‘Petite Sweets’ brings bite-sized cupcakes to Hilton Head. Here’s how to order
Giant cupcakes with mounds of frosting on top are a common sight at Hilton Head weddings, engagement parties and baby showers. But not everyone wants to eat an entire cupcake after stuffing themselves with dinner, and some need to watch their sugar intake for health reasons.
That’s how Nicole Lust got the idea to start a baking company specializing in bite-sized treats — no need to divvy them up into little pieces.
She left her job at a doctor’s office of 13 years to pursue her passion of baking full time in October. Her business, Petite Sweets, has since attracted a small but loyal following on Hilton Head.
Petite Sweets offers miniature cupcakes in flavors such as peach cobbler, Boston cream and tiramisu. She also sells bagels and cinnamon rolls. Everything is baked fresh in Lust’s home in Hilton Head Plantation.
Lust can often be seen advertising her beautifully decorated confections on Nextdoor, Instagram and Facebook. She’s lived on Hilton Head for 30 years.
To spread the word about her business, Lust also brings her treats everywhere from church to the doctor’s office. Her husband, a local handyman, takes boxes of cupcakes with him to give to his clients. People “light up” when they get cupcakes, Lust said.
“It makes people happy,” Lust said. “Sometimes I’ll get business from it, sometimes I won’t, but that’s fine.”
The key to growing any so-called cottage industry is truly caring about your clients, Lust said. She builds personal relationships with her customers and asks them how their families are doing.
Lust has been baking her whole life. As a little girl, she used to sit on the kitchen counter while her mom prepared dough in her stand mixer.
Before she quit her job at the doctor’s office, Lust was feeling burnt out and searching for a life change. One of the patients at the doctor’s office loved her carrot cake cupcakes and encouraged her to start selling them.
“She is the one that came up with my business name, Petite Sweets,” Lust said.
Before starting the business, Lust says she never really thought she had a talent.
“I had an eighth grade teacher who told me that I wouldn’t go anywhere in life,” Lust said. “And I guess it just stuck with me.”
Now, she sees her talent for baking as a way to spread joy and kindness to the world, one cupcake at a time.
“I was given a gift,” Lust said. “And I’m so grateful for it.”
To try some sweet treats for yourself, contact Lust at 843-301-0198 or email her at petitesweetsbynicole@gmail.com.
This story was originally published August 27, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
