakery as a “high growth consumer” brand but did not respond to requests for comment about the closure.

Sprinkles had a visible cultural footprint: its stores drew long lines, it was featured on television and on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” and it installed vending machines in airports, stores and Manhattan locations. A Lexington Avenue vending machine replaced a longtime restaurant site; the company also appeared on the Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars,” where Ms.

Key Topics

Business, Sprinkles Cupcakes, Candace Nelson, Karpreilly Llc, Cupcake Atm, Sprinklesmobile