Gathering ideas for a Bakery

**w00cash** · 09-21-2009 07:45 PM

Hi fellow entrepreneurs, me and my dad are just under way of starting a bakery in boston, just yestarday we signed a lease on it

! The bakery we are leasing is a bakery fully equipped and it also has a small store front. The only problem with the store is that its tiny and we're not sure what to carry there...As my dad is a bread baker with more then 20years of experience we want to mainly concern on fabulous european bread as we are originally from Poland and have experience of baking all kinds of european breads. We are also going to carry different sorts of pastries. Now we are thinking what else we can carry in our store? Maybe coffee and sandwiches and we could squeeze in couple tables?
If you have any ideas for us we would greatly appreciate it! Is there a bakery shop you ever went to and made you say wow? and why did it make you say that? Any ideas warmly welcome!
Thnx so much

**Beale** · 09-21-2009 07:49 PM

Hi
When I Was Living In Ukraine there was a bakers on the main street that was excellent, freshly baked bread and quasonts , had a coffe and a quasont every morning, was delish lol

**LingerieLady** · 09-22-2009 04:48 PM

When i walk to the store and haven't had breakfast yet, i love stopping at the bakery for a ham & cheese croissant!! Sausage rolls are also a nice afternoon snack.

And i think Cupcakes always look so cute and inviting!!

You could even do a little display with buttercream frosted "mini-cupcakes" in a variety of flavours.. they are a nice cheap little add-on, that I, for one, find very hard to resist

**CDRamming** · 09-23-2009 04:02 PM

What is the surrounding neighborhood like? What types of businesses are located close by? If you give me the address or general area of the bake shop, Ill take a look on google and give you some ideas on what types of products to offer and market segments to focus on.

Some things you may also want to consider is finding local fine dining restaurants that would be interested in fresh baked European bread. If you are able to establish contracts with these restaurants you can be provided with a steady revenue stream and market your product to be a fine quality good. Also when people dine at the restaurant often they may ask where the bread is from and you could gain customers if the waitstaff is able to identify your company. If you were able to get a good deal worked out with the restaurants you could even have your logo or an acknowledgment of your company for providing the bread on the menu.
You must market and position yourself as a fine bakery,authentic European bakery or whatever position you intend to take. Maybe offer a bread of the day, or bread of the week and start a twitter feed to post the bread and other deals you may offer day to day.

A company called Great Harvest Bread Co. specializes in baking fine breads. They offer free samples (a full slice off from a fresh loaf) to the customers and have an assortment of butter, honey and other "signature" spreads to accompany the bread. Customers really like this, and it opens them up to trying new breads they would otherwise not buy. This also positions you to make your own "signature" line of spreads to sell.

How much retail space is available in the store? You say "squeeze in a couple tables", but is the area large enough to be functional as opposed to just a decoration? If you use small cafe tables that barely fit plates and are packed off to the side customers are not going to appreciate the atmosphere as a place to eat and enjoy their food.

Before going straight to product offering you must assess the market and your personal goals. Find a strategy that incorporates the market needs and your personal goals for the business; this gives you a good chance for success. If you are not passionate about your business it becomes more of a burden than an experience. This passion must also be kept in check, a good entrepreneur must learn to balance his passion with the market needs.

Hope this helps,
Drake
You can contact me directly as well: Drake.Ramming@mobilelanguagesolutions.com

**w00cash** · 09-24-2009 10:56 PM

hey guys, thank you so much for all of your advice, people on this forum are really the best and very helpful!
Beale: thats really what we want to establish that european bakery/cafe style where people can come in every morning get a fresh loaf of bread or eat in and have a nice sandwich on a fresh bread/croissant/bagel.
Lingerinelady: upcake idea is actually great! who doesn't like cupcakes and i haven't even thought of it so thnx a lot!
CDRamming: Thnx for a very deep and thoughtful response! Well the bakery will be located in Waltham, ma on newton st. and its really a side street approximately half a mile of the main st. where most of the local businesses are. There is a convenience store right across the street from us that makes deli sandwiches which would be potential competition if we started to make sandwiches.

We are looking into delivering of fresh bread to local european stores and restaurants, and I love the idea of logo in the menu that would acknowledge our bread!!!

Free samples of different kind of bread daily is a great idea! I really like it!

As of right now we decided to put a counter top against the wall in which we could freely fit 5 or 6 sits giving costumers the comfort of space.

Again thnx so much for all insights, its been really helpful and we really appreciate it!