Putting bakeries inside stores
Co-founder of St Pierre Groupe Paul Baker examines the potential for innovation in in-store bakeries.
Throughout my life, the baking sector has served as both my vocation and namesake. Given that I come from a third generation of bakers, it was probably inevitable that I would pursue this career. I received my training as a craft baker at Exeter College, but the program was discontinued when I graduated because not enough students wanted to pursue baking careers. a sign of only one of the problems the sector is currently facing. The daily routine of a small, remote country bakery seems like a faraway memory now. My path through several roles in the baking industry ultimately brought me to my co-founding of St Pierre Groupe in 2004.
My experience began in the UK and subsequently spread to Europe and, for the last ten years, the United States. I had to use not only my experience in baking to help lead St Pierre Groupe from a small private label cake supplier in the UK to an international branded bakery business. I also had to learn how to inspire and lead teams to leverage manufacturing, branding, supply chains, product quality, safety & compliance, product development, and, most importantly, sales. Not to mention turning a profit, developing a positive and fulfilling workplace culture, and providing services to some of the top merchants in the world.
What relevance does this, one may wonder, have to the reimagining of in-store bakeries (ISB)?
Traditionally, businesses have opened in-store bakeries to provide in-store theater, the smell of freshly baked, crusty bread, and an abundance of high-quality baked items that would be found in a conventional craft bakery. The first thing that struck me when I worked for a short while in a large multiple in-store bakery was how little craft skills were needed. Product flair and consumer expectations were subordinated to efficiency, cost management, and waste control (or lack thereof). This was thirty years ago; in the intervening years, this strategy has stoked division and ultimately led to the ISB’s dissolution.
A financial analysis of the ISB operation that can’t stand up to inspection is the result of several factors that are currently endangering ISB in UK shops. These factors include a shortage of staff, excessive waste levels, closures linked to cleanliness, changing consumer preferences, and greater quality demands. Much has been written about the “end of the in-store bakery,” but in this post I’d want to present an alternate idea for a successful, interesting, and revitalized in-store bakery experience.
2014 saw the US introduction of our St Pierre brand into ISB. The French bakery brand St Pierre offers the store a one percent wastage rate on its shelf life and a consumer product experience that is very hard to replicate in an ISB setting. We drive sales with the biggest retailers worldwide, and the brand is currently the top brioche brand in the US and the UK.
After having numerous discussions with colleagues in the sector over the past few years, I felt it would be fascinating to discuss my plan to bring ISB back to life.To me, this (r)evolution should be framed by numerous factors:
What do customers expect?
Customers’ expectations are changing quickly as they get more sophisticated. We’ve all seen those individuals on social media who take pictures of their meals to share on Instagram for their upcoming post; let’s face it, most of us have done this at least once. It opens up a world of expertly chosen food instantly. When was the last time you witnessed someone using their phone to take a picture of the offered golden, flaky croissants at an in-store bakery? Not me either. However, things don’t have to be this way; the conventional bakery setting needs to give way to an in-store baking experience. Although they were previously necessary, stainless steel ovens, racks, and seas are not at all appealing.
Perhaps now is the right moment for retailers to work with bakery brands, which have a proven track record of winning over customers through in-store activation, immersive marketing, and effective communication all supported by substantial investment and reliable product quality. These brands are up for the challenge; they’re willing to make the necessary investments to get to know their customers, attract them, make them smile, and help them experience the joy that bakeries can bring. The retailer’s task should be to figure out how to excite customers and provide an immersive, lucrative, long-lasting, and high-quality experience. This is not insurmountable, as there are numerous instances of extremely successful in-store retail/brand collaborations around the globe.
For instance, we created a custom Eiffel Tower stand for premier retail clients in the US three years ago. In order to highlight our St Pierre brand, we first ordered 50 Eiffel Towers. However, we have since deployed over 7,000 of these, and sales of our brand in those places have increased by an average of 56% when compared to retailers without an Eiffel Tower. Our Eiffel Tower is robust, well-designed to keep merchandise for the shop (cutting the need for frequent replenishing), visually appealing, and equipped with wheels for easy mobility. The retailer, the in-store staff, the brand owner, and the customer were all considered during the design process.
How can stores sustainably and profitably accomplish this?
I hear you ask, shouldn’t ISB be all about freshly baked goods sold in stores? Furthermore, what exactly do we understand by sustainable, a term that is used in many different contexts these days?
In the UK, bread accounts for the majority of food waste. One of the reasons ISBs are currently going extinct is the appallingly excessive and unsustainable quantities of waste in a typical in-store bakery. In the UK, a million loaves of bread are thrown away every day. Startling figures that none of us should ever believe.
Thanks to technological advancements in baking, shelf life can be extended without using unhealthy additives. Every one of our brands has a shelf life advantage, and they all use various strategies to make this happen without sacrificing the quality of the products. Even though we don’t sell “fresh” bread, we also don’t add to the massive amount of bread waste that occurs every day, and our customers appreciate the excellent product we provide. It’s definitely time to reevaluate what a product range should include in order to minimize food waste; an ISB fresh bakery and brand lineup significantly reduces these waste statistics.
What kind of product is being offered?
High-end bakery brands and a carefully chosen selection of fresh baked goods may coexist, draw in wealthy customers, and revitalize the in-store bakery section. Fresh should be handled to maximize the in-store experience (baked from frozen in large batches, not warmed up in small batches), minimize the skill level needed (thaw and serve products, ambient longer life products), and incorporate fixtures that offer a novel shopping experience.
Important instances of this being done exist. A great example of personalization is Subway. They demonstrate the enduring attraction of the “have it your way” philosophy with customers by implementing mass personalization. This reimagining includes how we present the experience to customers as well.
Restructuring the supply chain, the selection of consumer products, and the in-store furnishings are necessary for this strategy. Current vendors, merchants, and companies ought to be brave enough and eager to put money into the baking industry’s future.