Concepts for Success: 6 Quick Ideas to Get your Bakery Ready for the Holiday Season

As the major holiday season approaches, your bakery will experience big orders and mass crowds on a regular basis. These strategies will keep them happy, and returning after the holidays.

1. professional appearance
Your bakery will initially be judged on its appearance. Is it clean? Does it smell or look bad? Are your baked goods prominently displayed in a well-lit bakery case? Do you see signs of wear and tear? These are all things that your customers notice. Use lights, decorations and music to upsell.

2. consistent branding
Great products sell themselves, but only when customers know about them. You need a recognizable brand even if you own a small operation. Branding can cover a lot, but there are two main factors: A recognizable logo and a beautiful colour palette. Your logo should appear on all packages, uniforms, gift cards and online presences. The web is an excellent way to interact with customers; make sure you have a consistent logo on your website, blog, videos, and social media.

3. diversify holiday treats
Make sure that you also offer treats from other cultures. Have Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Diwali, and even a New Year’s Eve theme for your goods. Focus on making a variety of treats for each relevant holiday. You will make additional sales and will make someone’s day, as well.

Even if your bakery items are the most delicious ones in town, you should work on creating fabulous holiday-themed presentations. There are so many confections to create this holiday season. Use the holidays as an opportunity to unleash your creativity, but on’t forsake classics like pies, cinnamon buns, red velvet cakes, and an authentic Yule Log.

Don’t be afraid to leave your comfort zone to change up the look of your bakery, revamping your staff uniform, creating a new pie flavor or experimenting with new recipes and products. Product bundling is another tactic that your bakery can use. Package assorted bakery items for people to buy for themselves or as gifts. Strategic product pairings will also play a vital role in generating higher in-store bakery sales.

4. Be a festive destination
Nowadays, bakeries can often be a place that people quickly rush in and out to buy something or just to pick up their order. If you want a more successful and lucrative holiday season, may I suggest that you consider adding a few chairs and tables on the floor. Get a coffee machine, and offer customers a coffee while they wait for their order. How about selling small samples of your larger holiday desserts? I am positive that your customers would love to taste a few bakery items before committing to pricier items. Remember that the longer customers hang around, the likely they will they will become loyal customers.

Set up small beautiful and unique gift items for a host, or as a last-minute treat for someone special. Having a selection of baked goods to-go will also help you sell more products. Bags or boxes of cookies, cupcakes, gluten-free mini cakes, mixed bags of dried fruit, candied fruit, chocolates, colourful fancy sprinkles, baking spices, as well as paper napkins, colourful kitchen towels, aprons, fun oven mitts like oven mitts, t-shirts, mugs, cookie cutters, patterned rolling pins, cook books, non-stick baking cups liners, non-stick silicone baking utensils, cake decorating kits, cake stands, heart-shaped ramekins, non-stick silicone baking mat, ready-to-go and displayed on a three-tier table are the perfect last-minute gift items. It’s important to provide options that are both reasonably priced and appealing. Present a beautiful bakery with a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere to entice people to stay and browse.

5. Keep staff enthusiastic
Your staff members should be in the holiday mood 24/7. This is perhaps the most important ‘ingredient’ of running a successful bakery. Make sure each customer is greeted by smiling staff; it will make your customers feel good and they will likely return.

6. Get social media savvy
Your bakery’s branding and marketing will not be completed if you are not active on the internet. Being online is always an excellent way to interact with your customers. Make sure that you create a responsive web design for your customers with portable devices. Another way to get customers’ attention is with a strong social media presence. You only need professional quality photos and videos of your bakery products, and consider posting them on Facebook and Instagram. Use social media platforms to promote your bakery, take orders, do networking, and get customer feedback. Entertain and captivate your customers with fun stories, and share lots of ideas and images.

Diane Chiasson, FCSI, president of Chiasson Consultants Inc., has been helping foodservice, hospitality and retail operators increase sales for over 35 years by providing innovative and revenue-increasing food service and retail merchandising programs, interior design, branding, menu engineering, marketing and promotional campaigns. Contact her at 416-926-1338, toll-free at 1-888-926-6655 or chiasson@chiassonconsultlants.com , or visit www.chiassonconsultants.com