‘The Caker’ Jordan Rondel told DailyMail.com she spent much of this year working on a cake collaboration with Chrissy Teigen, only to see the supermodel’s company rip off the designs months later for the packaging of her new baking mixes.
Rondel, 33, who owns The Caker, made the accusation this week – a month after the pair launched a collaboration for a spiced carrot cake mix, which also featured the star’s husband, John Legend.
She said in a phone interview Thursday that Teigen initially reached out to her about working together on Instagram, though she largely dealt with her team at Cravings until the line was released in September.
‘Chrissy herself was the initial contact who reached out to me on Instagram, she was super lovely and immediately contacted me with her team,’ Rondel said.
She had nothing but nice things to say about Teigen personally, but ‘there did seem to be a disconnect’ between herself and the people Rondel worked with at Cravings.
Jordan Rondel (right), aka The Caker, has accused the pregnant Chrissy Teigen’s Cravings brand of ripping off her ‘elevated baking mixes’ after the two launched a collaboration in September
Rondel said that she knew Teigen was launching a cake mix, but was reassured that the creation would be an entirely different product. PICUTRED: The back of The Caker’s packaging (bottom) compared with the front of the Cravings packaging (top)
Cravings provided these pictures to DailyMail.com showing the front of the packaging side by side
The baker also took note of how ‘many, many people’ worked for the model, whereas The Caker is ‘just my sister and I running our business.’
Rondel first wrote about her concerns on her Instagram, posting a comparison between the designs to her 64,000 followers. She swiftly got nearly 8,000 likes.
‘My post was really an acknowledgement of everyone’s support and addressing a slightly bigger issue of how big businesses move in on small business by doing things like collaborating with them and ending up on top,’ she said.
In regards to the reaction she’s gotten: ‘I’m doing 1,000 tasks every day and I started noticing on Instagram that people were commenting … It’s been quite overwhelming. In doing that Instagram post, I really kind of just wanted to acknowledge the people that were [supporting us]. Basically, when Cravings released their line, I didn’t know what to think.’
Rondel added that she’s found the comments to be ‘overwhelming, uplifting, and kind of surprising.’
The baker said she hasn’t heard from anyone involved with Cravings or Teigen herself but that she has ‘no plans to take legal action’ because they have ‘limited resources’.
‘If Cravings don’t agree there’s any IP theft, that’s absolutely fine,’ she said. ‘This could all be a big coincidence. I just don’t think we’re being acknowledged enough.’
A spokeswoman for Teigen’s Cravings strenuously denied the claims when approached by DailyMail.com.
‘It’s disheartening and surprising to see The Caker’s recent social posts and commentary regarding our products,’ a Craving’s spokeswoman said in a statement.
Rondel promises she has ‘no anger, no resentment’ over what’s happened but that she’s ‘really tying to see the bright side of this whole situation.’
‘The cake mix category is a big one. The elevated, luxury extension is quite niche,’ she said. ‘There’s no harm in some healthy competition and might bring more attention. That’s the view point I’m trying to hold with this whole thing.’
Rondel acknowledged she ‘didn’t invent the concept of a cake mix’, which retails for $25, but said she had worked hard to secure a niche with a ‘luxury, elevated cake mix’. But, she said the similarities between the packaging of her own brand’s and Teign’s was ‘crazy’
Teigen began developing her own food products after launching her mini-food empire under the Cravings brand since 2016. She collaborated on a spiced carrot cake mix with The Caker last month, in a campaign that also featured husband John Legend
She did note, however, that big business stomping on the little guy is ‘an all too common thing that keeps happening.’
Rondel – originally from New Zealand but now based in Los Angeles – said she was ‘shocked’ to see the packaging Teigen’s brand look remarkably similar to her own.
‘Even her little story part where I describe where I have my story and then I sign it off with my signature, and then the way she describes what you need and what you get, is the same,’ she told Stuff.co.nz.
‘I think they’ve taken heavy inspiration from us, I do. Let’s just say I do feel like some heavy inspiration has been taken.
‘We’re a tiny little pinprick of a brand here and we’ve invested everything we have in building a brand… But now I’m just like, s***, some of that market is being taken by someone else and we’re just being pushed to the side.’
Fans of The Caker have now branded Teigen ‘The Faker’, with one supporter saying: ‘It’s obviously a direct rip off of your designs. She sucks.’
Rondel said that she knew Teigen was launching a cake mix, but was reassured that the creation would be an entirely different product.
However, she was horrified when she saw the new boxes launched by Cravings, with both featuring bold photography on a white background with a hand interacting with the final project.
The model and TV personality launched her mixes on October 20, which consists of Chrissy’s Ultimate Banana Bread Mix, Buttermilk Mochi Pancake and Waffle Mix, and Salted White Chocolate Macadamia Cookie Mix.
She also claimed that Cravings tried to can their collaboration, saying that they had already ‘secured a new equity partner and it was out of their control’.
Rondel acknowledged she ‘didn’t invent the concept of a cake mix’, which retails for $25, but said she had worked hard to secure a niche with a ‘luxury, elevated cake mix’.
‘I find it hard to believe she doesn’t get a say on her own product line,’ she told Stuff.
Rondel was been left ‘shocked’ to see Teigen’s brand, retailing between $7 to $10, launch their new line which she says bears a stark similarity to her own
‘Sure, if she just isn’t involved at all, this is a slightly different story, but I do find that hard to believe… There’s so much similarity it’s crazy.’
A spokeswoman for Cravings strenuously denied the claims surrounding the baking mixes and told DailyMail.com in a statement: ‘We are so proud of the now sold-out Cravings x The Caker Spiced Carrot Cake Kit with Salted Caramel.
‘It’s disheartening and surprising to see The Caker’s recent social posts and commentary regarding our products.
‘In May 2022, The Caker team was made fully aware that Cravings would be launching a line of baking mixes in the Fall following our one-off collaboration.
‘The Caker chose to move forward with the carrot cake collaboration, and out of respect for the partnership, Cravings held off on producing a cake mix and launched banana bread, pancake and cookie mixes on October 20th.’
Rondel’s followers have been quick to slam Teigen after she posted the two boxes side-by-side – with one calling her ‘the Faker’
The spokesperson for Cravings added: ‘We absolutely did not copy their packaging. Below are the actual side by side pictures of our respective boxes.
‘Images posted on social media by The Caker team compared the front of our box and the back of their own.
‘The front of their packaging is different from the photographic approach we took, with their design tending to be a solid, bold color, which is actually a sleeve rather than the traditional box style we have used.
‘We wish nothing but the absolute best for The Caker and their business, which was the spirit behind our collaboration and transparent communication.’
Teigen began developing her own food products after launching her mini-food empire under the Cravings brand since 2016.
The model has been sharing her love of food and sharing recipes with her 38million Instagram followers and runs a food blog, family cooking videos and an online store.
She previously shared tagged The Caker in an Instagram story in February, praising Rondel’s flourless dark chocolate gold leaf cake – posting a photo of it half-eaten.
The pair collaborated after Rondel replied to Teigen to thank her, throwing her the long-shot offer.
Rondel’s followers have been quick to slam Teigen after she posted the two boxes side-by-side.
One branded her ‘The Faker’, before adding ‘it’s obviously a direct rip off of your designs. She sucks.’
Another said: ‘This is honestly so s*** and disgraceful of her! Your cake kits and business are 1000x better than hers. You’re the queen of cakes and the real OG.’
Some even targeted the Cravings Instagram account with comments, writing: Didn’t you just promote a collaboration for a similar product with an independent, woman owned business?
A second said: ‘Everything you collab on somehow becomes your own business opportunity to exploit & profit off of. Yay! How positively embarrassing.’
Representatives for Rondel did not immediately respond to a request for comment by DailyMail.com.