Thinking about getting into
the baking business? Broadly
speaking, there are two types of
bakeries – wholesale or retail.
WHOLESALE BAKERY
• Products usually placed in grocery stores catering to regular needs for items like sliced breads or buns.
• Requires a production kitchen with adequate equipment to cope with significantly larger volumes.
• Usually distribute to the same clients therefore daily orders are more consistent.
• Able to anticipate and plan ahead for ingredient purchase.
• Cost savings without the need of a retail outlet.
• Logistic system must be planned out to ensure delivery to your clients and equip the vehicle with temperature control to ensure that the baked goods stay fresh.
• Possible need for marketing efforts to be on a higher scale as the manufacturing facility tends to be far from prominent areas with high human traffic.
RETAIL BAKERY
• Selling to individual customers can mean lesser production volume.
• Capitalise on the niche factor by making small volumes of special items (cakes as a dinner after-thought or a takeaway cookie for tea).
• Challenge of unpredictability of daily traffic and how much to bake.
• Location is important to drive traffic and there is a possibility of paying higher rent in popular areas.
• Investing in the storefront, display area and training of service staff is vital.
• Easier to establish rapport with regular customers and retain their loyalty. When it comes to display, paying attention to details can impact how your baked goods appeal to customers and influence their decisions:
• Always present a healthy amount of goods unless items are sold out and you cease production for the day. It is recommended to shift the goods and place them together; of course of the same type. A bread roll here and two pastries there will unlikely entice the customer to buy.
• It may sound like common sense but there are bakeries that neglect to place labels and list prices.
• Use the appropriate amount of light to allow customers to see textures and colours of goods without straining. Make sure that lights are not too warm as it can dry out pastries or affect the consistency of items.
• Featuring an ingredient gives extra value when customers know what goes into their food; why not try placing a basket of apples next to the apple pie or a bunch of herbs alongside the breads?
• Colours can invigorate the appeal of food. As most baked goods tend to be in the shade of brown or cream, use warm colours like oranges, yellow, reds or browns for display related items like stands, coloured cloth or even artificial flowers; of course complementing the colour scheme of the store.
Sourced and adapted from Foodservice Warehouse – Bakery Education “Bakery Management Ideas & Advice”.
http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/education/ bakery-education/c33180.aspx
