Since their launch, CAKES body® has supported women’s health initiatives, expanding their commitment to breast cancer research in 2024 through a formal partnership with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). In 2025, CAKES deepened their purpose-driven work with a $400,000 contribution and the establishment of the She Is Not Too Young Fund at BCRF, underwritten by CAKES body®. This dedicated research fund is focused on breast cancer in younger women and supporting breast cancer research spanning across prevention, risk, equity, treatment innovation, and survivorship.
To bring the fund to life, CAKES launched the Know Your Risk Challenge—an initiative designed to educate, inspire, and empower young women to learn about their breast cancer risk. By amplifying stories from real young patients and community members, the goal was to shift awareness into action and create a message that felt modern, relatable, and deeply human.
To launch the She Is Not Too Young Fund, CAKES body® introduced the “Know Your Risk” Challenge—a campaign designed to speak directly to the next generation about breast cancer awareness and prevention. Supported with a dedicated landing page and a thoughtfully crafted content calendar that readily included BCRF, the campaign met their audience where they already were: on social platforms.
At the heart of the campaign were six stories from CAKES community members who were diagnosed with breast cancer under the age of 40. These women—along with CAKES staff and customers affected by early breast cancer—shared their own journeys with vulnerability and strength. This real-world storytelling was critical to the campaign’s authenticity. Rather than relying on traditional Breast Cancer Awareness Month tropes, CAKES centered lived experience as both the narrative and the call to action.
One of the project’s largest challenges was breaking through the noise of an already crowded awareness landscape. The team approached this by leaning into what made CAKES unique: thriver-led product moments, true personal narratives, and a refusal to sanitize or oversimplify the realities of young breast cancer. Each piece of content served a purpose—whether educating about risk factors, showcasing moments of survivorship, or guiding women to risk assessment tools.
Another challenge was balancing emotional storytelling with clear, empowering next steps. CAKES overcame this by weaving risk education directly into the stories themselves, ensuring the campaign didn’t just raise awareness but provided tangible pathways for self-advocacy.
Ultimately, the strength of the project came from its authenticity. By elevating voices from within its own community, CAKES created a campaign that felt real, modern, inclusive, and rooted in purpose.
The campaign successfully achieved CAKES body®’s goal of deepening its impact in breast cancer research while meaningfully engaging young women in understanding their breast health. The 60% year-over-year increase in giving and creation of the She Is Not Too Young Fund demonstrated a powerful expansion of CAKES's purpose-driven mission.
The Know Your Risk Challenge broke through the crowded Breast Cancer Awareness Month environment and generated remarkable engagement. The launch post alone received more than 500 shares and reposts, including amplification from high‑profile members and patients from the breast cancer community such as @mirandamckeon, @bridget, and @katiethurston, signaling strong resonance and credibility within the space.
Traffic to the dedicated landing page further reflected this momentum, drawing 2,900 page views between 10/1 and 10/25, as consumers sought education, resources, and personal risk information. The campaign’s reach extended beyond social, earning PR pickup from outlets including NBC News Now, Spectrum News, and WWD, helping elevate the message to broader audiences nationwide.
Most importantly, the campaign successfully encouraged action. The sweepstakes tied to BCRF’s risk assessment tool generated 672 submissions with a 41% submission rate, demonstrating that the audience was not only inspired but motivated to take meaningful steps toward understanding their breast cancer risk.
CAKES considers this effort a success because it transformed storytelling into tangible impact—sparking conversation, driving education, empowering young women, and ultimately advancing research that will change lives.