Candace Nelson

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Pastry chef

title: "Candace Nelson" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["living-people", "wesleyan-university-alumni", "pastry-chefs", "1974-births", "groton-school-alumni", "american-women-restaurateurs", "american-restaurateurs", "american-cookbook-writers", "american-television-producers", "women-food-writers"] description: "Pastry chef" topic_path: "technology/web" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candace_Nelson" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Pastry chef ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

FieldValue
nameCandace Nelson
imageCandace Nelson - Entrepreneurial Women.jpg
birth_date
birth_placeJakarta, Indonesia
nationalityAmerican
alma_materWesleyan University
occupationBusinesswoman, pastry chef, television personality
website
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::callout[type=note] the pastry chef and television personality ::

| name = Candace Nelson | image = Candace Nelson - Entrepreneurial Women.jpg | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = Jakarta, Indonesia | nationality = American | alma_mater = Wesleyan University | occupation = Businesswoman, pastry chef, television personality | party = | spouse = | children = | relatives = | website = | signature =

Candace Nelson (born May 8, 1974) is an Indonesian-born American pastry chef and judge on the television series Cupcake Wars and Sugar Rush.

Early life

Nelson grew up in Indonesia. Baking runs in her family, as her French-American grandmother was known for the desserts she created at her San Francisco restaurant in the 1930s. Nelson is a graduate of Groton School (class of 1991), Wesleyan University (class of 1996), and Tante Marie's Professional Pastry Program in San Francisco. Nelson is a Wesleyan Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient.

Before entering the bakery business, Nelson and her husband, Charles (born 1969), a native of Oklahoma, worked as investment bankers. After the dot-com bust, Nelson decided to focus on pastry making and opened a custom cake business from her home in San Francisco. Later she and Charles moved the business to a former old-fashioned sandwich shop in Los Angeles and began making only cupcakes.

Sprinkles Cupcakes

Main article: Sprinkles Cupcakes

On April 13, 2005, the couple opened Sprinkles Cupcakes, the world's first cupcake bakery. They started in a 600 sqft-shop in Beverly Hills, California. Though the bakery business was in a four-year no-carb slump and early naysayers, they sold 2,000 cupcakes the first week. Nelson is described as having a "sophisticated" take on the classic cupcake, using high-quality ingredients like sweet cream butter, pure Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, and Callebaut chocolate. She also created offbeat offerings like vegan and gluten-free cupcakes and even cupcakes for dogs. The sleek, minimalistic store was designed by an architect from Vienna and the logo and packaging were created by a former Martha Stewart employee.

Sprinkles eventually expanded to 22 locations throughout the United States including New York, with plans to open in 4 more cities including London and Tokyo. The Nelsons also started a traveling "Sprinklesmobile", a Mercedes Sprinter van designed by Sprinkles architect Andrea Lenardin. In 2007, Nelson also developed a line of cupcake mixes which are sold exclusively through her store and Williams Sonoma stores in the United States and Canada. In 2012, Sprinkles introduced its Cupcake ATM, a contactless cupcake delivery system, which Nelson conceived after a late-night pregnancy craving. Sprinkles expanded 38 Cupcake ATMs nationwide. Sprinkles fans included Oprah Winfrey, Blake Lively, Katie Holmes, Ryan Seacrest, Tom Cruise, Barbra Streisand, and Serena Williams.

In 2012, Nelson sold Sprinkles to a private equity group. Thirteen years later, on December 31, 2025, all Sprinkles locations were permanently closed.

Television career

Nelson is a judge on the competition series Cupcake Wars, syndicated around the world, and Sugar Rush, which she executive produced. She appeared on five episodes of Shark Tank, three as a Guest Shark where she made a deal with Gently Soap, Flaus and Fishwife. She has also appeared on The Best Thing I Ever Ate, The Chef Show, and has been a judge on Bobby Flay's Throwdown and Top Chef Junior. Nelson also has been featured on television shows, including The Today Show, Nightline, The Martha Stewart Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Masterchef Season 10 and profiled in People magazine and Vanity Fair. Her cupcakes have been featured by The Oprah Winfrey Show, Bon Appetit magazine, Food & Wine, The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. She served as a judge on Next Level Baker in 2025.

Nelson co-created and is executive producer of the pizza cooking competition Best in Dough on Hulu.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Candace_Nelson_-_Entrepreneurial_Women.jpg" caption=""] ::

Pizzana

Nelson is co-founder of Pizzana, a Michelin Bib Gourmand award winning Neo-Neapolitan pizza restaurant chain with locations in Southern California and Texas. Pizzana won a Nation's Restaurant News' Hot Concept Award and Nelson was featured on the cover of the magazine.

Author & Speaker

Nelson is the author of The New York Times Best Seller The Sprinkles Baking Book and The Wall Street Journal Best Seller Sweet Success. She is a contributor to The Wall Street Journal and Inc Magazine. Her Substack newsletter Sweet Success shares entrepreneurial advice and thought leadership to 30,000 subscribers.

Nelson has delivered keynote addresses to corporate teams at Taco Bell, Goldman Sachs and Northern Trust as well as college campuses like USC and UT.

Entrepreneurial Thought Leader

Nelson is an entrepreneurial thought leader and content creator, with multiple viral videos reaching millions of views on TikTok and Instagram. She is one of the few content creators to be featured in LinkedIn's new Brandlink program featuring top voices in the small business space.

Personal life

Nelson resides in Los Angeles, California, and Sun Valley, Idaho. Her Sun Valley home was featured on Elle Decor. She has two sons.

References

References

  1. Ganus, Sara. (2007-10-04). "The Icing on the CupCake: Former bankers' cupcake business sweetened by success". redding.com.
  2. Rufca, Sarah. (2010-06-17). "For Sprinkles cupcake queen Candace Nelson, life is pretty sweet". culturemap.com.
  3. (2010). "Candace Nelson: How she empowers others". womensconference.org.
  4. (2010). "Candace Nelson". foodnetwork.com.
  5. "Reunion and Commencement - Alumni Association Awards - Wesleyan University".
  6. Davidow, Andrea. (2007-06-20). "Playing with flour a rising obsession". San Diego Union Tribune.
  7. (2008-07-23). "Voices on Leadership: Charles Nelson". washingtonpost.com.
  8. (2009-03-31). "Candace Nelson". Ladies Who Launch.
  9. Macvean. (2009-06-03). "The cupcake abides".
  10. Prisco, Joanna. (2010-06-07). "Q&A with Sprinkles Founder Candace Nelson". parade.com.
  11. (2006-12-18). "The Big Cupcakes Take the Cake Sprinkles Interview". cucakestakethecake.com.
  12. (2016). "Locations". sprinkles.com.
  13. (2010). "Sprinklesmobile". sprinkles.com.
  14. "CANDACE NELSON, Founder of Sprinkles Cupcakes, on the Iconic Red Velvet Cupcake, The First Cupcake ATM and the First Cupcake Truck".
  15. (2013-01-17). "KarpReilly buys interest in Sprinkles Cupcakes".
  16. Turner, Austin. (December 31, 2025). "Sprinkles Cupcakes founder confirms bakery chain is closing permanently".
  17. "Candace Nelson {{!}} Shark Tank".
  18. White, Peter. (2021-12-01). "Wells Adams Tops Pizza Competition Series ‘Best In Dough’ For Hulu".
  19. "Pizzana – Los Angeles - a MICHELIN Guide Restaurant".
  20. Expert, Shark Tank. (October 19, 2023). "Candace Nelson As a Guest Shark in Shark Tank Season 15". shark tank.
  21. "Sprinkles founder Candace Nelson traces her career path from corporate America to 'Queen of Cupcakes'".
  22. "Instagram".
  23. "Candace Nelson — Contributor at The Wall Street Journal".
  24. "How the Cupcake Queen Broke Free of Her Brand". Inc.com.
  25. (2025-04-30). "Helping brands expand their reach in new ways with video from top creators and publishers".
  26. McGregor, Kate. (2019-11-05). "This Sun Valley Ski Chalet is the Place for Instant Relaxation".
  27. "About Candace".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

living-peoplewesleyan-university-alumnipastry-chefs1974-birthsgroton-school-alumniamerican-women-restaurateursamerican-restaurateursamerican-cookbook-writersamerican-television-producerswomen-food-writers