Question For Those Who Work In A Bakery
Decorating By HammIamm Updated 20 Jun 2007 , 1:10am by SugarplumStudio
i want to know, do bakery usually keep the same items on hand day to day... or not??
for example. if you have buttertarts, cream puffs and donuts on monday....would it be expected to have these items every days of the week??? why or why not???
also, say if you want to intro duce new products, what is the best way to do this.... like make something new everyday and hope people try it. or introduce something new, have it run for a weeks cycle, and get feed back that way??? obviously give samples... but
i'm just trying to figure out all this in my head
thanks for any imput.
I've worked in many facets of the bakery industry..wholesale, retail and custom specialty.
The answer to your first question is a resounding YES. Why? Continuity. It's the same reason why you can walk into a McDonalds any time and buy fries, knowing that they will be exactly the same as the last time you ate them. It's also the reason why retail is so difficult!
Start with a core menu, no matter what the product, and add variety. Donuts, for instance. Always have jelly, chocolate glazed, and cream ( or whatever core flavors you choose). Then, you add the specialties, maybe by day ( cinnamon on Tuesday), week or month. Too much variety is often as bad as too little. When faced with too many choice, people will gravitate toward what is most familiar.
Retaining customer loyalty is the ONLY key to success. The very first time a regular customer walks in and can't get their favorite thing, they are likely to look elsewhere for it. That 'elsewhere' may just gain your customer permanently because you failed to meet their expectation.
Second question, start small. Introduce things one or two at a time. Weekly or monthy specials for new products are more effective than daily specials. Heavily promote a new "item of the week/month" by sampling and most importantly suggesting. If you have a walk-in customer looking for nothing in particular, suggestive selling more often than not makes the difference.
Keep your menu fresh by playing up the season and local ingredients. For example, I'm in NJ, where blueberries are abundant in the summer. Take advantage of that! Or, create a theme.....February is Chocolate Month...and offer 2 or 3 to die for chocolate overload desserts.
The best way to get feedback is to talk to your customers...."why is this cake your favorite"....and most importantly "listen"!!
Hope that helps!
Sharon
You are very welcome. Glad I could help!
Best of luck!
Sharon
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