Chrissy Teigen slammed as 'pathetic and unoriginal’ for ‘ripping off’ Kiwi cake brand

Tension has arisen online between New Zealand cake company The Caker and supermodel Chrissy Teigen.

Mere weeks after the two collaborated to create a Spiced Carrot with Salted Caramel cake kit – that quickly sold out, Teigen has released her own at-home baking kits which social media users claim have striking similarities to The Caker’s own baking kits.

Taking to Instagram, Jordan Rondel, co-owner of the NZ and LA-based company, released a statement in response to Teigen’s latest baking kit line admitting it has taken her a week to “try to process everything”.

Rondel shared a picture of her baking kits alongside Teigen’s and said, “Sooo [sic] this has happened. Chrissy Teigen released her own line of elevated baking mixes (pictured here alongside mine) right after we collaborated on a cake mix together.

Rondel went on to say there is more she could say about the matter but for the meantime preferred to acknowledge the support from her followers.

While Rondel said she has no problem with other people releasing baking mixes, she said her fans were right to call out Teigen, “this particular situation isn’t chill, especially because we’re just a small sister-run business”.

After making the post, Rondel later replied to one comment claiming there is “a lot to the story about our collab” but went on to say she won’t go as far as to release all the details.

Many fans have since flocked to the comment section and even their own personal Instagram stories to offer their support.

One said, “Same packaging from factor, same Jurgen Teller style flash photography, same hand in frame, same “you will need”, her side panels also happen to have exactly 21 lines of copy. Same. Sheesh.”

Jasmine Garnsworthy, creator of Female Founder World, who has previously spoken to Rondel on her podcast – made a story and urged fans to support small businesses, “celebrities can start whatever businesses they want but as consumers, we can also choose where to spend”.

“In the spirit of lifting up what you love rather than tearing down what you hate, I’ll just say this: Friends, please support small independent brands who innovate first.”

Rondel also shared screenshots of comments on Teigen’s post including one where a fan rallied in support of The Caker commenting, “Wow this is a total rip off of @thecaker! How cool to rip off a small business owner esp after you just did a collab with her? This is beyond unbelievable. Shame on you.”

Another read, “Cats out of the bag that you’re pathetic and unoriginal? Stealing from the @thecaker literally right after a collab…”

But while The Caker’s kits are predominantly cakes, Teigan’s new range at this stage offers pancakes and waffles, cookies and banana bread.

Rondel and Teigen announced their baking kit collaboration on September 15 with the release scheduled to coincide with the supermodel and her husband, John Legend’s ninth wedding anniversary.

Posting to her 39 million Instagram followers, Teigen shared a video of her and Rondel dressed in bath robes, their hair wrapped in towels and their faces in full makeup, as they whip up a cake in a cute 50′s-style kitchen.

Teigen told her followers: “Ooh I was so excited for this collab, this was so much fun to do, you guys are gonna die. It’s so delicious.”

And continued to give a shoutout to Rondel, saying, “Thank you so much Jordan for doing this with me. We are so, so excited about it. It is so delicious, everybody in our house loves it.”

The announcement of the successful collab was quickly followed by news that the kits have already sold out on Cravingsbychrissyteigen.com. However, according to The Caker’s website, they are available for pre-order.

Rondel moved to America to expand The Caker, her cakery and cake-kit business before the pandemic hit.

“It was a big challenge to pivot quickly and intelligently,” she previously told the Herald of the curveball Covid presented.

“It was extra hard not being able to go home to New Zealand on top of that, but I’m thrilled to say my New Zealand business has come out the other end really well, and while I’m still finding my footing with my US business, it’s going from strength to strength.”

Teigen’s own baking kit release comes 18 months after she was accused of bullying and later “cancelled”.

She came under fire last year for bullying several other stars including Farrah Abraham, Courtney Stodden, and Lindsay Lohan in the past.

In an essay she wrote for Medium in June 2021 following the scandal, the former Sports Illustrated model revealed she’d had a “very humbling few weeks” after her controversial tweets resurfaced, reports People.

Teigen, 36, wrote that “Not a day, not a single moment has passed where I haven’t felt the crushing weight of regret for the things I’ve said in the past.”

She went on to say that there was “simply no excuse” for what she’d said.

Teigen and Rondel have both been approached for comment.

This article was first published by the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.