Advice Please: I Have Been Contacted By A Local Coffee Shop/bookstore On Looking For A Baked Goods Supplier...
Business By countrycakes Updated 22 Aug 2014 , 2:50am by DeliciousEmma
The title says it all.......a local coffee shop/bookstore has contacted me to inquire interest in being their baked goods supplier....as in large amounts...etc....they are just in the discussion stages for now....I also have been told that they contacted 2 other as well.......what do I need to know? What advice can you give me on this? I am a homebased licensed bakery here in NC...and I have not ever done this before...all my business has come from word of mouth and doing special events.....it's all new to me. Thanks for any advice... :)
First thing, did they tell you what's a large amount for them?
Can you handle it?
I think you should set a price based on quantity, for example:
1 dozen cupcakes: $XX
2 dozen cupcakes: $X
of course you need to give them a good price, they need to be able to sell the product and make money as well.
oh, and Are you sure you can sell to stores? I can't in my state, I should get a commercial baker license for that
Athis might be the right time to ask some questions first -- you need to determine their expectations -- they have a budget and a niche find out what it is -- do they want muffins or layer cake, pies, cookies, just 10,000 ways to go -- I'd get them to narrow it down for you
Awe have a coffee shop here that has an evolving assortment of baked goods that i love to check out -- this would be a favorite baking job if I got one like this -- rambling :)
my point is, you will want to go with goods that store well -- you'll want to set boundaries perhaps on shelf life -- who is going to be left 'holding the bag' for goods held past the eat by date -- shelf life will be a consideration for you
I baked for a coffee shop for a few months. Something to consider, I had to bake EVERY NIGHT in order to fill the job AND drop off the product at 6am EVERY MORNING. I did not like it.
jen
we have a coffee shop here that has an evolving assortment of baked goods... you will want to go with goods that store well -- you'll want to set boundaries perhaps on shelf life -- who is going to be left 'holding the bag' for goods held past the eat by date -- shelf life will be a consideration for you
I agree with K8, shelf life is most important. When I started my business, I supplied coffee shops, book stores, delis, and restaurants. Delivery was twice per week - all products had a shelf life of several days (cookies, brownies, strudel, slices of coffee cake and pound cake, etc.) And I never took returns. Print a product list with wholesale prices, and drop it off with a nice looking box of samples.
I am going to be supplying a ministry based coffee shop by a university. I have my recipes picked out but need advice on best way to individually package them. I will be delivering twice a week. shop owner want to display them in baskets.
I plan to make ingredient labels to attach to the basket.
Awhat are you going to be making? -- either plastic wrap or a heat sealer--
idk but does your health dept allow you to do a blanket ingredient list?
and please do not let the fact that this is a ministry affect your ministry :)
AI have also been contacted by several establishments but was unable to provide product out of my home because the state required any product sold to customers to come out of a listened kitchen that has a 3 compartment sink , grease trap etc. you can have you kitchen inspected if you do have all those things and if it passes inspection you can sell your product on a mass scale. Those are the rules in my state. I would say contact someone local to you to advice you on the rules and regulations before commuting to anything. Due to the strict laws where i am instead of going through that entire process I have opted t to open a store front instead.
I do this, wholesale baking for cakes, restaurants etc, as my business.
As ellavanilla says, it is a commitment and you would have to negotiate delivery times as they will usually want the goods delivered before they open which could be early. I do as MimiFix did, most cafes get delivery a couple of times a week. If you want more info on how I do things please feel free to send me a message or ask a question here.
As far as shelf life goes, it's their responsibility. You are not selling your goods through their cafe with them getting a cut of the profit. You are selling it to them, so you don't take back leftover goods. It's their job to order what they think they need and deal with the wastage. The products are not your responsibility once in their hands unless they were bad before you gave it to them. For this reason, I give the cafe an ingredient list for every item (or every item type. eg. all pastries contain butter, flour), and also tell them how to store the item. Cheesecakes must be kept refrigerated for example. You will have to look at the rules in your country/state/town for specific requirements.
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